John Barnard, MD
drjohnbarnard.bsky.social
John Barnard, MD
@drjohnbarnard.bsky.social
Retired physician executive; ABP-board certified pediatric gastroenterologist; emeritus prof of pediatrics, Ohio State University College of Medicine and Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Measles Could Go “Viral”

When America was great and measles was common, the US Public Health Service published a weekly report on infections like cholera, plague, and measles. Here is a photo of a 1938 measles report. This is what will happen if immunization rates fall below herd immunity levels.
September 8, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Reposted by John Barnard, MD
Are you puzzled by #CBME? Confused by EPAs, milestones and competencies? Then our NEW episode with Dr. Cary Sauer is for you!

We break down this important #MedEd concept and how it applies to pediatric GI training.

🎧 👉 www.buzzsprout.com/581062/episo...
May 5, 2025 at 10:00 AM
A unique CXR finding found in children. Click on the link to view so called “round pneumonia”, in this case due to Mycoplasma | New England Journal of Medicine www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Round Pneumonia | NEJM
A 4-year-old girl presented with a 3-day history of fever and dry cough. A chest radiograph showed a large, rounded opacity in the left lower lobe with subtle air bronchograms.
www.nejm.org
May 3, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Reposted by John Barnard, MD
🚨From the Desk of the President🚨Interested in joining the webinar wave? 🌊 The 2026 @naspghan.bsky.social Webinar submission form and site 💻are still open until 4/30/25 so get those brilliant submissions in! Excited to see the new ideas brewing!! tinyurl.com/4t8b87e6
April 26, 2025 at 12:17 PM
In 2023, guns continued to be the top cause of death for children. More than cancer. More than car accidents. More than sudden unexplained infant death (SUID). Gun deaths are 100% preventable.
March 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by John Barnard, MD
How decreased/eliminated funding from US influences global health? A summary + data from Locks et al - how global nutrition system is affected. @NASPGHAN has a survey to hear more of how spending cuts are affecting you to further work on advocacy efforts - www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZCJP9NX
March 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Insightful commentary by a autistic science and university leader @holdenthorp.bsky.social @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/o...
Opinion | Sorry, R.F.K.: There Is No Autism Mystery
Greater awareness, not vaccines, has driven an increase in diagnoses.
www.nytimes.com
March 21, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by John Barnard, MD
Just published @science.org
On fixing the NIH 15% cap
"The consequences of failing to do so—reduced research capacity, weakened scientific competitiveness, and increased financial strain on institutions—are simply too dire to ignore."
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
March 13, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Measles is a vaccine preventable disease. My condolences to the family bearing this tragic loss.
Another unvaccinated child dies from measles, a fully preventable disease, and only the second child to die from measles in the US in the past 22 years
March 6, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Hey! Along with millions of other people across the US, this is MY family’s fall 2025 flu vaccine we are putting at risk here!

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/u...
F.D.A. Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots
The cancellation plays into fears among scientists who worry that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will use his position as health secretary to sow doubts about vaccines.
www.nytimes.com
February 27, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Best to prevent obesity in children. We are not there yet.

In the meantime, this placebo controlled trial of a GLP1 receptor agonist is good news. Nice summary below.
nejm.org NEJM.org @nejm.org · Feb 12
#Obesity often develops in childhood. In children with obesity, treatment with liraglutide for 56 weeks + lifestyle interventions induced a greater mean change in BMI than lifestyle interventions alone. Full SCALE Kids phase 3a trial results: nej.md/3MBP1uc

#MedSky #PedSky
February 12, 2025 at 8:42 PM
If you wish to know how much NIH funding your state receives, and the economic activity that results from it (the "NIH multiplier effect"), check out this website. May be useful for writing your representatives in Congress. www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...
NIH In Your State - United For Medical Research
Select a state on the map to see the impact of NIH funding across America.
www.unitedformedicalresearch.org
February 9, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Indirect (facility and admin) costs are real. For 70 years, the US biomedical research enterprise has been structured on recovery of these institutional expenditures. Reduction of indirect costs recovery to 15% will cripple US biomedical research for decades.

www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH slashes overhead payments for research, sparking outrage
Move to cut indirect cost rate to 15% could cost universities billions of dollars
www.science.org
February 8, 2025 at 10:59 AM
This is a well-reasoned interpretation of the current discourse on diversity, equity and inclusion. We can do better.

Former surgeon general: America needs a better discourse on DEI www.statnews.com/2025/02/04/d... via @statnews.com
Former surgeon general: America needs a better discourse on DEI
“As a former U.S. surgeon general, I believe our country deserves a better discourse on DEI,” writes Jerome Adams.
www.statnews.com
February 4, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Great advice herein. As a pediatric gastroenterologist, I can especially endorse: "trust your gut"!
Starting today at noon, Match applicants can begin submitting their rank order lists.

But before you do… here’s what residency applicants consistently overvalue - and what they consistently undervalue - when picking a program.

Rank Order List: Buyers and Sellers Edition
youtu.be/rDtlD1BH0Yw
Rank Order List: Buyers and Sellers Edition
YouTube video by Sheriff of Sodium
youtu.be
February 3, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by John Barnard, MD
Starting today at noon, Match applicants can begin submitting their rank order lists.

But before you do… here’s what residency applicants consistently overvalue - and what they consistently undervalue - when picking a program.

Rank Order List: Buyers and Sellers Edition
youtu.be/rDtlD1BH0Yw
Rank Order List: Buyers and Sellers Edition
YouTube video by Sheriff of Sodium
youtu.be
February 3, 2025 at 1:25 PM
It is easy to understand the benefit of a new cure for cancer. It feels like a miracle. Vaccines are different. We will never know if one of us, or one of our loved ones, has been saved from death or severe illness by a vaccine. That's prevention. And it is no less a miracle than a cure for cancer.
January 28, 2025 at 12:29 AM
According to US News, I am still a practicing doc, living in Gainesville FL, practicing in Columbus OH, and holding hospital privileges in nearby West Virginia hospitals. I remain on insurance rolls and appointments are available! Other than living in Gainesville, none of this is true!
January 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Recruit more physicians and scientists to the clean air of the BlueSky, friends!
Welcome immigrants from X interested in science to the friendlier skies of @bsky.app, as documented by a new @nature.com survey (but you already knew that 😉)
"Bluesky is much better for science. There is much less toxicity, misinformation, and distractions."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
January 24, 2025 at 3:40 PM
It was the CDC's communications that alerted the medical community to the dramatic national increase in M. pneumonia infections this fall. These alerts appropriately reshaped clinicians' approach to management of children and adults with respiratory symptoms.

www.sciencefriday.com/segments/wal...
Walking Pneumonia Is Spiking. Here’s How To Stay Safe
The respiratory illness typically affects school-age kids, but the CDC reports a rise in cases in children aged 2-4.
www.sciencefriday.com
January 24, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Reposted by John Barnard, MD
Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring
Researchers facing
www.science.org
January 23, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Pediatric gastroenterology colleagues, take note. Fascinating to think of the future of non-invasive ways to monitor our IBD patients for relapse - kind of
like a DAILY calprotectin!
How wearable sensors were used to detect subclinical inflammation up to 7 weeks before a flare of inflammatory bowel disease
www.gastrojournal.org/article/S001...
January 16, 2025 at 3:32 PM
This seems to be a very practical
resource. Love it. Important as the body of evidence linking consumption of ultra processed foods to adverse health outcomes is increasingly robust.
January 15, 2025 at 3:51 AM