Wolfe Associates, Inc. has generously pledged $1 million to Nationwide Children’s Hospital to establish The Wolfe Associates, Inc. Fellowship in Endocrinology honoring Juan Sotos, MD, for his dedication and vast contributions to the field of pediatric endocrinology. The announcement comes on the heels of Wolfe Associate Inc.’s $2 million pledge made earlier this year that established two other fellowships – The Wolfe Associates, Inc. Fellowship in Pediatric Oncology and The Wolfe Associates, Inc. Fellowship in Advanced Cardiac Noninvasive Imaging (Echocardiography). These fellowships will support the recruitment of the best and brightest pediatric medical specialists to Nationwide Children’s.
“Wolfe Associates, Inc. has a longstanding history with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and their continued commitment and support has helped the hospital become one of the leading pediatric health care facilities in the country and around the world,” said Steve Allen, MD, chief executive officer of Nationwide Children’s. “Through their generous support, the establishment of this fellowship will add an elite group of highly-specialized physicians to our already world-renowned staff. This fellowship also honors the many outstanding academic and clinical contributions of Dr. Juan Sotos, providing a rich legacy and inspiring the next generation of pediatric endocrinologists to even greater achievements.”
For decades, central Ohio children have benefitted from the outstanding care provided by Dr. Sotos, former chief and current physician in Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes at Nationwide Children’s. His tireless dedication has made a life-long positive impact for thousands of children who have benefitted from his treatment and now thrive as adults throughout the community.
Dr. Sotos received his medical degree from the Medical School Valencia, Spain in 1950. He completed his pediatrics residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children/Temple University (1953-55) and at Nationwide Children’s (1955-57) where he served as chief resident in 1956. Dr. Sotos returned to Columbus from his post at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1963 to lead the newly formed Clinical Studies Center, a six-bed unit helping to treat patients with puzzling medical problems from rheumatic disease in childhood to inborn errors of metabolism. Dr. Sotos went on to become chief of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the hospital. In 1978, Dr. Sotos was honored by the hospital Board of Trustees for his leadership as acting chief of Pediatrics and as well as acting chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Ohio State while the Board searched for a medical director for Nationwide Children’s.
Dr. Sotos is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, the American Board of Pediatric Nephrology and the American Board of Pediatric Endocrinology. His research interests include disorders of growth and diabetes and overgrowth disorders. He has been listed multiple times as one of the Best Doctors in America since the list’s inception in 1992 and has been an invited speaker nationally and internationally.
This Fellowship serves to cultivate the next great generation of physician specialists to follow in the footsteps created by pre-eminent physicians like Dr. Sotos. Young physicians who participate in medical fellowships have already completed as much as 16 years of education and training. At numerous steps along the way, these men and women have conducted research, performed complex procedures and spent many nights worrying about their patients. Yet, they still yearn to learn more.
Their desire to learn comes with a huge financial burden. The average medical fellow has more than $160,000 in student loan debt. Starting a “real job” rather than continuing to be a trainee makes far greater economic sense. But they are driven by a higher purpose to develop, test and incorporate the latest advances in care for the sickest and most vulnerable patients.
Fellowships at Nationwide Children’s will help fill those gaps and ensure that the future generations of children receive the high quality of care they deserve. Robust and diverse fellowship programs substantially enhance hospitals’ reputation as a leader in training the next generation of physician clinical and scientific experts.
The Wolfe Associates, Inc. Fellowship in Endocrinology in Honor of Dr. Juan Sotos
Pediatric endocrinology is a medical subspecialty dealing with variations of physical growth and sexual development in childhood, as well as diabetes and other disorders of the endocrine glands. While Type 1 diabetes accounts for the greatest number of patients, advances in clinical and translational research have identified many other patients with rare diseases that can benefit from the clinical expertise of a pediatric endocrinologist. New evidence has identified endocrine-related co-morbidities in other common disorders such as patients with head injury and brain tumors. This Fellowship serves to cultivate the next great generation of physician specialists to follow in the footsteps of pre-eminent pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Juan Sotos.