Costello receives AAP Early Career Physicians Leadership in Advocacy Award
Lisa Costello, M.D., MPH, FAAP, assistant professor in the WVU School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics received the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Early Career Physicians Leadership in Advocacy Award at the AAP National Conference on Oct 9.
The award is presented to early career physicians or entities that have empowered physicians to execute advocacy initiatives that improve health equity, engage with policymakers and community partners, and/or implement initiatives that have positively impacted children’s health and physician wellness.
Dr. Costello, who serves on the West Virginia Joint Interagency Task Force for COVID-19 has been an advisor to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health during the COVID-19 response, and is a member of the AAP Committee on State Government Affairs, has played a vital role in advocating for patients across West Virginia.
“It is a humbling honor to be this year’s recipient of the AAP’s Section on Early Career Physicians Leadership in Advocacy Award,” said Costello. “Advocacy on behalf of children and families is one of my passions and is ingrained in my work as a physician. I am grateful to get to share my experiences with learners about the importance of advocacy throughout their profession.”
Costello, a pediatric hospitalist at WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital who serves as co-director of the Pediatrics Clerkship, leads a healthcare literacy and patient advocacy curriculum thread for the M.D. program, and is the advisor for Student Advocates Impacting Decision on Healthcare, has been an integral part of the School of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics.
“We are so fortunate to have Dr. Costello on our staff and we admire her capable work,” said Dr. Mullett. “She is tireless in her advocacy for the wellbeing of the kids and has developed an influential voice in the halls of policy making. She was instrumental in our state’s efforts on managing the COVID pandemic and remains passionate about vaccine preventable diseases”
Costello received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from WVU and went on to complete her M.D. and Master of Public Health degrees at WVU. She completed a combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency at WVU and served as the program’s chief resident. She currently serves as the president of the West Virginia State Medical Association and is the immediate past president of the West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
To learn more about the Department of Pediatrics visit medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/pediatrics/.