Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) Fellowship Program
Welcome from Our Program Director
I’m so glad you’re interested in our DBP Fellowship!
Our program can provide you with any career path you desire. We are a large division consisting of MDs, PhDs, and NPs with various mixed clinical and research interests. As such, fellows can pursue a specific fellowship track, including 1) motor and complex care, 2) autism and developmental differences, and 3) at-risk children and the family context. Our faculty are encouraging and collaborative and are here to support fellows in scholarly activities covering a range of topics. Together, Dr. Rebecca Scharf (assistant PD) and I will aim to foster the unique goals of each fellow.
I truly hope you will continue to explore our program! Please send me a message with any questions.
Warmly,
Valentina Intagliata MD
DBP Fellowship Program Director
DBP Overview
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics is a pediatric subspecialty dealing with the identification, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of development and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults. These disorders generally imply long-term, often lifelong, diseases and limitations. Conditions commonly encountered in this specialty include, but are not limited to:
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
• Autism spectrum disorders
• Intellectual impairment
• Specific learning impairments
• Cerebral palsy
• Acquired brain injury
• Myelomeningocele
• Muscular dystrophy
• Down syndrome and other genetic disorders
• Emotional and behavioral problems
• Medical complexity
Our DBP Fellowship Program at UVA
The Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Virginia (UVA) is proud of our commitment to excellence in patient care, trainee education, research, and society. Our three-year Fellowship Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Successful completion of the fellowship qualifies the trainee for the Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics examination, which is required for certification by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP).
The UVA DBP fellowship also incorporates a Leadership in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) certificate upon graduation. The LEND program is a prestigious, federally-funded training experience that is integrated during one of the three years of the DBP fellowship. DBP Graduates state that the LEND network supports them throughout their careers in research collaboration, job opportunities, and community collegiality, focused on individuals with developmental impairments.
- Developmental pediatrics content outline as per the ABP
- Foundations of developmental-behavioral pediatrics
- Biological mechanisms of development and behavior
- Family and societal factors
- Elements of assessment and management
- Adaptation to general health problems and their treatment
- Development-behavioral aspects of chronic conditions
- Cognitive/adaptive impairments
- Specific learning disorders
- Motor impairments
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Externalizing and internalizing behaviors and conditions
- Substance use disorder
- Child abuse and neglect
- Somatic symptoms and related disorders
- Sleep problems and sleep-wake disorders
- Feeding and eating problems
- Elimination disorders
- Orientation
- Law, policy, and ethics
- Core knowledge in scholarly activities, including research and teaching
- Competency-based medical education as per the ACGME:
- Patient care
- Medical knowledge
- Practice-based learning and improvement
- Interpersonal and communication skills
- Professionalism
- Systems-based practice
About the UVA Division of Neuro-Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
The NDBP Fellowship offers a comprehensive experience primarily within the Division of Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, complemented by interdisciplinary rotations in child psychiatry, medical genetics, and neurology across the broader healthcare system. A key mission of the NDBP Division is to deliver comprehensive, interdisciplinary care to patients and families, while also raising awareness about the impact of developmental disabilities within both the medical community and the general public.
- Maintaining outstanding quality clinical services to patients and their families
- Supporting specialized inter-disciplinary clinics such as for children with cerebral palsy, myelomeningocele, muscular dystrophy, and acquired brain injury as well as neonatal high-risk infants
- Providing consultation for pediatric inpatient units of the UVA Health System and for medical practitioners throughout Virginia
- Teaching normal and aberrant development to medical students, pediatric house-staff, and fellows
- Promoting recognition of the importance of developmental and behavioral pediatrics through publications, presentations at scientific meetings, and participation in community activities and ongoing education programs
- Promoting and conducting clinical research and quality improvement projects to improve care of children with impairments.
