Jane M. Britannic, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, was one of 15 junior faculty nationwide selected to receive a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Physician Faculty Scholars Program Award. The $300,000 grant is for three years and will start on July 1.

Dr. Brotanek works at the Center for Advancement of Underserved Children to improve the health and health care of underserved children, particularly minority and poor children with inadequate access to quality health care due to language and cultural barriers. The Center is a joint program of the Medical College and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, a major teaching affiliate of the College.

Her most recent article, "Iron Deficiency, Prolonged Bottle-Feeding, and Racial/Ethnic Disparities," published in the "Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine," showed that children with prolonged bottle-feeding and Mexican American children are at higher risk for iron deficiency.

As a Robert Wood Johnson Physician Faculty Scholar, she will conduct a series of studies using both qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide a comprehensive understanding of the contribution of infant feeding practices to iron deficiency. Her research could improve the health of many children by finding ways to modify infant feeding practices to lower the prevalence of iron deficiency.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Physician Faculty Scholars Program provides talented junior faculty, nominated by their medical schools, with support to enhance their skills and productivity through institutional and national mentoring, protected time, and research experience.

"We are delighted that Dr. Brotanek is one of a handful of recipients of this award," says Glenn Flores, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Center for Advancement of Underserved Children. "It will enable Dr. Brotanek to spend 80 percent of her time in research addressing a major public health problem, iron-deficiency anemia in children."

Iron-deficiency anemia in children is associated with behavioral and cognitive delays, including impaired learning, school achievement, and mental and motor development.

About 2.4 million American children have iron deficiency, and 490,000 have iron-deficiency anemia. Iron deficiency affects nine percent in all U.S. toddlers and 18 percent of Mexican American toddlers with prolonged bottle-feeding. Given the detrimental long-term effects and high prevalence of iron deficiency, its prevention is an important public health issue.

Dr. Brotanek plans to use national database analyses, focus groups, and a large-scale survey to identify risk factors for prolonged bottle-feeding and iron deficiency and to assess iron-deficiency related beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors among Mexican American parents, the racial/ethnic group at greatest risk for prolonged bottle-feeding and iron deficiency.

She will also identify parents‚ and physicians‚ perspectives on appropriate screening and guidance strategies to decrease prolonged bottle-feeding and increase toddlers‚ intake of iron-rich foods. Finally, she will conduct a pilot study of an intervention derived from these study findings and designed to lower the prevalence of iron deficiency by decreasing duration of bottle-feeding among Mexican American toddlers.

Multilingual and proficient in Spanish, Dr. Brotanek’s clinical research focuses on finding ways to lessen disparities in health among Latino children in order to improve their well-being and help them develop to their fullest potential. She has worked with the Latino communities in New York City, Rochester, New York and Milwaukee. In Milwaukee, she teaches bilingual medical residents working with Latino families at the Downtown Health Center, and cares for Latino children at the 16th Street Community Health Center.

She completed a general academic pediatric fellowship and received an M.P.H. degree in health services research and epidemiology from the University of Rochester, New York. Dr. Brotanek is a graduate of New York University Medical School, and received her BA degree with honors from Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut.