LSUHSC's Noel recognized nationally for outstanding achievement

Dr. R. Adam Noel, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, was selected by the American Academy of Pediatrics as one of two recipients of the 2013 Outstanding Achievement Award. The award was presented by the Section on Epidemiology/Council on Community Pediatrics on October 27, 2013, at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting.

An LSUHSC pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Noel was honored for his work over the past two years on neodymium, or rare earth, magnets. After seeing several cases in a short period of time in his practice at Children's Hospital resulting from children swallowing these tiny, powerful magnets, he led an international effort to identify the incidence and dangers of these magnets to kids. Dr. Noel was the principal investigator of the first large study on the issue, a landmark study he conducted with the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition that documented a drastic increase in cases and associated illness. His research results contributed to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's action recalling neodymium magnet adult desk toys and lawsuits to compel companies to stop selling these magnet sets and comply with the recall. His work also led to similar work in Canada and abroad. At the same time, Dr. Noel has worked tirelessly to increase awareness of the dangers of these powerful magnets to protect children and families.

Provided by Louisiana State University