Center for
Global Health

Associate Scholar

Languages: English, Spanish(intermediate)

BIO STATEMENT

Vanessa Denny, MD, MS is an Attending Physician in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Of Caribbean descent and a first-generation Canadian, Dr. Denny has lived and worked throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and Sub-Saharan Africa — experiences that continue to shape her commitment to equitable global health partnerships and sustainable capacity-building in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Denny's academic work focuses on improving outcomes for critically ill children in resource-limited settings through innovations in telemedicine, simulation-based education, and implementation science. Her research centers on the development of scalable educational and telemedicine interventions for healthcare providers, with a particular emphasis on pediatric acute care systems. She recently led a prospective mixed-methods study evaluating a low-bandwidth telesimulation training program for the recognition and management of pediatric septic shock at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. Developed in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication Extended Reality Lab, the intervention used culturally adapted, case-based simulation in the emergency department setting. Following implementation, the study demonstrated significant improvements in time-critical sepsis interventions and was associated with a substantial reduction in pediatric septic shock mortality.

Dr. Denny's work sits at the intersection of global critical care, medical education, and implementation science. She is dedicated to fostering sustainable, bidirectional partnerships that strengthen pediatric acute care capacity in underserved settings worldwide, with future scholarly directions targeting innovations in global health education and implementation science.

Recent Global Health Projects

1. Resuscitation, Education, Acute Care, Help (REACH) Tele-simulation Program – Sub-Saharan Africa

Dr. Denny leads a multidisciplinary collaboration focused on improving pediatric septic shock recognition, preparedness, and outcomes through low-bandwidth tele-simulation training in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project was piloted at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in partnership with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the University of Pennsylvania Center for Global Health, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. The intervention leverages a novel interactive tele-simulation platform (“Annenberg Hotkeys”) to provide culturally adapted pediatric critical care training for clinicians in resource-limited settings. Early outcomes data demonstrated improvements in critical sepsis care processes and a marked decrease in pediatric septic shock mortality following implementation. This has now been expanded to multiple centers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

2. REACH Telemedicine and Acute Care Initiative – Ghana

Building on initial telesimulation outcomes data, Dr. Denny and team are developing expanded telemedicine and tele-education initiatives aimed at strengthening pediatric critical care delivery across Ghana. This work focuses on implementation strategies for scalable tele-consultation, simulation-based training, and systems-level support for critically ill children in low-resource environments.

Publications

Denny VC, Amisah J, Appiah JA, Woods-Hill CZ, Wolfe HA, Nettey G, Acheampong PR, Owusu L, Cassidy K, Sanseau E, Zhang B, James EJG, Nadkarni VM. Pediatric emergency department care for septic shock in Sub-Saharan Africa: single-center outcomes before-vs-after implementation of a telesimulation program, 2023–2024. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2026 Apr 2. doi:10.1097/PCC.0000000000003941.


Sanseau E, Cassidy K, Denny V, Jacob James E, Nadkarni V. Annenberg Hotkeys: A Free, Simple, Interactive Learning Platform. Cureus. 2025 Mar 29;17(3):e81412. doi: 10.7759/cureus.81412. PMID: 40296927; PMCID: PMC12036496.

Denny VC, Appiah JA, Nadkarni VM, et al. Barriers and facilitators when seeking healthcare for septic children in Ghana: a single-centre qualitative study of patient caregivers and emergency department clinicians BMJ Paediatrics Open 2024;8:e002814. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2024-002814

Denny, Vanessa MDa; Shah, Niva DOa; Petro, Karolina MDa; Choksey, Karishma MDa; DeSantis, Elizabeth APNa; Hintz, Molly MDa; Rethi, Shruthi MDa; Sanchez, Sarah MDa; Sylla, Bernadette MDa; Chiu, Stephanie MPHb; Gagliardo, Christina MDa,c; Kairam, Neeraja MDc,d; Nwaobasi-Iwuh, Eberechi MDa,c; Di Pentima, M. Cecilia MD, MPH, FAAPa,c,∗. Impact of outpatient SARS-CoV-2 infections in minority children. Medicine: February 26, 2021 - Volume 100 - Issue 8 - p e24895
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000024895 

Denny VC, Cassese JS, Jacobsen KH. Nonfatal injury incidence and risk factors among middle school students from four Polynesian countries: The Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga. Injury. 2016 May;47(5):1135-42. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2015.12.018. Epub 2015 Dec 29. PMID: 26775210.

Last Updated: 18 May 2026