NASPGHAN | 2025 Award Winners

The Harry Schwachman Award

Jorge A. Bezerra, MD

Margaret Stallings NASPGHAN Distinguished Service Award

Valeria Cohran, MD

AAP Murray Davidson Award

Carlo Di Lorenzo, MD, FAAP, NASPGHAN-F

NASPGHAN Master Educator Award

Stephen M. Borowitz, MD

NASPGHAN Foundation Teri Li Young Educator Award

Gary Galante, MD, BSc, MEd, FRCPC

The Grand Watkins Prize

Jonathan Miller, MD

New York-Presbyterian, New York, NY

FGFBP1+ UPPER CRYPT STEM CELLS REGENERATE INJURED INTESTINAL EPITHELIUM

Gerard Odell Prize for Excellence in Liver Research

Sandra Ríos-Meléndez, MD

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

NOVEL POINT-OF-CARE DIAGNOSTIC RISK MODEL AND CLINICAL CALCULATOR FOR BILIARY ATRESIA

Amin Tjota Prize for Excellence in Pancreatic Research

Olawale Oduru, MD

UAB Medical Center/Children’s of Alabama, Birmingham, AL

CHILDREN WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE HOSPITALIZED AT CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS WITH ACUTE PANCREATITIS HAVE A LONGER LENGTH OF STAY AND REQUIRE MORE PROCEDURES COMPARED TO THOSE WITHOUT SICKLE CELL DISEASE

NASPGHAN Foundation/Takeda Pharmaceutical Products Inc. Research Innovation Award

Anna Peters, MD

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

MODELING MACROPHAGE-CHOLANGIOCYTE INTERACTIONS IN CHRONIC DUCTOPENIC REJECTION WITH PRIMARY HUMAN CHOLANGIOCYTE ORGANOIDS

NASPGHAN Foundation Mid-Career Development Award

Jodie Ouahed, MD, MMSc, FRCPC, FAAP

Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA

ROLE OF MELANOMA DIFFERENTIATION-ASSOCIATED 5 (MDA5)-VIRAL SENSING IN INTESTINAL MUCOSAL HOMEOSTASIS

NASPGHAN Foundation/QOL Medical, LLC Research Award for the Study of Disorders Associated With Carbohydrate Maldigestion/Malabsorption in Children

Susan Gutierrez, MD

UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, San Francisco, CA

Identifying Effective Strategies for Enteral Autonomy in Pediatric Intestinal Failure: Real-World Evidence and Stakeholder Perspectives

NASPGHAN Foundation/George Ferry Young Investigator Development Award

Casey Johnson, MD

Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA

METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING AS A THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR MICROVILLUS INCLUSION DISEASE: TARGETING PPARα-MEDIATED LIPID HOMEOSTASIS

NASPGHAN Foundation/Sanofi Young Investigator Development Award for the Study of Pediatric Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders

Matthew Adrian Buendia, MD

Monroe Carell Jr Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN

DETERMINING THE EFFECT OF N-ACETYLCYSTEINE ON FIBROSIS IN EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS

NASPGHAN Foundation Young Investigator Development Award for the Study of Pediatric Liver Disease and/or Liver Transplantation Support by Education Grants from Ipsen and Mirum

Silvia Nastasio, MD

Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA

THE ROLE OF ifn–γ SIGNALING IN PEDIATRIC AUTOIMMUNE HEPATITIS: TOWARD MECHANISTIC INSIGHT AND PRECISION BIOMARKERS

NASPGHAN Foundation/Crohn’s & Colitis IBD Young Investigator Award

Gui Piovezani Ramos, MD

Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, AZ

THE ROLE OF ENTEROENDOCRINE CELLS IN IBD PATHOGENESIS

NASPGHAN Foundation Advanced Fellowship in Pediatric Endoscopy

Olawale Oduru, MD

UAB Medical Center/Children’s of Alabama, Birmingham, AL

FEASIBILITY AND SAFETY OF ENDOSCOPIC CHEMICAL PANCREATECTOMY VIA ERCP-GUIDED ACETIC ACID INFUSION IN A GOAT MODEL

NASPGHAN Foundation/Abbott Nutrition Advanced Fellowship Training in Pediatric Nutrition

Courtney Svenstrup, MD

Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, IN

USING SPATIAL TRANSCRIPTOMICS TO PREDICT TEDUGLUTIDE RESPONSE IN CHILDREN WITH SHORT BOWEL SYNDROME

NASPGHAN Foundation/CPNP Nutrition Research Grants

Caitie Hessenthaler, BS, MS

Children’s Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

COMPARING ACCURACY OF LENGTH MEASUREMENTS USING LENGTH BOARD VS LENGTH MAT IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF AGE

NASPGHAN Foundation Innovations in Clinical Care Grant

Alaa Abdelghani, MBBS, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, San Francisco, CA

MACHINE LEARNING MODEL FOR TACROLIMUS DOSING

Ilana K. Moss, PhD, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Streamind Health, Los Angeles, CA

THE GUT GUIDE: DEVELOPING A DIGITAL RESOURCE LIBRARY FOR YOUTH WITH DGBIS

NASPGHAN Foundation/APGNN/CPNP Nutrition Advocate Awards With Support From Abbott

Patricia A. Bierly, MSN, CRNP – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (APGNN – Nurse)

Lauren Fiechtner, MD, MPH – MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Boston, MA (NASPGHAN – Physician)

Christy Figueredo, MS, RD, CSP – University of Miami, Miami, FL (CPNP – Dietician)

Celiac Disease Foundation/NASPGHAN Foundation Pilot Grant

Monique Germone, PhD

Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO

IMPROVING THE SCREENING PROCESS FOR CELIAC DISEASE IN CHILDREN: INTERVIEWING CAREGIVERS TO UNCOVER BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO DIAGNOSTIC CONFIRMATION