MD, MPH, FACG
Clinical Research Grants Awarded by the ACG Institute for Clinical Research & Education
Dear Colleagues:
The College is committed to advancing the field of GI through the support of clinical research. This commitment is manifest in many ways, the most obvious being clinical grants awarded by the ACG Institute for Clinical Research & Education, which recently observed its 25th anniversary. Through the clinical grants program, the College annually awards substantial funds to promising researchers and projects, last year totaling $1,516,741. These awards are especially instrumental in the development of young clinical investigators.
Junior Faculty Development Grants
Our Junior Faculty Development program has proven itself to be a significant incubator of young research talent in our field and numbers multiple division chiefs, department chairs, deans, and other significant contributors to academic medicine amongst its alumni. These research awards, which currently protect a substantial amount of time for research early in the careers of these recipients, are the “rocket fuel” that allows these careers to take off.
Clinical Research Awards & Pilot Awards
Our smaller awards, including ACG’s Clinical Research Awards and Pilot Awards, provide investigators not only external validation of the quality of their work, but also the seed money which often spurs other awards and further investigation. Given that the vast majority of our awards result in one or more peer-reviewed publications, members of the College can be proud of the performance of this program.
ACG Clinical Research Awards for Medical Students & Medical Residents
New this year are the ACG Clinical Research Awards for Medical Residents and Medical Students. The purpose of these awards is to recognize and support promising trainees as they develop a career in clinical research in gastroenterology and hepatology, also providing the opportunity to travel to the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting.
As always, we have invested in the future by having a large portion of the Institute’s research dollars go to promising young investigators whose projects are listed below.
– Nicholas J. Shaheen, MD, MPH, FACG
Director, ACG Institute for Clinical Research & Education
2020 Junior Faculty Development Grants ($100,00 per year for 3 years)
This award allows for a three-year window of protected research time for these promising clinical investigators. Four awardees were selected, representing a range of research interests and geographic locations. If history is any indicator, these four newest ACG Scholars will become leaders in academic medicine. Our thanks go out to Millie D. Long, MD, MPH, FACG, Chair, and the hard-working Research Committee, who consistently identify for the Institute the best young research talent and optimize the Institute’s return on our research grant dollar.
Patricia Bloom, MD
University of Michigan
Fecal Microbiota Transplant for the Treatment of Hepatic Encephalopathy
Kimberly Harer, MD, ScM
University of Michigan
Development of a Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) to Identify Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in Adult Gastroenterology Patients
Nadim Mahmud, MD, MS, MPH, MSCE
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Improving Surgical Risk Prediction in Patients with Cirrhosis
Ju Dong Yang, MD, MS
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Extracellular vesicle as a novel circulating biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma
2020 ACG Clinical Research Awards (up to $50,000)
Continued focus on excellence in research, in support of the ACG Clinical Research Awards and Pilot Awards, shows the commitment of the ACG Institute Board, Research Committee, and the ACG Board of Trustees to guarantee funding for the highest quality research that will be most useful in our field. The core areas of focus continue to be support of evidence-based medicine, impactful, pragmatic clinical research, and work on quality of care.
Vipul Jairath, MD, PhD
Western University
Development and Validation of a Novel Disease Activity Index for Pouchitis
Bryan Sauer, MD, MSc (Clin Res)*
University of Virginia
Identifying Food Triggers in Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) through Serum and Tissue IgG4 Levels
Sachin Wani, MD
University of Colorado Denver
Study of Compliance, Practice Patterns, and Barriers REgarding Established National Screening Programs for Barrett’s Esophagus: SCREEN-BE
2020 ACG Clinical Research Awards – Pilot Grants (up to $15,000)
Ankush Kalra, MD
University of California, Irvine
Dietary Counseling and Culinary Medicine in Gastroenterology Fellowship Training
Raaj Mehta, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Discovery of Gut Microbial Pathways for 5-ASA Metabolism
Daniel Schupack, MD
Mayo Clinic Rochester
The Role of Colonic Mucosal Colonization of C. difficile in Recurrent C. difficile infection
Amelie Therrien, MD, MS
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Involvement of Mast Cells in Symptomatic Celiac Disease
2020 ACG Medical Resident Clinical Research Award ($10,000)
Jonathan Downie, MD, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Colon Cancer Evolution in MUTYH Heterozygotes
Stephen Firkins, MD
The Ohio State University
A Cloud-hosted Artificial Intelligence Algorithm for the Automated Detection of Polyps During Colonoscopy: A Pilot Study
Chiraag Kulkarni, MD
Stanford University
Outcomes of Infections in Patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: An Analysis of the Effect of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Status
Eric Lorio, MD
UT Health San Antonio
Pediatric ERCP: A Multi-Pronged Examination of Short-Term and Long-Term Outcomes
Jesus Luevano, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Functional and Transcriptional Consequences of Aspirin Use on the Human Fecal Microbiome
2020 Medical Student Research Award (up to $5,000)
Nia Adeniji, M. Eng
Stanford School of Medicine
Prognostic Role of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Jordyn Feingold, MAPP
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Empowered Transitions: Understanding the Experience of Transitioning to Adult Care Among Adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Their Parents Using Photovoice
Soham Rege, BS
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Provider Recommendations after Surveillance Colonoscopy in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study
Sho Yoshitake, BS
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Comparison of Lipophilic and Hydrophilic Statins in the Chemoprevention of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-analysis
ACG/Takeda 2020 Clinical Research Award
Takeda has provided unrestricted support to the ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education. In recognition, the ACG/Takeda Clinical Research Awards are provided to qualifying investigators. The ACG/Takeda Clinical Research Award is designated after the ACG Research Committee has made its grant decisions and the awardees have accepted.
For 2020, Takeda has elected to designate the following submission as an ACG/Takeda Clinical Research Award:
Bryan Sauer, MD, MSc (Clin Res)*, University of Virginia
Identifying Food Triggers in Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) through Serum and Tissue IgG4 Levels
The ACG 2020 Clinical Research Awards are a project of the ACG Institute and are supported by charitable contributions to the G.U.T. Fund. The G.U.T. Fund is the Institute’s campaign, whose mission is to Grow, Uplift, and Transform GI Research and Education.
About the ACG Institute for Clinical Research & Education
The mission of the American College of Gastroenterology Institute for Clinical Research & Education is to promote digestive health through education of the clinician, the patient, and the public; to support clinical research and innovation in gastroenterology and hepatology; and to raise public awareness about prevention of digestive disease.