ACG Institute Research Grant Recipients - American College of Gastroenterology

The ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education is pleased to announce the award of $1,516,742 in support of outstanding clinical research in gastroenterology. For 2020, the ACG Institute will support four Junior Faculty Development Awards, at an overall level of $300,000 – an investment in career development which recognizes and supports promising clinical researchers. The 2020 Clinical Research Awards will go to 7 investigators, for a total of $253,049. The Medical Resident Awards and Medical Student Awards – new this year – will go to 9 investigators – for a total of $63,693.

2020 ACG Junior Faculty Development Grant

The ACG Junior Faculty Development Grant is a three-year award in the amount of $300,000, designed to support a junior faculty member or mid-career clinical investigator of outstanding promise to establish an independent, productive career in gastroenterology or hepatology. This award of $100,000 per year for each of three years provides salary support for protected time to young investigators at critical points in their career development.

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

Each year, the Institute offers Clinical Research Awards, in the amount of $50,000 for original clinical research. In 2020, 3 investigators were funded.

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 Award Pilot Grant Recipients

The Institute also considers proposals within the Clinical Research Award category for pilot awards of up to $15,000. In 2020, 4 investigators were funded.

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 Medical Resident Clinical Research Award

The ACG Medical Resident Clinical Research Award is a new one-year award in the amount of $10,000 for original clinical research. For 2020, 5 investigators were funded. This award separately supports travel to the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting.

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

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

Chiraag Kulkarni, MD
Stanford University
Outcomes of Infections in Patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: An Analysis of the Effect of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Status

2020 Medical Student Research Award

The ACG Medical Student Research Award is a new award for first, second or third year medical students, of up to $5,000 for a 6-10 week summer research project in gastroenterology or hepatology. For 2020, 4 medical students were funded. This award separately supports travel to the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting.

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 Awards
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.