AGA is proud to announce the 61 recipients selected to receive research funding through its annual AGA Research Foundation Awards Program. The program serves as a catalyst for discovery and career growth among the most promising researchers in gastroenterology and hepatology.
“Our award recipients demonstrate an undeniable determination to improve the care of digestive health patients,” said Robert S. Sandler, MD, MPH, AGAF, chair of the AGA Research Foundation. “We are investing in talented early-career investigators knowing that their work will ultimately benefit patients with critical needs.”
Recipients of the AGA Research Foundation's awards are shown.
“In the past year, we expanded our awards program and elevated the importance of engaging underrepresented groups into the field of GI research,” Dr. Sandler said. “We are encouraged by the range of candidates who applied for funding and look forward to the results of their research.”
The AGA Research Foundation Awards Program is made possible thanks to generous donors and funders.
Here are this year’s award recipients:
Research Scholar Awards
AGA Research Scholar Award
Kathleen Curtius, PhD, MS, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla
Trisha Satya Pasricha, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
Bomi Lee, PhD, MS, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.
Christine E. Eyler, MD, PhD, Duke University, Durham, N.C.
Joel Gabre, MD, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
AGA–Bern Schwartz Family Fund Research Scholar Award in Pancreatic Cancer
Srinivas Gaddam, MD, MPH, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
AGA–Takeda Pharmaceuticals Research Scholar Award in Celiac Disease
Claire L. Jansson-Knodell, MD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland
Specialty Awards
AGA–R. Robert & Sally Funderburg Research Award in Gastric Cancer
Eunyoung Choi, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn.
AGA–Caroline Craig Augustyn & Damian Augustyn Award in Digestive Cancer
Sarah Palmer Short, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn.
Pilot Awards
AGA–Medtronic Pilot Research Award in Artificial Intelligence
Dennis Shung, MD, MHS, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.
AGA–Merck Pilot Research Award in Colorectal Cancer Health Disparities
Sonia Kupfer, MD, The University of Chicago, Chicago
AGA–Bristol Myers Squibb Pilot Research Award in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Health Disparities
Chung Sang Tse, MD, University of California, San Diego
AGA Pilot Research Award in Health Disparities (funded by Janssen Biotech)
Jennifer Flemming, MD, MAS, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ont.
AGA Pilot Research Award in Digestive Disease Health Disparities
Young-Rock Hong, PhD, MPH, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
AGA–Amgen Pilot Research Award in Digestive Disease Health Disparities
Zachary Reichenbach, MD, PhD, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia
AGA–Pfizer Pilot Research Award in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Melinda Engevik, PhD, MS, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston
Andre Paes Batista da Silva, PhD, MSC, DDS, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland
Karen Edelblum, PhD, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, N.J.
Undergraduate Research Awards
AGA–Aman Armaan Ahmed Family Summer Undergraduate Research Award
Gabriela Ortiz, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
Daniella Montalvo, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami
Subear Hussein, Children’s Hospital, Boston
Hussein Herz, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City
Kaleb Tesfai, University of California, San Diego
Varun Ponnusamy, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Mich.
