Bethesda, MD (May 3, 2022) — The American Gastroenterological Association (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, AGA Research Foundation. “We are investing in talented early career investigators knowing that their work will ultimately benefit patients with critical needs.”
Treatment options for digestive diseases begin with vigorous research. The AGA Research Foundation supports medical investigators as they advance our understanding of gastrointestinal and liver conditions.
“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.”
RESEARCH SCHOLAR AWARDS
AGA RESEARCH SCHOLAR AWARD
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Kathleen Curtius, PhD, MS, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
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Trisha Satya Pasricha, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
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Bomi Lee, PhD, MS Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
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Christine E. Eyler, MD, PhD, Duke University, Durham, NC
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Joel Gabre, MD, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
AGA-BERN SCHWARTZ FAMILY FUND RESEARCH SCHOLAR AWARD IN PANCREATIC CANCER
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Srinivas Gaddam, MD, MPH, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
AGA-TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICALS RESEARCH SCHOLAR AWARD IN CELIAC DISEASE
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Claire L. Jansson-Knodell, MD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
SPECIALTY AWARDS
AGA-CAROLINE CRAIG AUGUSTYN & DAMIAN AUGUSTYN AWARD IN DIGESTIVE CANCER
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Sarah Palmer Short, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
AGA-R. ROBERT & SALLY FUNDERBURG RESEARCH AWARD IN GASTRIC CANCER
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Eunyoung Choi, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
PILOT AWARDS
AGA-MEDTRONIC PILOT RESEARCH AWARD IN ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE
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Dennis Shung, MD, MHS, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
AGA-MERCK PILOT RESEARCH AWARD IN COLORECTAL CANCER HEALTH DISPARITIES
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Sonia Kupfer, MD, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
AGA-BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB PILOT RESEARCH AWARD IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE HEALTH DISPARITIES
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Chung Sang Tse, MD, University of California, San Diego, CA
AGA PILOT RESEARCH AWARD IN HEALTH DISPARITIES (Funded by Janssen Biotech, Inc.)
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Jennifer Flemming, MD, MAS, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
AGA PILOT RESEARCH AWARD IN DIGESTIVE DISEASE HEALTH DISPARITIES
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Young-Rock Hong, PhD, MPH, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
AGA-AMGEN PILOT RESEARCH AWARD IN DIGESTIVE DISEASE HEALTH DISPARITIES
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Zachary Reichenbach, MD, PhD, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
AGA-PFIZER PILOT RESEARCH AWARD IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE
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Melinda Engevik, PhD, MS, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
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Andre Paes Batista da Silva, PhD, MSC, DDS, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
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Karen Edelblum, PhD, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARDS
AGA-AMAN ARMAAN AHMED FAMILY SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARD
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Gabriela Ortiz, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
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Daniella Montalvo, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
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Subear Hussein, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
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Hussein Herz, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA
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Kaleb Tesfai, University of California, San Diego
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Varun Ponnusamy, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI
ABSTRACT AWARDS
FELLOW ABSTRACT AWARDS
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Nicolette Rodriguez, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
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Hyunseok Kim, MD, PhD, MPH, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
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Margaret Zhou, MD, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
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Steven Steinway, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
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Su-Hyung Lee, PhD, DVM, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
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Ian Greenberg, MD, Dallas Methodist Hospital, Dallas, TX
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Jonathan Xia, MD, PhD, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
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Donevan Westerveld, MD, NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
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Haley Zylberberg, MD, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
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Maria Jesus Villanueva Millan, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
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Duke Geem, MD, PhD. Children s Healthcare of Atlanta/Emory University, Atlanta, GA
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Fauzi Feris Jassir, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
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Melissa Musser, MD, PhD, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
AGA FELLOW ABSTRACT OF THE YEAR AWARD
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Masaru Sasaki, MD, PhD, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA
STUDENT ABSTRACT AWARDS
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Kushal Saha, MS, BS, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
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Winston Liu, BS. Duke University, Durham, NC
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Yoojin Sohn, BS, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
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Jamie Yang, BS, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
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Rachel Hopton, BS, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
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Alina Li, BS, Columbia University, New York, NY
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Eleazar Montalvan Sanchez, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
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Christina Lin, MD, BA, BS, Kaiser Permanente Northern California -Santa Clara, CA
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Conrad Fernandes, MD, BA, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
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Hajar Hazime, MS, BS, University of Miami, FL
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Blaine Prichard, BS, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
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A. Georgetta Skinner, MS, BS, A.T. Still University, Kirksville, MO
AGA STUDENT ABSTRACT OF THE YEAR AWARD
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Anitha Vijay, MS, Penn State University, State College, PA
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Maafi Rizwana Islam, PhD, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
AGA ABSTRACT AWARD FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH
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Kai Wang, PhD (Fellow), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
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Alan De La Rosa, MD (Fellow), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
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Timothy Andrew Zaki, MD, BS (Student), UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
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Megan McLeod, MD, MS, BA, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (student)
AGA-APFED ABSTRACT AWARD IN EOSINOPHILIC GI DISEASES
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Takeo Hara, MD, PhD, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA
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Michael Wang, BS, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham. NC
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Melissa Nelson, MD, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX
AGA-MOTI L. & KAMLA RUSTGI INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AWARD
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Joost Algera, MD, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Ashkan Rezazadeh Ardabili, MD, MS, BS, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, Netherlands
The AGA Research Awards Program is made possible thanks to generous donors and funders. Learn more about the AGA Research Foundation at foundation.gastro.org.
More information
Learn more about AGA Research Foundation.
Donate to the AGA Research Foundation.
View all AGA Research Foundation awards.
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Contact for media: Courtney Reed, media@gastro.org, 301-272-0025
About the AGA Institute
The American Gastroenterological Association is the trusted voice of the GI community. Founded in 1897, the AGA has grown to more than 16,000 members from around the globe who are involved in all aspects of the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology. The AGA Institute administers the practice, research and educational programs of the organization. www.gastro.org
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About the AGA Research Foundation
The AGA Research Foundation is the cornerstone of AGA’s effort to expand digestive disease research funding. Since 1984, AGA, through its foundation, has provided more than $63 million in research grants to 1,162 scientists. The AGA Research Foundation serves as a bridge to the future of research in gastroenterology and hepatology by providing critical funding to advance the careers of talented researchers between the end of training and the establishment of credentials that earn National Institutes of Health grants. Learn more about the AGA Research Foundation or make a contribution at foundation.gastro.org.