The program serves as a catalyst for discovery and career growth among the most promising researchers in gastroenterology and hepatology.
“This year’s awardees are an exceptional group of investigators who are committed to furthering patient care through research,” said Michael Camilleri, MD, AGAF, chair, AGA Research Foundation. “The AGA Research Foundation is proud to fund these investigators and their ongoing efforts to advance GI research at a critical time in their careers. We believe the Foundation’s investment will ultimately enable new discoveries in gastroenterology and hepatology that will benefit patients.”
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. Here are this year’s award recipients:
RESEARCH SCHOLAR AWARDS
AGA Research Scholar Award
- Karen Jane Dunbar, PhD, Columbia University, New York, New York
- Aaron Hecht, MD, PhD, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Sarah Maxwell, MD, University of California, San Francisco
- Chung Sang Tse, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jason (Yanjia) Zhang, MD, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts
AGA-Bristol Myers Squibb Research Scholar Award in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Joseph R. Burclaff, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
SPECIALTY AWARDS
AGA-Caroline Craig Augustyn & Damian Augustyn Award in Digestive Cancer
- Swathi Eluri, MD, MSCR, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
AGA-R. Robert & Sally Funderburg Research Award in Gastric Cancer
- Jianwen Que, MD, PhD, Columbia University, New York, New York
AGA-Pfizer Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award
- Lianna Wood, MD, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts
AGA-Ironwood Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award
- ZeNan Li Chang, MD, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
PILOT AWARDS
AGA Pilot Research Award
- Linda C. Cummings, MD, MS, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
- Pooja Mehta, MD, MSCS, University of Colorado Denver
- Guilherme Piovezani Ramos, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital
- Simon Schwoerer, PhD, University of Chicago, Illinois
- Yankai Wen, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
AGA-Pfizer Pilot Research Award in Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
- Alice Cheng, PhD, Stanford University, California
- Petra Hirsova, PhD, PharmD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
- Sarah Maxwell, MD, University of California, San Francisco
AGA-Pfizer Pilot Research Award in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- David Boone, PhD, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Sara Chloe Di Rienzi, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
- Jared Andrew Sninsky, MD, MSCR, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARDS
AGA-Aman Armaan Ahmed Family Surf for Success Program
- Eli Burstein, Yeshiva University, New York, New York
- Chloe Carlisle, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
- Adna Hassan, University of Minnesota Rochester
- Nicole Rodriguez Hilario, Barry University, Miami, Florida
- Maryam Jimoh, College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio
- Viktoriya Kalinina, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
AGA-Dr. Harvey Young Education & Development Foundation’s Young Guts Scholar Program
- Rafaella Lavalle Lacerda de Almeida, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
- Lara Cheesman, John’s Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Cass Condray, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
- Daniel Juarez, Columbia University, New York, New York
- Jason Lin, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Riya Malhotra, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
- Brian Nguyen, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
- Mahmoud (Moudy) Salem, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
ABSTRACT AWARDS
AGA Fellow Abstract of the Year Award
- Andrea Tou, MD Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AGA Fellow Abstract Awards
- Manik Aggarwal, MBBS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
- Kole Buckley, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jane Ha, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Brent Hiramoto, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Md Obaidul Islam, PhD, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
- Kanak Kennedy, MD, MPH, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Hanseul Kim, PhD, MS, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Chiraag Kulkarni, MD, Stanford University, Stanford, California
- Su-Hyung Lee, PhD, DVM, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
- Caroline Muiler, PhD, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Sarah Najjar, PhD, New York University, New York, New York
- Ronaldo Panganiban, MD, PhD Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Perseus Patel, MD, Stanford University, California
- Hassan Sinan, MD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Patricia Snarski, PhD, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Fernando Vicentini, PhD, MS, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Remington Winter, MD, University of Manitoba – Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Tiaosi Xing, PhD, MBBS, MS, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania
AGA Student Abstract of the Year Award
- Jazmyne Jackson, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AGA Student Abstract Award
- Valentina Alvarez, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington
- Yasaman Bahojb Habibyan, MS, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Tessa Herman, MD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Jason Jin, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Frederikke Larsen, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
- Kara McNamara, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
- Julia Sessions, MD, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
- Scott Silvey, MS, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
- Vijaya Sundaram, Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia
- Kafayat Yusuf, MS, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
