Congratulations to the 2024 AGA Research Foundation awardees!

2024-AGA-Research-Foundation-Award-Recipients

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is proud to announce that it has selected 79 recipients to receive research funding through the 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.

“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.

Meet the 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

AGA–ERIC ESRAILIAN STUDENT ABSTRACT PRIZE

  • Brent Gawey, MD, MS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
  • Fei Li, MBBS, MS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • Emily Wong, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Jordan Woodard, MD, Prisma Health – Upstate, Greenville, South Carolina

AGA–RADHIKA SRINIVASAN STUDENT ABSTRACT PRIZE

  • Raz Abdulqadir, MS, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania
  • Rebecca Ekeanyanwu, MHS, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Jared Morris, MD, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg City, Manitoba, Canada
  • Rachel Stubler, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

AGA ABSTRACT AWARD FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH

  • Saqr Alsakarneh, MD University of Missouri-Kansas City
  • Marco Noriega, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Temitope Olasehinde, MD, University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Gabrielle Waclawik, MD, MPH, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

AGA-MOTI L. & KAMLA RUSTGI INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AWARD

  • W. Keith Tan, MBChB, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
  • Elsa van Liere, MD Amsterdam Universitair Medische Centra, Amsterdam, Netherlands