UPMC Children's Hospital 2022 Year in Review

Year in Review: 2023

A Note from the Division Chief

The Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at UPMC Children’s is pleased to share a look back at some of the research and clinical accomplishments from faculty and staff during 2023. As our division continues to expand, we look forward to the new year ahead and sharing our contributions to the field.

We also invite you to get in touch with our division or our faculty members mentioned below to learn more about their research and clinical work or discuss ways to collaborate in the future.

Dr. Rudolph

Jeffrey Rudolph, MD

Interim Director, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition
Medical Director, Intestinal Care and Rehabilitation Center
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

UPMC Children’s Ranks as the #8 Best Pediatric Hospital in the U.S.

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is recognized as one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country, earning the #8 position on the 2023-24 U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals. The Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition ranked #10 in the nation among other pediatric GI/hepatology programs.

Save the Date: 13th International Pediatric Intestinal Failure and Rehabilitation Symposium

Join us for the 13th International Pediatric Intestinal Failure and Rehabilitation Symposium from Thursday, Sept. 26, to Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Pediatrics Residency Ranked Among Top Ten In The Country

Ranked as among the top ten of residency programs in the country by Doximity. This incredible recognition highlights the strength and robustness of our residency program, which provides world-class faculty mentoring and advising to our residents, helping them develop into the next generation of leading pediatricians, clinicians, and scientists.

Published Research, Clinical Trials, Grants

NASPGHAN Research Grant Awarded to Vikram Raghu, MD, MS. The grant provides funding for Dr. Raghu to expand his recruitment efforts in collecting health utility data in pediatric intestinal failure and transplant.

Investigating the Costs of Pediatric Intestine Transplants: Key Factors and Implications. The research analyzed pediatric intestine transplant data in the Pediatric Health Information System database from cases conducted between 2004 to 2020 to better understand the economic implications of these transplants.

UPMC Pediatric Liver Transplant Experts Study Impact of Technical Variant Grafts on Wait List Deaths, Outcomes. To address these challenges, a team of physician-scientists from UPMC, including George V. Mazariegos, MD, chief, Pediatric Transplantation, recently conducted a retrospective analysis on the impact of technical variant grafts (TVGs) on wait list mortality and pediatric liver transplant outcomes. Their study, “Center use of technical variant grafts varies widely and impacts pediatric liver transplant waitlist and recipient outcomes in the United States,” was published in Liver Transplantation.

Partial Liver Transplants for Kids Key to Preventing Waitlist Deaths and Improving Outcomes. Published in the July issue of Liver Transplantation, the study found that transplant centers offering partial liver transplants, also known as technical variant grafts (TVGs), had fewer waitlist deaths than those providing traditional whole deceased donor liver transplants only. The findings suggest that more training, support and collaboration across centers to support TVG transplants could help eliminate pediatric liver waitlist mortality.

UPMC Experts Publish Comprehensive Overview of Pediatric Primary Genetic Cholestasis. One in 2,500 newborns in North America have pathologic cholestatic liver disease. To increase awareness of genetic cholestatic liver diseases in the medical community, researchers from UPMC Children’s, including James. E. Squires, MD, MS, clinical lead, Starzl Network for Excellence in Liver Transplantation, and Maria Amendola, MD, published an overview of pediatric primary genetic cholestasis that is not related to biliary atresia, which encompasses between 25% and 50% of cases.

UPMC Pediatric Transplant Experts Collaborate to Study EBV in Abdominal and Thoracic Transplant Recipients. A multidisciplinary team of physician-scientists from UPMC Children’s collaborated on a study of chronic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to help improve risk stratification and clinical management of liver, kidney, and heart transplant recipients affected by the virus.

UPMC Children’s GI Researchers Contribute to Important New Study Uncovering Novel Insights into the Mechanisms of Action of 24-norUrsodeoxycholic Acid as a Therapeutic Option for Cholestatic Liver Disease. Division chief Andrew Feranchak, MD, and Qin Li, PhD, contributed to the study.

TMEM16A partners with mTOR to influence pathways of cell survival, proliferation, and migration in cholangiocarcinoma. Kulkarni S, Li Q, Singhi AD, Liu S, Monga SP, Feranchak AP. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2023 Aug 1;325(2):G122-G134.

Optimizing the pediatric transplant candidate. Squires JE, Raghu VK, Mazariegos GV. Curr Opin Organ Transplant. 2024 Feb 1;29(1):43-49.

Clinical spectrum and genetic causes of mitochondrial hepatopathy phenotype in children. Squires JE, Miethke AG, Valencia CA, Hawthorne K, Henn L, Van Hove JLK, Squires RH, Bove K, Horslen S, Kohli R, Molleston JP, Romero R, Alonso EM, Bezerra JA, Guthery SL, Hsu E, Karpen SJ, Loomes KM, Ng VL, Rosenthal P, Mysore K, Wang KS, Friederich MW, Magee JC, Sokol RJ; Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN).Hepatol Commun. 2023 May 15;7(6):e0139.

Inhibiting Wnt Signaling Reduces Cholestatic Injury by Disrupting the Inflammatory Axis. Ayers M, Kosar K, Xue Y, Goel C, Carson M, Lee E, Liu S, Brooks E, Cornuet P, Oertel M, Bhushan B, Nejak-Bowen K. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023;16(6):895-921.

Management of Esophageal Stricture and Perforation Complicated by Undiagnosed Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Pill Impaction. Reidy M, Primo J, Alissa F, Sinclair EM. JPGN Rep. 2023 Aug 29;4(4):e360.

Untargeted, High-Resolution Metabolomics in Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Sinclair EM, Cohen CC, Tran V, Jones DP, Alvarez JA, Kamaleswaran R, Rad MG, Kruszewski PG, Vos MB. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2023 Mar 1;76(3):355-363.

Predictors of 1-year enteral autonomy in children with intestinal failure: A descriptive retrospective cohort study. Raghu VK, Leraas HJ, Samoylova M, Park C, Rothenberger SD, Sudan D, Avitzur Y. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2023 Nov;47(8):1047-1055.

Pediatric intestine transplant cost: Analysis of the Pediatric Health Information System database. Raghu VK, Rothenberger SD, Rudolph JA, Mazariegos GV, Horslen SP, Smith KJ. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2023 May;47(4):511-518.

Liver transplantation for alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1ATD) using a heterozygous donor: Outcomes and review of the literature. Sood V, Lee EJ, Raghu V, Reyes-Mugica M, Salgado CM, Squires J, Mazariegos G. Pediatr Transplant. 2023 Jun;27(4):e14488.

Advancing the Field of Pediatric Liver Transplantation: Urgent Action Items Identified During the 2022 Society of Pediatric Liver Transplantation Meeting. Feldman AG, Adams M, Griesemer AD, Horslen S, Kelly B, Mavis AM, Mazariegos GV, Ng VL, Perito ER, Rodriguez-Davalos MI, Squires JE, Tiao G, Yanni GS, Hsu EK. Transplantation. 2023 Jun 1;107(6):1223-1225.

Nutrition support considerations in pediatric small bowel transplantation. Nucci AM, Crim K, King E, Ganoza AJ, Remaley L, Rudolph J. Nutr Clin Pract. 2023 Nov 5. doi: 10.1002/ncp.11091. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37925666 Review.

Telehealth for Pediatric Gastroenterology in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond. Say DS, Pathak S, Srinath A, Venkatesh RD, Ali S. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2023 Aug 1;77(2):150-152.

North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Position Statement for Telehealth. Franciosi JP, Berg EA, Rosen JM, Lee JA, Sandberg KC, Srinath A, Setty M, Li BUK. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2023 May 1;76(5):684-694.

Faculty News

Rachel Warsco Smith, MD, joined the Division. Dr. Smith specializes in fatty liver disease, liver transplant, and inflammatory bowel disease. She joined the Division in 2023 after completing a pediatric transplant hepatology fellowship at the University of Washington.

Douglas Lindblad, MD, was appointed as the new Medical Director of the Pancreatic Disorders Center at UPMC Children’s.

CME Course: PFIC - Genetic Contributions to Phenotype and Treatment Considerations. Pediatric hepatologist James Squires, MD, MS, discusses how to define the current understanding of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), delineate the gaps in current knowledge of PFIC disorders, and define opportunities for future collaborative research in PFIC.

"That's Pediatrics" Meet the Host Edition: Arvind Srinath, MD, MS. Learn more about "That's Pediatrics" podcast host and pediatric gastroenterologist, Arvind Srinath, MD, MS, as he discusses his career path in medicine and his work as an educator.

CME Course: Fixing the Gaps in Pediatric Liver Transplantation: Innovation and Collaboration. In this CME, George V. Mazariegos, MD, discusses how to identify key clinical challenges that face pediatric transplantation in the modern era, recognize what is currently being done at transplant centers like UPMC to create change in pediatric transplantation, and more.

Clinical Programs – New and Noteworthy Accomplishments

UPMC Children’s Multidisciplinary NICU/GI Intestinal Care Collaborative Program Works to Improve Patient Outcomes and Facilitate Transitions in Care. The Newborn Medicine, Pediatric Surgery, and Pediatric Gastroenterology divisions at UPMC Children’s have joined forces to create a collaborative partnership.

Learn More About Pitt's Multi-Disciplinary Cystic Fibrosis Research Center. A multidisciplinary research group comprised of faculty from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center (CFRC) sponsors initiatives to develop treatments for cystic fibrosis. With over twenty years of financial support from the National Institutes of Health, the CFRC continues to build on its interest in Respiratory Epithelial Biology as well as various clinical and drug development studies.

Conferences, Symposia, and Annual Meetings - Sharing Knowledge with the Field

UPMC Children's at NASPGHAN 2023. View the full list of faculty participation and explore career opportunities.

UPMC Physicians and Researchers Presented at American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) 2023 Meeting. The Liver Meeting 2023 was held in Boston from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14. Physicians and researchers from UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh shared their expertise in a range of liver conditions.

UPMC Children's at the AASLD 2023 Liver Meeting. View the full list of faculty participation at AASLD 2023.

Tackling the Tough Transitions in Pediatric Feeding. Course content included medical and therapeutic interventions that affect transitions in pediatric feeding.

UPMC Children’s at PAS 2023. Learn more about the innovative clinical work, research efforts, and opportunities at UPMC Children's. Visit our conference news page to see a list of faculty lectures and research presentations.

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Year in Review: 2023

A Note from the Division Chief

UPMC Children’s Ranks as the #8 Best Pediatric Hospital in the U.S.

Save the Date: 13th International Pediatric Intestinal Failure and Rehabilitation Symposium

Pediatrics Residency Ranked Among Top Ten In The Country

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