• Don’t Mess with Meiosis: Study Suggests How Reproductive Health Influences Overall Health and Aging. New research in an animal model of aging suggests a possible mechanism for why people with early menopause or other genetic conditions affecting the reproductive system are more likely to get cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia.
  
  
• LRRC8A Protein and Its Role in Ion Channel Regulation and Bile Formation. A research team from the Feranchak Laboratory published new findings in the journal Hepatology on the role of a specific ion channel in liver cells that contributes to biliary secretion and bile formation.
  
  
• New Study Explores Medication-Induced Pericarditis and Myocarditis in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease. A team from the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh published a new article in the journal Cureus that explores the development of medication-induced myocarditis and pericarditis in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
  
  
• Mechanistic Processes That Drive Rare Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis Type 1. James E. Squires, MD, MS, was awarded a new pilot and feasibility grant from the Childhood Liver Disease Research and Education Network (ChilDReN) to study the mechanistic processes underlying the development of the rare genetic liver disorder known as progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 (PFIC1).
  
  
• New Consensus Criteria on Liver Dysfunction in Critically Ill Children. PODIUM sought to develop consensus criteria on organ dysfunction in critically ill children by evaluating the existing evidence base across the various organ systems and develop standardized metrics and qualifications for defining organ dysfunction that goes beyond the classical approach of expert opinion.
  
  
• The Relationship Between Sarcopenia and Intestinal Transplant Outcomes. A study exploring the frequency of sarcopenia in pediatric intestinal transplantation and how the existence of the condition may influence outcomes after transplant.
  
  
• New Study from UPMC Children’s IBD Team Explores Nature of Parental Distress. Caregiver stress, to varying degrees, exists for virtually any individual tasked with providing care for a family member. With chronic, potentially life-long illnesses, stress levels can profoundly impact quality of life and the caregiver's overall physical and behavioral health.
  
  
• Study Finds Importance of YAP1 in Liver Development. Andrew Feranchak, MD, was a coauthor on a new multidisciplinary study from collaborators at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC that investigated the role of the YES-associated protein 1 (YAP1) in liver development.
  
  
• UPMC Children’s GI Division Begins Participation in TRIUMPH Trial for Acute Liver Failure. UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition became an active site in July 2022 for the Treatment for ImmUne Mediated PathopHysiolgy (TRIUMPH) multicenter clinical trial that is investigating treatment options for pediatric acute liver failure (PALF).
  
  
• NIH R56 Grant Awarded to Arjumand Ghazi, PhD. Dr. Ghazi’s study, “Role of the Transcription Elongation and Splicing Factor TCER-1 in Repressing Immunity and Promoting Fertility,” is designed to more fully explain how the protein TCER-1 alters fat metabolism to mediate the complex association between immunity and fertility status.
  
  
• Vikram Raghu, MD, MS, and Simon Horslen, MBChB, FRCPH, published a review article in the journal Pediatric Drugs on “Immunosuppression Regimens for Intestinal Transplantation in Children".
  
  
• In the journal Pediatric Transplantation, lead author Vikram Raghu, MD, MS, and co-author James Squires, MD, MS, along with transplant colleagues from UPMC Children’s, published a review article on “Domino Transplantation for Pediatric Liver Recipients: Obstacles, Challenges, and Successes".
  
  
• Faculty from the Division published results of a survey study on “Current Practices in Lipid Emulsion Utilization in the Prevention and Treatment of Intestinal Failure-associated Liver Disease: A Survey of Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Centers.” Jeffrey A. Rudolph, MD, was the senior author of the paper published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.
  
  
• Dr. Squires and Dr. Horslen collaborated with researchers from the Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s on a study published in the journal Pediatric Cardiology titled “Cardiac MRI-Derived Inferior Vena Cava Cross-Sectional Area Correlates With Measures of Fontan-Associated Liver Disease.” The study found that inferior vena cava cross sectional area as seen on cardiac MRI may be beneficial in helping to improve screening for Fontan-associated liver disease in a noninvasive manner.

• UPMC Children’s GI IBD Specialist Whitney Sunseri, MD, Honored by Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation with “Whatever It Takes Award”.
  
  
• Elizabeth Sinclair, MD, medical director of the Feeding and Swallowing Clinic (FASC), and co-medical director of the Center for Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases, gave a talk for the UPMC Children’s That’s Pediatrics podcast on the subject of Feeding and Swallowing Interventions for Kids.
  
  
• Pediatric Hepatology specialist, Mary Ayers, MD, joined the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition as an assistant professor of pediatrics after completing her fellowship training at UPMC Children’s in June 2022.
  
  
• Madhura Phadke, MD, joined the Division in October 2022 as the new medical director of the UPMC Children’s Pediatric Pancreatic Disorders Center.
  
  
• Pediatric Gastroenterologist Honored with Educator Award. Arvind Srinath, MD, MS, associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, was recently elected to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Academy of Master Educators (AME). The AME is comprised of approximately 80 faculty members of the more than 2,000 faculty member UPMC system, and rewards excellence in education, strives to advance educational initiatives through innovation and professional development of faculty, and promotes educational scholarship. Members are nominated by faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and reviewed by a membership committee.
  
  
• Dale King, MD, was awarded a 2021 Excellence in Patient Experience Award. Dr. King was rated by patients as a Top UPMC Physician by Specialty for Pediatric Gastroenterology. Of the more than 4,000 UPMC physicians, Dr. King was one of only 50 recipients of the award across all of UPMC’s specialties.

UPMC Children’s Multidisciplinary NICU/GI Intestinal Care Collaborative Program Works to Improve Patient Outcomes and Facilitate Transitions in Care.

Multidisciplinary teams from the newborn medicine, pediatric surgery, and pediatric gastroenterology divisions at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh have joined forces to create a collaborative partnership focused on intestinal care for critically ill newborns experiencing intestinal failure and other severe disorders that may adversely affect a child’s ability to take in or process nutrition.

Working to develop the collaborative program and leading its efforts are Abeer Azzuqa, MD, clinical director of the neonatal intensive unit (NICU) at UPMC Children’s; Jeffrey Rudolph, MD, director of the Intestinal Care and Rehabilitation Center (ICARE) at UPMC Children’s; and Paul Waltz, MD, NICU surgical director at UPMC Children’s.

• Catch Up with UPMC Children’s GI Division Faculty at NASPGHAN 2022.
  
  
• UPMC Children’s Hepatology Faculty Presenting at AASLD and AHA Annual Meetings.
  
  
• Looking Back at 12th Annual International Pediatric Intestinal Failure and Rehabilitation Symposium (PIFRS).
  
  Jointly run by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and SickKids Transplant & Regenerative Medicine Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the International Pediatric Intestinal Failure and Rehabilitation Symposium (PIFRS) 12th annual meeting was held September 30 – October 2, 2022. More than 300 attendees, representing over 25 countries came together for the global meeting designed to bring together pediatric gastroenterologists, surgeons, hepatologists, scientists, nurses, and allied health professionals who have dedicated themselves to the care of children with intestinal failure.

For more than two decades, PIFRS has recognized the tremendous advances in medical and surgical care for the intestinal failure patient while addressing the challenges that face the field.

PIFRS 2022 integrated medical and surgical dialogue to help build off the dramatic interdisciplinary work that has characterized intestinal failure management. This year’s event focused on the latest developments in etiology, pathophysiology, surgical and nonsurgical therapies, quality of life and outcomes-based work in the field.

Co-chair of the symposium this year from UPMC Children’s was Chief of Pediatric Transplantation, George V. Mazariegos, MD, FACS, FAST. Course directors and planning committee members included Geoffrey Bond, MD, co-director of the Intestinal Care and Rehabilitation Center (ICARE) at UPMC Children’s; Simon Horslen, MBChB, FRCPCH, director of Pediatric Hepatology at UPMC Children’s; Beverly Kosmach-Park, DNP, RN, FAAN, clinical nurse specialist, Liver and Intestine Transplant; and Jeffrey A. Rudolph, MD, director of ICARE at UPMC Children’s.

More than 80 speakers gave lectures and presentations at this year’s event, including 10 physicians, surgeons, advanced practice providers, nurses, and research faculty from UPMC Children’s, UPMC, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

We hope to see you in 2024 in Pittsburgh for the 13th Annual Symposium. More details to come in the future. For additional details about the 2022 event, visit the archived symposium website.