The Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at IU School of Medicine identifies and trains the next generation of academic leaders in pediatric GI, hepatology and nutrition. This includes leaders across all areas for discovery and innovation: academic clinicians, clinical trialists, QI and implementation scientists, and basic and translational physician-scientists. Fellows in pediatric GI, hepatology and nutrition are encouraged to leverage the vast clinical, translational and basic research environment at IU School of Medicine with the close support and mentorship of our GI faculty.
Highlights of our research program
-
A dedicated, focused physician-scientist track. This features protected research time and additional research funding for fellows with a track record or deep, demonstrable interest in basic and translational investigation. Like fellows both in and out of this track, this program provides intentional, focused training in basic investigation, publishing and grantsmanship. We are closely aligned with the IU MSTP, and the Department of Pediatrics Morris Green Physician Scientist Development Program to provide additional programming, retreats, stipend and research support for physician-scientists.
-
Accomplished clinical and basic scientists throughout the division and beyond. The division alone published 24+ papers in 2025 and 20+ papers to date in 2026. These include high-profile publications in fields of interventional endoscopy, rare hepatologic disease, molecular metabolism, basic immunology, translational EoE, MASH, and obesity epidemiology in journals that include Gut, Hepatology, JPGN, Science Translational Medicine, Gastroenterology, Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and Nature Immunology. The DeBosch and Russi Labs within the Wells Center for Pediatric Research performs basic and translational research in obesity, liver metabolism and autoimmune GI and liver disease.
-
Access to any research opportunity across campus, including opportunities within a multitude of NIH-funded centers including centers in neurodegeneration, alcohol use disorders, bioinformatics, cardiovascular disease, cancer, child and adolescent psychiatry, clinical-translational sciences, diabetes and metabolic disease, and others, as they apply to GI, hepatology and nutrition.
-
The Undiagnosed and Rare Disease Clinic. Across Riley Hospital, we are asked to see the most complex and diagnostically challenging cases. Paired with our NIH-funded Undiagnosed Disease Network Partnership, IU is one of few institutions to participate in the NIH initiative on undiagnosed disease. Here, you will not just see high-volume rare and undiagnosed disease, but you have a unique opportunity to drive new understanding of disease pathophysiology, and advance care within this network.
-
Rich clinical research infrastructure. Our program boasts six full-time research coordinators to support most any clinical and translational research endeavor. They have profound experience across translational, interventional, observational and industry-sponsored studies.
-
The Indiana Biobank and Pediatrics Indiana Biobank. Established in 2010, the Indiana Biobank is home to one of the richest, most comprehensive biobanks in the world. This provides an unparalled pathway to truly partner to learn and advance care through every patient interaction, and to leverage these resources to study even the most uncommon diseases using biospecimens from a broad population base.
News and Accolades
-
2024 — Annie Jacobs is named to the Morris Green Physician Scientist Development Program for her work on liver outcomes in pediatric patients with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease.
-
2024 and 2025 — Audra (Rougraff) St. John wins a two year fellowship from the CF Foundation for her work on nutritional outcomes in patients on CFTR modulators! She is also awarded a grant by the Indiana CTSI to extend this work, following these patients longitudinally to understand how CFTR modulators improve long-term nutritional outcomes. Congrats Audra!
-
2024-2025 — Stef Tica, MD, MPH, (fellow) was awarded the AASLD Advanced Hepatology/Transplant Fellow’s Award
-
2025 — Tina Zhang, MD, PhD, Sara Naramore, MD, and Brian DeBosch, MD, PhD, (faculty) received CTSI Heartland Nutrition Grants.
-
2025 — Advanced hepatology fellow Stef Tica publishes her commentary in Gastroenterology!
-
2025 — Coco Svenstrup, MD, (fellow) was awarded with a Fellows Abstract Travel Award to the 2025 ASPEN conference.
-
2025 and 2026 — Coco Svenstrup is awarded a NASPGHAN Advanced Nutrition Fellowship Award for her study “Leveraging spatial transcriptomic analyses to identify predictors of response to teduglutide therapy in short bowel syndrome.”
-
2026 — Advanced hepatology fellow Stef Tica publishes her research findings on maternal and paternal influences in pediatric MASLD and MASH in Gut!
-
2026 — Jiameng Sun, PhD, research fellow in the DeBosch Lab, is awarded with the Jakshick Prize at Washington University for her graduate thesis work, "Hepatocyte Period 1 in metabolic control." Dr. Sun will now attend WashU Medical School to complete her MD/PhD training.
-
2026 — Sydney Smith, a graduate student research fellow in the DeBosch Lab, is awarded a full L-GRAD Fellowship from Eli Lilly & Co. for her proposed work "Hepatocyte ApoA5 in systemic lipid metabolism."
-
2026 — Anna Liao (University of Michigan) is awarded an IU MSTP/USRP Fellowship to work in the DeBosch Lab, studying "Hepatocyte Period 1 in the metabolic adaptation to cold exposure"
-
2026 — Becca Rust (Purdue University) is awarded an IU MSTP/USRP Fellowship to work in the Russi Lab for her project "Interrogating the role of commensal tolerance in a mouse model of primary sclerosing cholangitis"
-
2026 — Audra (Rougraff) St. John was nominated for the Gregorz Nalepa Award for her fellowship research!
Research Facilities
The Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research is where graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and scientists analyze date and run basic science experiments to help improve children's health.
State-of-the-art facility for pediatric clinical research
Division within the Department of Pediatrics where researchers search for best practices that lead to better outcomes in the real world, develop informational technology designed to help physicians and share knowledge that protects the health of the world's most vulnerable children.
The Indiana CTSI Clinical and Translational Science Institute is a partnership between IU, Purdue and Notre Dam founded in 2008. This statewide institute is supported by a Clinical and Translational Science Award from NIH and the National Center for Advancing Translational Science. Research at CTSI ranges from basic science biobanks to precision medicine to clinical trials.