Pediatric Gastroenterology Faculty Obtain New Grants
June 1, 2021
Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition fellow and incoming faculty member (July 1) Vikram K. Raghu, MD, MS, was awarded a grant from the ASPEN Foundation for a new study titled “Optimal Lipid Supplementation Strategy for the Prevention and Treatment of Parenteral Nutrition-Associated Liver Disease in Children with Intestinal Failure.”
Dr. Raghu’s clinical practice and research seeks to develop and implement innovative methods to improve the value of care provided to patients with gastrointestinal disease, with a special focus on intestinal rehabilitation, intestinal failure, and intestinal transplantation. His primary work involves using cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate interventions in pediatric intestinal rehabilitation and transplantation under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth Smith.
He serves as a trainee member in the Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Association where he has actively participated in the development of an international Intestinal Failure Registry. Further, as a member of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Intestinal Failure Special Interest Group, Dr. Raghu is codeveloping a position statement on the management of central venous access. Through his work, Dr. Raghu hopes to continue to improve outcomes, including quality of life, for children with intestinal failure.
Division chief and the Carol Ann Craumer Endowed Chair for Pediatric Research Andrew P. Feranchak, MD, was awarded a new grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to study the “Mechanisms of Cholangiocyte Secretion and Cystic Fibrosis Liver Disease.”
Dr. Feranchak is a distinguished researcher in the fields of cholestatic liver diseases and the basic mechanisms of bile formation. Dr. Feranchak did much of his medical training in Pittsburgh and then returned to UPMC Children’s in 2017 to lead the Division.
