The American Gastroenterological Association has awarded $2.4 million in research grants to 74 recipients.
In addition, the AGA is awarding 10 pilot grants totaling $400,000 for 2026, according to an April 22 news release.
The grants were awarded through the AGA Research Foundation Awards Program, which was first established in 1984.
“As we face uncertainty in federal research funding, our work is more critical than ever. The AGA Research Foundation is proud to fund some of the most talented investigators in our field and is confident our investment will lead to ground-breaking discoveries that will benefit patients with issues related to digestive health,” Michael Camilleri, MD, chair of the AGA Research Foundation, said in the release.
Here are the awards and their recipients for 2025:
AGA Research Scholar Award
Jonathan Downie, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston)
Olumuyiwa Awoniyi, MD, PhD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Simon Gray, MD, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jessica Shay, MD, PhD, University of Utah (Salt Lake City)
Sharon Wolfson, MD, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
AGA-Bern Schwartz Family Fund Research Scholar Award in Pancreatic Cancer
Nikki Katherine Lytle, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
AGA-Caroline Craig Augustyn and Damian Augustyn Award in Digestive Cancer
Ramon Jin, MD, PhD, Washington University (St. Louis)
AGA-R. Robert and Sally Funderburg Research Award in Gastric Cancer
Harshabad Singh, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston)
AGA Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award
Quazim Alayo, MBBS, Washington University (St. Louis)
AGA Pilot Research Award
Yalan Deng, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston)
Shuang Wang, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York City)
Xiaoqin Wu, PhD, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
AGA-Pfizer Pilot Research Award in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Adebowale Bamidele, PhD, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
Siyan Cao, MD, PhD, Washington University (St. Louis)
Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, MD, The Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
AGA-Aman Armaan Ahmed Family SURF for Success Program
Aishat Adebisi, Washington University (St. Louis)
Jeremy Ahn, Emory University (Atlanta)
Nahed El Fiky, University of Maryland Baltimore
Alexa Gramajo, University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
Maryam Jimoh, The College of Wooster (Ohio)
NaShyla McQuirter, University of Connecticut (Storrs)
AGA-Dr. Harvey Young Education and Development Foundation’s Young Guts Scholar Program
Aishat Adebisi, Washington University (St. Louis)
Jacob Cao, University of Pennsylvania
Katherine Gell, Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.)
Steven Montecinos, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.)
Daliya Rizvi, Duke University (Durham, N.C.)
Joud Sakor, University of Minnesota–Rochester (Minn.)
AGA-APFED Abstract Award in Eosinophilic GI Diseases
Maya Kota, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago)
Angelica Lackey, University of North Carolina School of Medicine (Raleigh)
Tursun Turapov, University of Utah School of Medicine (Salt Lake City)
AGA Fellow Abstract of the Year Award
Biju Bharali, PhD, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (Toronto)
AGA Fellow Abstract Awards
Manik Aggarwal, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
Anissa Armet, PhD, University of Alberta (Edmonton)
Eduardo Castillo-Leon, MD, Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, Ohio)
Yufeng Chen, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston)
Youngwon Cho, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.)
Maria Espinosa, MD, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
Akshita Gupta, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital (Chicago)
Harpreet Kaur, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.)
Adnan Malik, MD, Honorhealth Mountain Vista Medical Center (Mesa, Ariz.)
Aida Metri, MD, Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore)
Wilmarie Morales-Soto, PhD, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
Shaneice Nettleford, PhD, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Rachel Newsome, PhD, University of Florida (Gainesville)
Aisha Qazi, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago
Allyson Richardson, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston)
Jiaxian Shen, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston)
Jiayu Ye, PhD, Stanford (Calif.) University
Zahra Yousefli, MD, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
AGA Student Abstract of the Year Award
Chen Wang, MD, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston)
AGA Student Abstract Awards
Ashley Cummings, Duke University School of Medicine (Durham, N.C.)
Hillmin Lei, University of California, Riverside
Rita Nakhle, Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario)
Sameer Rao, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (Newark, N.J.)
Daniel Martin Simadibrata, MD, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland)
Isabella Sirit, Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.)
Vijaya Sundaram, Marshall University School of Medicine (Huntington, W.Va.)
Eliane Tsopmegha, Marshall University (Huntington, W.Va.)
Julia M. J. van der Zande, MD, Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, Ohio)
Xinyu Wang, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston)
AGA–Eric Esrailian Student Abstract Prize
Emily Guan, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
Mary McGrath, MD, University of Virginia (Charlottesville)
Ashwariya Ohri, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
Michael Anthony Perrin, MD, Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
AGA–Radhika Srinivasan Student Abstract Prize
Alexis Guenther, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.)
Jeneane Hamideh, MD, Charles R. Drew School of Medicine (Willowbrook, Calif.)
Anthony Kerbage, MD, Cleveland Clinic
Lauren Lynch, Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
AGA Abstract Award for Health Disparities Research
Akhila Chilakala, MD, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco
Taranika Sarkar Das, MD, The Brooklyn Hospital Center (New York City)
Gabrielle Waclawik, MD, University of Wisconsin (Madison)
Abdelrahman Yousef, MD, University of New Mexico Hospital (Albuquerque, N.M.)
AGA-Moti L. and Kamla Rustgi International Travel Award
Chen Jiaqi, MD, Shandong University (China)
Abhishek Yadav, MD, Pgimer Chandigarh (India)
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