Thanks to your generosity and support, in recent years we have provided millions of dollars of funding to critical research activities. Below is a summary of some of these research studies. (Please note that you can find more details about these research activities by going to our related site here.)
 

Ronnie Fass, MD, FACP, FACG
University of Arizona and Southern Arizona VA Health Care System,
Tuscon, AZ

Dr. Fass’ main research aims are at understanding the upper digestive tract with the goal to improve diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as reflux disease, functional heartburn, noncardiac chest pain, gastroparesis, and Barrett’s esophagus.

Million Mulugeta, MVSc, DVM, PhD
UCLA School of Medicine,
Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Mulugeta’s research is examining the molecular basis of compounds related to the body’s reaction to stress, and the impact these compounds have on digestive functioning and pain response.

Adrian Miranda, MD
The Medical College of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee, WI

Dr. Miranda’s research is looking at early life factors which can cause physical changes in the body that can cause painful conditions affecting the digestive tract later in life.

Samuel Nurko, MD, MPH
Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston,
Boston, MA

Dr. Nurko’s research covers multiple digestive problems in children ranging from defecation problems to upper-digestive tract conditions, particularly esophageal motility disorders and the effect of inflammation on motility.

Sudarshan Jadcherla, MD, FRCP, DCH
The Ohio State University College of Medicine and The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital,
Columbus, OH

Dr. Jadcherla studies the upper digestive tract with a goal of improving safe feeding in children, as well as improving care in infants with dysphagia, GERD, and chronic lung disease.

Shaman Rajindrajith, MBBS, MD, MRCPCH
University of Kelaniya,
Ragama, Sri Lanka

Dr. Rajindrajith’s research covers better understanding of functional GI and motility diseases in children with abdominal pain related disorders, aerophagia and cyclic vomiting in Sri Lankan children, and quality of life issues in children.

Bruce D. Naliboff, PhD
UCLA Center for Neurovisceral Sciences and Women's Health,
Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Naliboff is an innovator in studies of pain, including his current work in IBS.

Magnus Simrén, MD, PhD,
Sahlgrenska University Hospital,
University of Göteborg, Sweden

Dr. Simrén’s main research areas are the causes and development of functional GI disorders.

Brennan M. R. Spiegel, MD, MSHS,
West Los Angeles VA Medical Center,
David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA,
Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Spiegel's current research is looking at ways to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of care for patients with IBS and dyspepsia.

Sylvie Bradesi, PhD,
David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA,
Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Bradesi’s research has looked at neuroimmune interactions in the spinal cord at the molecular level and the role of this response in chronic pain.

Paul E. Hyman, MD,
University of Kansas Medical Center,
Kansas City, KS

Dr. Hyman’s research has focused on pediatric GI motility disorders, chronic pain, and children’s functional GI disorders.

Miranda A. L. van Tilburg, PhD,
UNC Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders,
Chapel Hill, NC

Dr. van Tilburg’s research has been examining ways to design interventions and tools that help patients and families better manage GI symptoms.

William E. Whitehead, PhD,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Chapel Hill, NC

Dr. Whitehead’s research interests include the physiological and psychological mechanisms for symptoms of functional GI disorders; development and validation of diagnostic criteria for functional GI disorders; pathophysiology of anorectal disorders; and biofeedback treatment of fecal incontinence and constipation.

Jyoti N. Sengupta, PhD,
Medical College of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee, WI

Dr. Sengupta’s current research interests include investigating the pathophysiology of functional bowel disorders. He is studying sensory neurons involved in GI pain, while exploring new pharmacologic agents.

Caroline Elder Danda, PhD,
University of Kansas,
Kansas City, KS

Dr. Danda’s current research projects include examining the physiological and psychosocial factors associated with functional dyspepsia and examining the effectiveness of several treatment protocols for children with functional dyspepsia; examining the effectiveness of noninvasive, educational treatment on the resolution of functional fecal retention; determining psychosocial and family factors related to initial treatment failures in functional fecal retention; and assessing whether fear increases anal sphincter pressures.

Terry Buchmiller-Crair, MD,
Cornell University,
New York, NY

Dr. Buchmiller-Crair performs the full spectrum of pediatric surgery with a particular interest in minimal access surgery, management of the short bowel syndrome, and fetal surgical diagnoses and prenatal counseling. Her recent basic science and clinical work reflect her continuing interest in fetal gastrointestinal development and the mechanisms of GI absorption and motility during the last trimester of gestation.

Dan L. Dumitrascu, MD, PhD,
University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Romania

Dr. Dumitrascu’s main interests are in functional and motility GI disorders, epidemiology, and clinical trials. He has produced over 120 papers and authored or contributed to 15 books. He authored the first Romanian book on GI manometry and was the first East European to join the Functional Brain Gut Research Group. He is also the associate editor of the Romanian Journal of Gastroenterology and a member of the editorial committees of several journals in Romania and France.

Adil E. Bharucha, MD,
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN

Dr. Bharucha’s most recent research has focused on understanding epidemiology and mechanisms of fecal incontinence and obstructed defecation, specifically characterizing the multiple recto-ano mechanisms maintaining continence.

Klaus Bielefeldt, MD, PhD,
University of Iowa,
Iowa City, IA

Dr. Bielefeldt’s clinical interests are with functional diseases of the esophagus. Scientifically, he has used his training in cellular neurophysiology to explore mechanisms that change sensation with a focus on certain nerves that innervate the stomach and may contribute to the development of hypersensitivity or pain and discomfort.

Fernando Azpiroz, MD, PhD
Hospital General Vall d'Hebron,
Barcelona, Spain

Dr. Azpiroz’s clinical practice develops in a large referral unit, and specifically focuses on functional gut disorders. His research program investigates the origin of gastrointestinal symptoms and involves both physiologic and pathophysiologic aspects of the control mechanisms of gut motility, visceral sensitivity, and more recently, intestinal gas dynamics.

Yvette Tache, PhD
West LA-VA Medical Center, UCLA,
Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Tache’s early publications put the “brain-gut axis” on the map. Since then, she has been one of the pioneers in this field, and in many ways, it has been her energy and enthusiasm that has ensured the continued vibrancy of the field. Her recent identification of the role of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) signaling pathways in stress-related alterations of gut motor function and visceral pain are of major and lasting importance.

Shaheen Hamdy, MRCP, PhD
Hope Hospital,
Salford, United Kingdom

Dr. Hamdy has specific interest in the human brain-gut axis, in particular investigating the central neural control of human swallowing. Over the last three years, much of this work has revolved around the design and development of stimulation techniques for the treatment of swallowing recovery after dysphagic stroke. A recent newer development has been the broadening of the human brain-gut studies to investigate the neural control of anal continence, and its abnormalities in fecal incontinence of unknown origin.

Michael Pezzone, MD, PhD
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA

Dr. Pezzone is currently the principal investigator of an NIH study looking at the pathways of neurogenic cross-sensitization of pelvic viscera and its implications for the overlap of irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis, and other chronic pelvic pain disorders.

Bridget R Southwell, PhD
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute,
Royal Children's Hospital,
Melbourne, Australia

Dr. Southwell has brought her skills in basic neurogastroenterology to understanding the causes of functional disturbances of colonic motility in children. She has also been coordinating a critical evaluation of a method to overcome constipation and soiling.

Rachel Rosen, MD, MPH
Children's Hospital Boston,
Boston, MA

Dr. Rosen’s current research focuses on the role of non-acid reflux in symptom development in children. In the studies that she and her colleagues have conducted at the motility unit at Children’s Hospital Boston, they found that non-acid reflux is common in pediatrics. Interestingly, even though acid reflux is more common than non-acid reflux, non-acid reflux is, in their referral population, more highly correlated with symptoms such as heartburn, chest pain, and cough than acid reflux.