School of Medicine
Showing 1-50 of 93 Results
-
Marwa Abu El Haija
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
BioI am a pediatric gastroenterologist with clinical and research interest in childhood obesity. I believe that each patient is unique in their disease and background, that is why they deserve to be approached in an individualized way. I aspire to discover what's unknown about the pathophysiologic causes of obesity, and the mechanisms of which treatments work. My clinical and research interests in pediatric obesity found home within Stanford's distinctive position academically, medically and geographically.
-
Leina Alrabadi
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
BioI enjoy working with a multidisciplinary team to care for patients who have complex medical needs with the aim of giving children a better future. As a clinical researcher, my main focus is on finding improved therapies for autoimmune and cholestatic liver diseases, since an ideal therapy currently does not exist.
-
Rosa Bacchetta
Professor (Research) of Pediatrics (Stem Cell Transplantation)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsIn the coming years, I plan to further determine the genetic and immunological basis of diseases with autoimmunity or immune dysregulation in children. I believe that much can still be learned from the in depth mechanistic studies of pediatric autoimmune diseases. Genomic analysis of the patients' samples has become possible which may provide a rapid indication of altered target molecules. I plan to implement robust functional studies to define the consequences of these genetic abnormalities and bridge them to the patient's clinical phenotype.
Understanding functional consequences of gene mutations in single case/family first and then validating the molecular and cellular defects in other patients with similar phenotypes, will anticipate and complement cellular and gene therapy strategies.
For further information please visit the Bacchetta Lab website:
http://med.stanford.edu/bacchettalab.html -
Grant Barber
Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine - Gastroenterology & Hepatology
BioDr. Grant Barber is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University. His clinical passion is in the care of patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. After completing his medical training at Harvard Medical School, he completed his training in gastroenterology as well as a Master's degree in clinical research at Stanford. He completed additional training in advanced IBD management at Stanford before joining faculty. His research is focused on male reproductive health in IBD, quality improvement in the provision of IBD care, and economic studies to identify strategies that provide excellent outcomes while being sustainable within the healthcare system. He is an expert in tailoring evidence-based therapies to need of individual people with IBD.
-
Dorsey Bass
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology), Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur laboratory is interested in the pathophysiology, immunology, and epidemiology of viral gastroenteritis.
-
Rachel Bensen
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research focuses on improving health care delivery systems for children, adolescents and young adults with chronic illness and their families. I have particular interests in the development of chronic disease self-management skills, assessment of patient reported outcomes, the transition from pediatric to adult-oriented health care, and comprehensive programs to support families caring for a child with chronic illness.
-
Jon Bernstein
Professor of Pediatrics (Genetics) and, by courtesy, of Genetics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research is focused on the diagnosis, discovery and delineation of rare genetic conditions with a focus on neurodevelopmental disorders. This work includes the application of novel computational methods and multi-omics profiling (whole genome sequencing, long-read DNA sequencing, RNA sequencing, methylomics, metabolomics). I additionally participate in an interdisciplinary project to develop induced pluripotent stem cell and assembloid models of genetic neurodevelopmental disorders.
-
William Berquist, MD
Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology), Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPediatric Gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition.
-
Alice Bertaina MD, PhD
Lorry I. Lokey Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Bertaina is a highly experienced clinician and will play a key role in supporting Section Chief Dr. Rajni Agarwal and Clinical Staff in the Stem Cell Transplant Unit at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. She will also continue her research on immune recovery and miRNA, understanding the mechanisms underlying immune reconstitution, Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD), and leukemia relapse after allogeneic HSCT in pediatric patients affected by hematological malignant and non-malignant disorders.
-
Ami Bhatt
Professor of Medicine (Hematology) and of Genetics
On Partial Leave from 09/29/2025 To 12/16/2025Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Bhatt lab is exploring how the microbiota is intertwined with states of health and disease. We apply the most modern genetic tools in an effort to deconvolute the mechanism of human diseases.
-
Matthew Bogyo
Professor of Pathology and of Microbiology and Immunology and, by courtesy, of Chemical and Systems Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab uses chemical, biochemical, and cell biological methods to study protease function in human disease. Projects include:
1) Design and synthesis of novel chemical probes for serine and cysteine hydrolases.
2) Understanding the role of hydrolases in bacterial pathogenesis and the human parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii.
3) Defining the specific functional roles of proteases during the process of tumorogenesis.
4) In vivo imaging of protease activity -
Jan Carette
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research focuses on the identification of host genes that play critical roles in the pathogenesis of infectious agents including viruses. We use CRISPR genetic screens in human cells as an efficient approach to perform loss-of-function studies. Besides obtaining fundamental insights on how viruses hijack cellular processes and on host defense mechanisms, it may also facilitate the development of new therapeutic strategies.
-
Ricardo Castillo
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology) at the Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsStudy of the interaction and role of nutrients and intestinal growth factors in enhancing intestinal adaptation and allograft viability using animal models for short bowel syndrome and orthtopic intestinal transplantation.
Study of immunosuppression regimens and induction of immune tolerance in intestinal transplantation. -
Mitchell B Cohen
Elizabeth Wood Dunlevie Professor and Senior Associate Dean, Maternal and Child Health
BioMitchell B. Cohen, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine. He serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and the Senior Associate Dean in the School of Medicine for Maternal and Child Health. From 2014-2024, he was the Katharine Reynolds Ireland Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Physician-in-Chief of Children’s of Alabama. Prior to that, he served as the Director of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Vice Chair of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Dr. Cohen was the founding Director of the P30 Cincinnati Digestive Health Center: Bench to Bedside Research in Pediatric Digestive Diseases His research focused on the mechanism of action of E. coli heat stable enterotoxin, a worldwide cause of infant diarrhea. His laboratory identified that increased guanylyl cyclase (GC-C) receptors for this toxin contributed to the increased susceptibility and severity of diarrhea seen in infants. Identification of the endogenous ligands for GC-C, guanylin and uroguanylin, led to development of knockout mice and an evolving understanding of intestinal secretion and pharmacologic treatment through this ligand-receptor family. Dr. Cohen had a long-standing NIH-supported program of vaccine trials for enteric infection, including a validated human cholera challenge model which resulted in licensure of a cholera vaccine.
Dr. Cohen has held leadership positions in several professional capacities. He served as the only pediatrician on the NIH Commission on Digestive Diseases; he was chair of the Section on Growth, Development and Nutrition of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the Section on Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SOGHN) of the American Academy of Pediatrics; he was President of NASPGHAN, the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Dr. Cohen was elected to membership in the Association of American Physicians and has received several lifetime achievement awards, including the Shwachman Award from NASPGHAN, the Saul Horowitz Jr. Award from Mt. Sinai, and the UAB Department of Pediatrics Lifetime Achievement Award. -
Ruben J Colman, MD, PhD
Instructor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
BioDr. Colman is a pediatric gastroenterologist and physician-scientist with an overarching goal to improve and optimize the quality of care and outcomes for children with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) through precision medicine approaches. His interdisciplinary team science research program focuses on making precision medicine clinically actionable through innovative solutions merging clinical pharmacology knowledge with ‘-omics’ discoveries using microbiome and metabolomics signatures. Part of this work includes translating these findings into improved clinical treat-to-target endpoints with immediate noninvasive point-of-care measures such as intestinal ultrasound.
The foundation of his current work originates from his PhD titled ‘Precision Dosing and Personalized Medicine in pediatric IBD’. During his training, Dr. Colman was also an American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) editorial fellow for Gastroenterology and he is actively involved in the committees of several professional societies including the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN), the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and the International Bowel UltraSound (IBUS) Group. Dr. Colman is supported by a Career Development K23 Award from the NIH, which focuses on evaluating personalized treatment strategies for children with Crohn's disease, specifically examining microbial and transmural intestinal ultrasound findings. He is also funded by awards of the NASPGHAN Foundation and the Stanford Pediatrics Physician-Scientist Bridge to K Program. -
Le Cong
Associate Professor of Pathology (Pathology Research) and of Genetics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab develops gene-editing technologies like novel CRISPR systems and large gene insertion techniques for gene&cell therapy. We also leverages these gene-editing tools for single-cell functional screening, to probe molecular mechanisms of cancer and immunological diseases. To accelerate our work, we integrate AI and machine learning to design and evolve gene-editing proteins/RNAs in silico, pushing the frontier that bridges computational and experimental biology.
-
Kenneth L. Cox
Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology) at the Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGastroenterology, biliary motility, hormonal regulation, embryology, gastrointestinal tract, clinical management of pediatric liver transplant recipients.
-
Genevieve D'Souza
Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
BioGenevieve D’souza MD, FASA is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Pediatric Anesthesia division of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford University. She is a Board-certified Pediatric Anesthesiologist , Fellowship trained Pediatric Pain Doctor, and trained in Medical Acupuncture.
She is a practicing Chronic Pediatric Pain Doctor at Stanford Medicine Children's Health and is also part of the Acute Pain Service. She is the Interim Medical Director of the Pediatric Pain Division. She is also the Director of the Pediatric Anesthesia Resource Center at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
She is also the Senior Editor for the Visual Pearl Series For the Society of Pediatric Pain Medicine and on the Board of Directors for Society of Pediatric Pain Medicine. -
Jeremy Dahl
Professor of Radiology (Pediatric Radiology)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy current research encompasses ultrasonic beamforming and image reconstruction methods, with application areas in improving ultrasound image quality in difficult-to-image patients and ultrasound molecular imaging of cancer. My lab also employs beamforming concepts to enhance other areas of ultrasound research.
-
Dylan Dodd
Assistant Professor of Pathology and of Microbiology and Immunology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHarnessing the gut microbiome to treat human disease.
-
Noelle Hanako Ebel
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCurrent projects include:
-indications for combined heart-liver transplantation
-mitigating perioperative bleeding during cardiac surgery in children with Alagille syndrome
-congenital heart disease and liver transplantation
-subspecialty advocacy -
Carlos O. Esquivel, M.D., Ph.D.,FACS
Arnold and Barbara Silverman Professor in Pediatric Transplantation and Professor of Surgery (Abdominal Transplantation) and of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition)
Current Research and Scholarly Interests1) Induction of immunotolerance
2) Rejection of liver and intestinal transplantation.
3) Clinical outcomes of children with unresectable liver tumors. -
Ryann Fame, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEarly neural progenitors respond to extrinsic cues that maintain and support their potency. These stem/ progenitor cells are in direct contact with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which acts as part of their niche. Our research program encompasses the early neural stem cell niche, neural tube closure, CSF, metabolism, and cortical neuronal development. We are dedicated to broad collaboration focused on translating an understanding of neurodevelopment and CSF biology into regenerative strategies.
-
Nielsen Fernandez-Becker
Clinical Professor, Medicine - Gastroenterology & Hepatology
BioI am the director of the Celiac Disease Program at Stanford and I am highly experienced in diagnosis and management of celiac disease and gluten associated disorders.
My objective is to provide excellent and compassionate clinical care for my patients while seeking a better understanding of diseases I treat, particularly Celiac disease (CeD), eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). My top priorities are patient care and translational research to make new discoveries and improve the care my patients. -
Michael Fischbach
Liu (Liao) Family Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe microbiome carries out extraordinary feats of biology: it produces hundreds of molecules, many of which impact host physiology; modulates immune function potently and specifically; self-organizes biogeographically; and exhibits profound stability in the face of perturbations. Our lab studies the mechanisms of microbiome-host interactions. Our approach is based on two technologies we recently developed: a complex (119-member) defined gut community that serves as an analytically manageable but biologically relevant system for experimentation, and new genetic systems for common species from the microbiome. Using these systems, we investigate mechanisms at the community level and the strain level.
1) Community-level mechanisms. A typical gut microbiome consists of 200-250 bacterial species that span >6 orders of magnitude in relative abundance. As a system, these bacteria carry out extraordinary feats of metabolite consumption and production, elicit a variety of specific immune cell populations, self-organize geographically and metabolically, and exhibit profound resilience against a wide range of perturbations. Yet remarkably little is known about how the community functions as a system. We are exploring this by asking two broad questions: How do groups of organisms work together to influence immune function? What are the mechanisms that govern metabolism and ecology at the 100+ strain scale? Our goal is to learn rules that will enable us to design communities that solve specific therapeutic problems.
2) Strain-level mechanisms. Even though gut and skin colonists live in communities, individual strains can have an extraordinary impact on host biology. We focus on two broad (and partially overlapping) categories:
Immune modulation: Can we redirect colonist-specific T cells against an antigen of interest by expressing it on the surface of a bacterium? How do skin colonists induce high levels of Staphylococcus-specific antibodies in mice and humans?
Abundant microbiome-derived molecules: By constructing single-strain/single-gene knockouts in a complex defined community, we will ask: What are the effects of bacterially produced molecules on host metabolism and immunology? Can the molecular output of low-abundance organisms impact host physiology?
3) Cell and gene therapy. We have begun two new efforts in mammalian cell and gene therapies. First, we are developing methods that enable cell-type specific delivery of genome editing payloads in vivo. We are especially interested in delivery vehicles that are customizable and easy to manufacture. Second, we have begun a comprehensive genome mining effort with an emphasis on understudied or entirely novel enzyme systems with utility in mammalian genome editing. -
Adam Frymoyer
Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Neonatology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interests focus on understanding the clinical pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of medicines used in complex pediatric populations. This includes identifying sources of variation in drug response through the application of population PK-PD modeling and simulation approaches. The goal is to ultimately apply this quantitative understanding to guide therapeutic decision-making in infants and children.
-
Hayley Gans
Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe focus of my laboratory is the immune response to viral vaccines evaluating the ontogeny of responses in infants and limitations in immunocompromised hosts. We have studied responses to an early two-dose measles immunization, one versus 2 doses of varicella immunization, and polio vaccine in preterm versus term infants. Other active areas of research include measles and varicella immunity in HIV infected individuals, and transplant recipients.
-
Chris Garcia
Younger Family Professor and Professor of Structural Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsStructural and functional studies of transmembrane receptor interactions with their ligands in systems relevant to human health and disease - primarily in immunity, infection, and neurobiology. We study these problems using protein engineering, structural, biochemical, and combinatorial biology approaches.
-
Manuel Garcia-Careaga
Clinical Professor Emeritus (Active), Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGastroenterology, liver disease in cystic fibrosis patients, percutaneous gastrostomy tube in pediatric population, inflamatory bowel disease, failure to thrive
-
Christopher Gardner
Rehnborg Farquhar Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe role of nutrition in individual and societal health, with particular interests in: plant-based diets, differential response to low-carb vs. low-fat weight loss diets by insulin resistance status, chronic disease prevention, randomized controlled trials, human nutrition, community based studies, Community Based Participatory Research, sustainable food movement (animal rights and welfare, global warming, human labor practices), stealth health, nutrition policy, nutrition guidelines
-
Rachel E. Herdes
Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAs a pediatric physician-investigator, I strive to understand the role of nutrition and diet therapy in pediatric health. I am particularly interested in understanding and developing novel treatment plans for adolescent patients with obesity and in establishing guidelines to improve health outcomes for pediatric intestinal failure patients.
Current research studies include novel treatment options for pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), health equity in pediatric patients with intestinal failure, and medication management after metabolic and bariatric surgery in pediatric patients with severe obesity. -
Sohail Z Husain
Chambers-Okamura Endowed Professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research delves into three broad areas of the exocrine pancreas: (1) The crucial signaling pathways that initiate and transduce pancreatitis; (2) the factors that turn on pancreatic regeneration and recovery after pancreatic injury; and (3) the mechanisms underlying drug-induced pancreatitis.
-
Hilary Jericho
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI am a clinical associate professor of pediatric gastroenterology and the Inaugural Medical Director of the Celiac Disease Program at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford whose clinical practice and research have an emphasis on the diagnosis and management of celiac disease. I was appointed the Director of Pediatric Clinical Research at the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center in 2014. I am deeply involved in both local community and national professional societies serving as the Director of the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance (CCHA) endoscopy committee and am a member of the CCHA celiac committee, the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) celiac special interest group, CeliacKids (a pediatric multi-center celiac research focused collaborative), the Standards-Based Active Guideline Environment (a committee responsible for the establishment of guidelines for accommodating children with celiac disease within school settings across the United States), and the NASPGHAN Endoscopy committee. My clinical work and research focus on pediatric celiac disease (CeD) and have resulted in numerous publications, peer-reviewed articles, and book chapters. This research has also helped to establish myself as an expert in the field of pediatric celiac disease leading to invitations to speak and be a moderator at both local and national meetings, including the internationally attended University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center educational preceptorship programs, the NASPGHAN annual meeting and Beyond Celiac. I have additionally been called up to provide celiac specific journal reviews as well as expert opinions to leading publications, including US News and World Report, Reader’s Digest and Reuter’s. The current application builds logically on my prior work in the field of pediatric celiac disease for which I have successfully administered the projects (staffing, research coordination, budgeting, data analysis and manuscript creation). In summary, I have the expertise, leadership, training, and motivation necessary to successfully carry out the proposed research projects.
-
Julia Kaltschmidt
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe lab’s primary research interest is to understand how specific neuronal circuits are established. We use mouse genetics, combinatorial immunochemical labeling and high-resolution laser scanning microscopy to identify, manipulate, and quantitatively analyze synaptic contacts within the complex neuronal milieu of the spinal cord and the enteric nervous system.
-
John Kerner
Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology), Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI am interested in pediatric nutritional support and have experience evaluating new enteral and parenteral products especially for the neonate (I studied a "new" I.V. fat product for Abbott; I participated in a multicenter trial of a formula with fish oil in it for neonates with Mead Johnson and a multicenter trial of a new human milk fortifier for Wyeth).
-
Kian Keyashian
Clinical Associate Professor, Medicine - Gastroenterology & Hepatology
BioThe management of inflammatory bowel disease continues to evolve, with the introduction of biologic and small molecule therapies and new goals of treatment, with an emphasis on healing the bowel. My career goal since my graduation from IBD fellowship in 2012 has been to improve the outcomes and quality of life of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. In line with these goals, my research has focused investigating new noninvasive diagnostic test, finding factors early in the disease course that might predict a more aggressive disease course and need for different therapies, and investigating new promising effective medications with less side effects.
