# Digestive Health Center (DHC): Bench to Bedside Research in Pediatric Digestive Disease

> **NIH NIH P30** · CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSP MED CTR · 2021 · $1,192,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The overall goal of our Digestive Health Center (DHC): Bench-to-Bedside Research in Pediatric Digestive
Disease is to promote research that will yield insights into the fundamental processes and pathogenic
mechanisms of digestive disease in children and generate innovative treatment to restore digestive health. The
second award period of the DHC was very successful, with Core services that evolved to meet the scientific
needs of innovative investigators, a strong Research Base of 83 investigators and $30.5 million of extramural
digestive disease-related funds, Pilot and Feasibility (P/F) Awardees that transitioned to R01-funded
investigators, and a dynamic enrichment series. This trajectory of success will be pursued in future years by
fostering research and promoting interdivisional and interdepartmental collaboration to maintain a solid critical
mass in digestive disease research, with a focus on translational research. Specifically, our long term goals are
to improve child health through better diagnosis, treatments and outcomes that will emerge from
highly innovative work in our four key focus areas: 1) Liver disease modeling, 2) Digestive disease and
immunity, 3) Digestive disease and obesity, and 4) Translational embryology. Each focus area brings
opportunities for potential impact on the digestive health of children, helps advance the national research
agenda, and creates a unique environment to integrate research into patient care. The focus areas are linked
by three complementary and uniquely innovative Biomedical Research Cores (Gene Analysis Core,
Integrative Morphology Core, and Pluripotent Stem Cell and Organoid Core) and by a Clinical
Component of the Administrative Core to facilitate patient-based research. Collectively they form a powerful
infrastructure that fosters the development of personalized and predictive medical approaches based on the
genetics and molecular basis of GI disorders, and of therapies that take into account basic mechanisms of
disease. Our working model promotes laboratory discoveries to generate translational research opportunities
that lead to validation in patient samples and is followed by clinical trials. To strengthen pediatric digestive
disease, the DHC will foster collaboration among its investigators and investigators from other disciplines. It will
also fund highly promising P/F Projects for junior investigators and will sponsor a dynamic enrichment program
of scientific seminars, workshops and symposia. With these strategies and an exceptionally supportive
institution, the DHC is well positioned to catalyze translational research in pediatric digestive disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10146346
- **Project number:** 5P30DK078392-15
- **Recipient organization:** CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSP MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** JORGE A. BEZERRA
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,192,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-07-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10146346

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10146346, Digestive Health Center (DHC): Bench to Bedside Research in Pediatric Digestive Disease (5P30DK078392-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10146346. Licensed CC0.

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