Gastroenterology (GI) and hepatology specialists at Riley Children’s Health provide expert care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), liver disease, obesity, allergic eosinophilic GI disorders, motility disorders, cystic fibrosis, short bowel syndrome, aerodigestive disorders and nutritional disorders. GASTROENTEROLOGY
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Riley Children’s was the first site in the world to enroll a pediatric patient in the QUASAR Jr. trial, the first approved clinical trial evaluating Tremfya (guselkumab) for children with ulcerative colitis.
Riley Gastroenterology is participating in 10 industry-sponsored clinical trials, including: ■ Part of a national network (DILIN) aimed at understanding drug-induced liver injury ■ Trials for leading-edge IBD therapies: upadacitinib, risankizumab, guselkumab and etrasimod ■ Trials for hepatitis B and Alagille syndrome ■ Innovative use of current and next-generation GLP-1 therapies for obesity in children ■ Tenapanor trial for IBS-C with constipation National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded clinical trials ■ REMODEL-CD for Crohn’s disease ■ COMPARE for IBD ■ TRIUMPH for pediatric acute liver failure
Premier programs
Advanced technologies and procedures
TOP DISTINCTIONS
■ Bariatric and Weight Management Program ■ Nutrition/Short Bowel Program ■ Motility Program ■ Advanced Endoscopy Program ■ Liver Transplant Program Multidisciplinary programs ■ Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Program ■ Aerodigestive Program
Pediatric Advanced Endoscopy ■ Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) -- For removal of large or complex gastrointestinal polyps, we use a submucosal lift-and- resect technique that allows for bowel-preserving management of lesions that previously required surgical resection. ■ Balloon-assisted enteroscopy -- To achieve deep small-bowel access for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions (polypectomy, bleeding control, foreign body retrieval, stricture management and tissue sampling), this approach enables definitive endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of small-bowel disease that traditionally required operative management. ■ Unsedated transnasal endoscopy -- To evaluate esophageal and upper GI disorders, this technique allows mucosal assessment and targeted biopsy without general anesthesia, reducing anesthesia
■ Home to leading multidisciplinary programs for: – Intestinal rehabilitation and transplantation – Eosinophilic disorders – IBD – Aerodigestive disorders – Motility – Liver disorders and transplantation – Celiac disease – Disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) – Cystic fibrosis – Pancreas care; acute and chronic pancreatitis ■ Comprehensive bariatric and weight management program encompassing lifestyle, behavioral, pharmacologic and surgical treatment approaches; innovative and novel therapies offered through clinical trials
Foundation-supported clinical studies
Externally and NIH-funded basic and translational science ■ Hepatic glucose fasting in fatty liver disease and obesity (R01 award) ■ Amino acid metabolism in insulin resistance (R01 award) ■ Deploying spatial transcriptomics to understand and predict Fontan-associated liver disease progression and outcomes
■ IMPACT-LT, a prospective liver cohort funded by the Society for Pediatric Liver and Intestinal Transplantation ■ Liver organoid to model human liver disease ■ Immune regulation and commensal tolerance in IBD
CO-DIVISION CHIEF Brian J. DeBosch, MD, PhD, AGAF Professor of Pediatrics; Professor of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology, IU School of Medicine > Connect with Dr. DeBosch on Doximity.
A leader in education and training In addition to fellowship positions in pediatric gastroenterology, we offer: ■ Transplant hepatology fellowship (one of only 17 accredited by the ACGME in the U.S.) ■ Advanced nutrition support fellowship ■ GI psychology fellowship (one of the few in the U.S.) > Learn more.
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS Hepatology: November 2025
Longitudinal response to standard of care in pediatric metabolic dysfunction- associated steatotic liver disease: Rates of improvement and worsening, and factors associated with outcomes This study highlights a new risk stratification and precision treatment paradigm for fatty liver disease in children. Molecular Metabolism: December 2025 Dimorphic regulation of time-restricted feeding effects by hepatocyte Period 1 This study demonstrated regulation of liver metabolism in response to time-restricted feeding through key circadian gene expressed in liver cells Period 1. Nature Communications: February 2026 Clinically distinct metabotypes of pediatric MASLD identified through unsupervised clustering of NASH CRN data Study demonstrates subtypes of pediatric fatty liver disease using advanced analytics. Hepatology: October 2025 Reclassifying pediatric NAFLD using the steatotic liver disease framework: A multicenter retrospective study from the NASH CRN This is a prospective trial demonstrating new classes of pediatric fatty liver disease. Gut: February 2026 Parental obesity and risk of metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease in adult offspring: UK birth cohort study This study describes the genetic and environmental interactions that occur during the lifecourse that can modify risk for pediatric obesity.
exposure and facilitating longitudinal monitoring of chronic conditions.
Committed to continuous improvement
CO-DIVISION CHIEF Charles P.B. Vanderpool, MD
Our rate of IBD sustained remission is higher than the national average from ImproveCareNow.
Riley Children’s offers innovative GI diagnostics, including point-of- care ultrasound for IBD diagnosis and tracking, and EndoFLIP to measure and evaluate esophageal distensibility/motility.
Professor of Pediatrics, IU School of Medicine > Connect with Dr. Vanderpool on Doximity.
Riley Children’s 66.6%
ImproveCareNow network 65.3%
27 board certified physicians
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