As one of the nation's leading pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition programs, our team of researchers at the Digestive Health Institute is committed to advancing knowledge and clinical care to improve the digestive health of the children we treat.

Through basic, translational and clinical research, we are discovering more about the mechanisms of underlying disease. We're also developing innovative diagnostic tests and evaluating novel therapeutic interventions and preventive strategies.

What our gastroenterology and hepatology research means for kids

Our team includes physician scientists and researchers committed to improving the lives of children with digestive and liver conditions. Through new tests, therapies and scientific evidence, we are improving care for children with digestive diseases.

For decades, we have been working to develop minimally invasive tests and procedures that are faster, safer, more affordable and more convenient for patients and their families. We were the first pediatric gastroenterology center in the world to offer patients the opportunity to undergo esophagoscopy without sedation by utilizing the transnasal endoscopy technique. We also developed a novel, low-cost, minimally invasive monitoring test for esophageal inflammation, easing the burden of endoscopy for our young patients.

Through cutting-edge research, we are helping children throughout the United States. We're developing treatments and cures for some of the most serious diseases affecting the digestive system. Our contributions have helped to establish clinical pathways and national guidelines on button battery ingestions, adverse events following endoscopy and more.

Gastroenterology and hepatology advances at the Digestive Health Institute

As leaders in pediatric gastroenterology and hepatology research, our team makes discoveries that have a global impact on pediatric care. Our findings have transformed treatments and increased understanding of gastrointestinal and hepatological conditions, such as helping establish national guidelines for evaluating and treating children with eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs) and learning about the cause and new therapies for nonalchololic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

We continue to explore clues to the causes of biliary atresia and parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease, pathways of disease progression and potential therapeutic approaches. We have found evidence of increased incidence of celiac disease in children and regional variability, and we are one of the few centers in the nation performing and studying pediatric living donor liver transplants.

Our Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center takes a comprehensive approach to providing pediatric-specific multidisciplinary care, and we are advancing the field through basic, clinical and translational research. Edwin De Zoeten, MD, and Caroline Hall, MD, are identifying novel approaches to treatment, while Brad Constant, MD, is studying the impact of prior authorizations on the outcomes of pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Through in-depth research, creative innovation and international collaboration, the Digestive Health Institute at Children’s Colorado is leading breakthrough discoveries and advancing the standard of pediatric care for children and healthcare providers in our Rocky Mountain region and beyond.