Babajide Ojo, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, received the Richard J. Grand and John B. Watkins Prize from the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) for research exploring how patient-derived “mini-guts” could help predict treatment responses in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The annual prize recognizes one researcher whose abstract is selected through review by subject-matter experts. The recipient receives an award plaque during NASPGHAN’s annual meeting and presents their research during a plenary session.
Ojo’s research uses organoids, miniature models of intestinal tissue grown from patient biopsies, to evaluate IBD treatments in the laboratory. His award-winning abstract showed that these models produce TNF-alpha, a protein involved in inflammation, at a specific time point. By testing medications that block this protein, the team demonstrated the models’ potential to distinguish between patients who may respond to anti-TNF treatment and those who may not.
“I am really excited to have received the award, especially since this was my first submission to NASPGHAN,” said Ojo.
Next, the team plans to expand its organoid donor pool, investigate differences in treatment response and compare laboratory findings with the clinical outcomes of patients who received anti-TNF medications. Ultimately, the researchers hope to help physicians identify effective therapies for individual children before treatment begins.