Person standing in front of a backdrop with repeated Society for Pediatric Research logos, holding an award certificate and wearing a conference lanyard at a Pediatric Academic Societies 2022 meeting.

House Officer Research Awards

The House Officer Research Award is presented annually by the Society for Pediatric Research® (SPR) to recognize outstanding research conducted by house officers. This award encourages early-career physicians to pursue careers in academic pediatrics.

Recipients are selected based on the quality of work presented in abstracts submitted to the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting.

This award must be applied for at the time of PAS abstract submission.

Award

One to three recipients are selected annually
Recipients will present their research at the upcoming PAS Meeting

Eligibility Criteria

Be a house officer or resident
Submit and present abstract at the PAS Meeting prior to the completion of residency
Complete the online application form and submit their abstract and supplemental materials by the abstract submission deadline
Applicant must describe their contribution to the project when asked to provide “brief description of the work performed”
First authorship on an abstract submitted to the PAS Meeting; the abstract must be accepted for presentation at the PAS Meeting to be considered
The recipient must present the study at the upcoming PAS Meeting

Applications that do not meet the conditions stated above will not be considered for the awards. The accuracy of the abstract and application is the applicants’ responsibility. Please proofread carefully before submitting. After submission, no corrections will be permitted. By submitting, you approve the accuracy of your abstract and application.

Current Recipients

Dr. Daniel Diaz-Gil, a senior pediatric resident and rising pediatric cardiology fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, is being honored with the SPR House Staff Award for his significant contributions to the understanding of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), particularly through his groundbreaking research on Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) and its role in diastolic dysfunction of the hypoplastic left ventricle. His innovative use of single-nucleus RNA sequencing and RNA scope techniques has illuminated the critical interactions between fibroblasts and cardiomyocytes in HLHS, uncovering a novel fibroblast cluster with increased NRG1 expression linked to severe myocardial dysfunction. This discovery advances our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms driving HLHS and opens new avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions.

Dr.Diaz-Gil’s research is distinguished by its integration of advanced molecular profiling with clinical diagnostics, aiming to develop precision therapies that improve the survival and quality of life of children with severe cardiac malformations. Supported by the Congenital Heart Disease Coalition and the Fred Lovejoy House-staff Research Fund, his work leverages his clinical insights and basic science expertise to drive clinically relevant scientific breakthroughs. This award recognizes his exceptional ability to bridge pioneering research with transformative clinical practice setting new standards in pediatric cardiology, while still being in residency.

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Daniel Diaz-Gil, MD

Boston Children’s Hospital

Eleanor Semmes, MD PhD, is a second-year pediatric resident in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center. She completed her MD/PhD at Duke University’s Medical Scientist Training Program. Her PhD work at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute focused on maternal-fetal immunity in congenital CMV infection and was mentored by Sallie Permar, MD PhD. Her doctoral research identified Fc antibody functions including antibody-dependent phagocytosis and cellular cytotoxicity as associated with protection against congenital CMV transmission. Drs. Semmes and Permar have continued to collaborate during her residency training on research related to how CMV shapes neonatal T and NK cell populations in utero.

Her research “Cord blood CD8+ T cells acquire NK-like antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) functions in congenital human cytomegalovirus infection” identified a unique population of CD8+ T cells that upregulate Fc?RIII/CD16 and other NK cell genes/receptors following CMV exposure in utero. These CD8+ T cells undergo transcriptional reprogramming to acquire Fc effector functions that may synergize with maternal IgG to help protect infants against congenital and perinatal infections.

Dr. Semmes will begin pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital in July 2025 and plans to pursue a career as a physician-scientist.

A person with long dark hair, wearing a blue blazer and gray top, smiles in an indoor setting.

Eleanor Semmes, MD, PhD

Boston Children’s Hospital

Sarah Wang is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Sarah’s research interests include the development of new therapies for conditions affecting preterm infants, including necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and NEC-related short bowel syndrome. She is particularly interested in the role of lipids and lipid-like bioactive molecules for the treatment of intestinal failure-related complications including liver disease. She is actively involved in pediatric clinical trials that focus on these areas. Sarah received this award in recognition of her translational work on the role of lipase-mediated fat digestion in reducing intestinal injury in a murine model of necrotizing enterocolitis.

Sarah is a General Surgery resident at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and intends to pursue a career in pediatric surgery. Sarah gratefully acknowledges the continuous support of her mentor and pediatric surgeon-scientist Dr. Mark Puder, the Vascular Biology Program, and the Department of Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.

A person with long wavy hair, wearing a dark blazer and light top, poses against a plain light background.

Sarah Z. Wang, MD, MPH

Boston Children’s Hospital

2024 | Motunrayo Adu, MD, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, New Haven, CT
2024 | Don Laing, MBChB, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
2024 | Jose Tascon Arcila, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
2023 | Tanima Arora, MD, MHS, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
2023 | Mausma Bawa, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
2023 | Josh Kurtz, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
2022 | Henna Boolchandani, MD, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, New Haven, CT
2022 | Melissa Day, MD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
2022 | Lillian Juttukonda, MD, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital C Medical Center, Boston, MA
2021 | Arthur Lee, MD, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
2021 | Mary Pilarz, MD, Ann C Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2021 | Mary Zabinski, MD, University of Massachusetts Medical School – Baystate Children’s Hospital, Springfield, MA
2020 | Michael Cookson, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO
2020 | Emman Dabaja, MD MPH, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI
2020 | Philippa Rees, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK
2019 | Emily A. Callan, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, WI
2019 | Danielle Callaway, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Waco, TX
2019 | Melisa Carrasco McCaul, MD PhD, Pediatric Neurology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
2018 | Joseph Alge, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
2018 | Stephanie Davis-Rodriguez, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
2018 | Colm Travers, University of Alabama at Birmingham
2017 | Mihir R. Atreya, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
2017 | Rebecca M. Hayes, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
2017 | Laura Malchodi, Walter Reed Pediatrics, Bethesda, MD
2016 | Stephanie Berdy, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD
2016 | Jonathan J. Edwards, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
2016 | Laura E. Zastoupil, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO
2015 | Susanne C. Chock, Boston Children’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School,Boston, MA
2015 | Stacy L. Kern, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, SD
2015 | Hojun Li, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
2014 | Joshua J. Bear, University of California, San Francisco, CA
2014 | Kriti Puri, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH
2014 | Regina K. Rowe, Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX
2013 | Amy C. Blake, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO
2013 | Luis E. Lozada, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD
2013 | Hijab Zubairi, Baystate Children’s Hospital, Springfield, MA
2012 | Lakshmi Ganapathi, Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, MA
2012 | John Kelleher, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
2012 | Paul Tannous, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX
2011 | Hitesh S. Deshmukh, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY
2011 | Joyce T. Hsu, Children’s Hospital Boston, MA
2011 | Augusto F. Schmidt, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
2010 | Brian Becknell, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
2010 | Enrica Fornaro, University of Padova, Italy
2010 | Anita K. McElroy, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2009 | Alicia Avedis Demirjian, Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
2009 | Laura McCullough, Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, MA
2009 | Erin Kristin Zinkhan, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
2008 | Bridget Burshears, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
2008 | Georg Hansmann, UC San Francisco/Stanford University, San Francisco, CA
2008 | Sandra Lawrynowicz, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
2007 | Anja M. Hafkamp, Medisch Spectrum, Enschede, The Netherlands
2007 | David Hains, Columbus Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
2007 | Daniel J. Moore, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
2006 | Keri Cohn, The Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
2006 | Shrena Patel, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
2006 | Sallie Permar, Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
2005 | Avraham Beigelman, Soroka Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University, Beer- Sheva, Israel
2005 | Timothy A. Biela, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonia, TX
2005 | Cordula M. Wolf, Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
2004 | Carl E. Allen, Columbus Children’s Hospital, Columbus
2004 | Jessica Henderson-Boyd, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
2004 | D. Williams Parsons, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Baltimore
2003 | Jerry C. Cheng, Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, Los Angeles
2003 | Hiroto Inaba, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Troy
2003 | Carey Lumeng, Children’s Hospital C Boston Medical Center, Boston
2002 | Rossana Chang, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque
2002 | Benjamin Dekel, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
2002 | Ru-Jeng Teng, University of Alabama, Birmingham
2001 | Cary R. Murphy, University of Iowa, Iowa City
2001 | Kimberly McCrudden, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York
2001 | Maria P. Nguyen, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
2000 | Douglas D. Fraser, Kingston General Hospital, Ontario
2000 | Paul J. Galardy, Harvard Medical School, Boston
2000 | Matthew A. Saxonhouse, University of Florida, Gainesville
1999 | Ofer Levy, Children’s Hospital, Boston
1999 | Terrie Inder, Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston
1999 | Sandeep Batra, Children’s Medical Center, Stony Brook
1998 | Despina E. Varlam, State University of New York, Stony Brook
1997 | Patricia Ramsey, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
1997 | Martha Sola, University of Florida, Gainesville
1997 | Elizabeth Yerkes, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville
1996 | Jeff Lukish, Children’s Hospital, Washington DC
1996 | Virginia Powell, University of Maryland, Baltimore
1996 | Scott Rosenfeld, Ohio State University, Columbus
1995 | Y. Anikster, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem
1995 | Jessica Klekamp, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville
1994 | Daniel J. Bonthius, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
1994 | Kimberly P. Marshall, Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis
1994 | Duncan T. Wilcox, SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo
1993 | Scott Cameron, Children’s Hospital, Boston
1993 | H. L. Karamanouklan, SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo
1992 | Clarisse Gervasio, Hutzel Hospital, Detroit
1992 | Amy J. North, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
1991 | Timothy P. Cripe, University of Iowa, Iowa City
1990 | David B. Haslam, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa
1990 | Nancy C. Andrews, Harvard Medical School, Boston
1989 | Michael Acarregui, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas