Society for Pediatric Research Announces 2026 Award Recipients
HOUSTON, April 20, 2026 – The Society for Pediatric Research® (SPR) is pleased to announce the 2026 award recipients. SPR awards recognize excellence in pediatric research and honor individuals who have made meaningful contributions to advancing child health. The 2026 award recipients will be honored throughout the 2026 Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting in Boston, MA this April 24-27, including:
- PAS Opening General Session: Debbie Anagnostelis Keynote Speaker and FOPO Joseph W. St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award | Friday, April 24 at 2:30 pm ET
FOPO Joseph W. St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award, New Member Outstanding Science Award, Douglas K. Richardson Award for Perinatal and Pediatric Health Care Research - SPR Presidential Plenary: Best of SPR Featured Science | Friday, April 24 at 4:00 pm ET
SPR Award in Honor of E. Mead Johnson, Young Investigator Award, 2025 Bridging to Success Awards, New Member Outstanding Science Award, PROSPER Awards - SPR Eat. Greet. Celebrate: SPR Awards & New Members Reception | Saturday, April 25 at 12:30 pm ET
Nutrition Research Advocate Award, Thomas A. Hazinski Distinguished Service Awards, Maureen Andrew Mentor Award - Genomics in Child Health and the APS SPR Mary Ellen Avery Neonatal Research Award | Sunday, April 26 at 11:30 am ET
APS SPR Mary Ellen Avery Neonatal Research Award - Public Health & Prevention 1 and the SPR Douglas K. Richardson Award for Perinatal and Pediatric Health Care Research | Monday, April 27 at 1:00 pm ET
SPR Douglas K. Richardson Award for Perinatal and Pediatric Health Care Research
2026 SPR Award Recipients
SPR Award in honor of E. Mead Johnson
Timothy Yu, MD, PhD
Boston Children’s Hospital
2026 Thomas A. Hazinski Distinguished Service Award
Todd Florin, MD, MSCE
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
2025 Thomas A. Hazinski Distinguished Service Award
Shetal Shah, MD, FAAP
Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital of New York Medical College
Maureen Andrew Mentor Award
Daniel Benjamin, MD, MPH, PhD
Duke University
Young Investigator Award
Emily Heikamp, MD, PhD, MSc
Harvard Medical School
New Member Outstanding Science Award
Christopher Thom, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Douglas K. Richardson Award for Perinatal and Pediatric Healthcare Research
Glenn Flores, MD
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Nutrition Research Advocate Award
Camilia Martin, MD, MS
Weill Cornell Medicine
PROSPER Awards
Brooke Quertermous, MD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Melissa Zhou, MD
Stanford University School of Medicine
SPR Regional Research Award – Eastern SPR
Christopher Thom, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Rolf Dale Bates, BS
University of Pennsylvania
SPR Regional Research Award – Midwest SPR
Emily Steinbach, PhD
University of Iowa Health Care
Navya Katragadda, DO, MBA
Valley Children’s Healthcare
SPR Regional Research Award – Southern SPR
Maria Barbian, MD
Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Caitlin Stoll, DO
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston
SPR Regional Research Award – Western SPR
Jamie Klapp, MD
UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego
Patrick Zacharias, MD
Los Angeles General Medical Center/USC
2025 Bridging to Success Awards
Maria Barbian, MD
Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Stephanie Gilley, MD, PhD
University of Colorado
House Officer Research Awards
Srikanth Damera, MD PhD
Children’s National Hospital
Deniz Elbizim, MD
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Sarah Householder, MD
Yale-New Haven Hospital
Student Research Awards
Grace Kromm, PhD
Harvard Medical School
Saranya Menon, BS
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
Mitchell Batschelett
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center & University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Aisling Kenny
University of Edinburgh
Talya Bagim
Northwell Health
Ashleigh Pyke, BS, Biology; MPH Candidate
Batchelor Children’s Research Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Richard D. Rowe Award in Clinical Research
Philippa Rees, BSc(Hons) MPhil MBBCh MRCPCH
UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
Fellows’ Clinical Research Awards
Lisiane Hoff Calegari, MD, MSc
Western University
Jessica Hayes, MD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Jonathan Berken, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Nicolas Goldstein Novick, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
David G. Nathan Award in Basic Research
Jonathan Knowlton
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Fellows’ Basic Research Awards
Abin Abraham, MD PhD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Noor Mehandi, MD
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Kimberley Banfield, MBBS
Boston Children’s Hospital
Ioanna Kotsopoulou, MD
Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
FOPO Joseph W. St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award
Robert (Bob) Vinci, MD
Boston University, Boston Medical Center (BMC)
APS SPR Mary Ellen Avery Neonatal Research Award
Wendy K. Chung, MD, PhD
Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
APS SPR Journeys Program, Francis S. Collins Award
Gabrielle Freire, MDCM, MHSc, FRCPC
The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto
European Society for Pediatric Research Young Investigator Exchange Award
Chiara Minotti, MD, Specialist in Pediatrics
University Children’s Hospital Basel and University of Basel
Japan Pediatric Society Fellows’ Exchange Awards
Takao Kobayashi, MD
Molecular Psychoneuroimmunology, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan / Department of Neonatology, Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Children’s Hospital Perinatal Center, Kobe, Japan
Hanae Miyazawa, MD, PhD
Kanazawa University
Mitsuaki Yoshino, MD
Jichi Children’s Medical Center Tochigi






