Introducing Our New Director of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Sean Moore, MD, MS, returned to Cincinnati Children’s this summer as the Mitchell Cohen chair and director of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.
The pediatrician and pediatric gastroenterologist worked as an assistant and associate professor in the division at Cincinnati Children’s from 2009 to 2016. Most recently, he was a professor of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the University of Virginia.
“Accepting this position felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only come back and lead a great team, but also to be part of the next chapter of a division that continues to shape the entire field of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition,” Moore says. “There’s a lot more hope for kids diagnosed with a GI disorder than there used to be, and Cincinnati Children’s is a big part of the reason why.”
Paul Spearman, MD, vice chair of Clinical and Translational Research and Education in the Cincinnati Children’s Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, says Moore is the ideal leader for the division: “He is very familiar with our culture of innovation, and he brings strengths in research, clinical care, education and advocacy. He has outstanding leadership and communication skills. He truly wants everyone to succeed and cares deeply about improving the lives of children in Cincinnati and globally.”
An Opportunity to Pay it Forward
Moore started in his new role on July 15. As division director, Moore says he’s excited to pay forward the mentorship he received early in his career by helping others succeed. He’s also eager to support and bolster ongoing research, as well as expand expertise in several areas, including advanced endoscopy. In fact, Moore says one of his goals is for Cincinnati Children’s to develop the country’s first pediatric advanced endoscopy fellowship.
“I want to double down on the education mission of the division,” Moore says. “Let’s make this not only the best place in the country to come and learn how to be a pediatric gastroenterologist, but also the best place to learn how to ask and answer meaningful research questions, conduct quality improvement, and develop new clinical programs—so that we’re taking great care of the patient and family in front of us and always thinking about the child of the future.”
Moore has always worked as a physician-scientist. In addition to his clinical work, he is an investigator on several National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awards focusing on enteric microbes, gut health, immunity and nutrition.
At the University of Virginia, Moore served as co-director of the TransUniversity Microbiome Initiative, core director of Pilot Translational and Clinical Studies for the Integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV), and director of the Pendleton Infectious Disease Laboratory, as well as a Vivian Pinn Scholar.
More Additions to the Division
Moore succeeds Conrad Cole, MD, MPH and Lee “Ted” Denson, MD, who served as interim co-directors of the division since summer 2022.
“We want to express our sincere gratitude to Conrad and Ted for their service and contributions to the division,” Spearman says. “They have continued and even expanded the great work in the division during their time as interim co-directors.”
In addition to Moore, the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition also recently welcomed:
- Erica DePasquale, PhD, a bioinformatician with expertise in genomic studies of gastrointestinal disease
- Ajay Dixit, MSc, PhD, whose research includes the molecular and cellular processes underlying the protective and detrimental immune responses in acute and chronic pancreatitis
- Alex Nasr, MD, a new faculty member and former fellow focused on pediatric gastroenterology
- Garrett Sprague, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist and associate director of the Interventional Endoscopy Center
- Nicole Zeky, DO, a pediatric gastroenterologist specializing in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
(Published November 2024)
