Project Grant R01DK144099

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded The Children's Hospital Corporation (doing business as Boston Children's Hospital) $600,147 on August 10, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to evaluate the efficacy of a novel bile acid-binding blenderized gastrostomy tube feed for children with medical complexity at risk for aspiration-associated complications.

The research addresses the clinical problem that up to 40 percent of children with medical complexity who receive gastrostomy tubes for nutritional support still develop recurrent pneumonias due to refluxed and aspirated gastric contents. The study hypothesizes that a bile acid-binding enteral feed, relative to commercially available alternatives, will decrease in vivo gastric and salivary bile acid concentrations (the latter serving as a biomarker of gastroesophageal reflux and aspiration risk), reduce hospitalization and emergency room visit rates, and improve nutritional, microbial, and clinical outcomes. Bile acids present in pediatric gastric fluid can trigger extraesophageal inflammation and symptoms when refluxed, yet no existing therapies sequester gastric bile acids to prevent reflux and aspiration.

The award period runs from August 10, 2026, through April 30, 2031. Performance occurs at Boston Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. This is a Project Grant, the standard NIH extramural research assistance type supporting investigator-initiated biomedical research that improves understanding of disease mechanisms and leads to improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.