Faculty Research Activities

James E. Squires, MD, MS remains active in both clinical and research pursuits. He is a co-investigator in the Children Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN), an NIH funded consortium working to improve the lives of children with rare cholestatic liver diseases. He is also a member of the Society of Pediatric LIver Transplant (SPLIT), a multifaceted organization focused on improving outcomes for children receiving liver transplantation.  His current research interests include metabolic liver disease, acute liver failure, and liver transplant. Squires is also investigating how learning health networks (LHNs) can improve healthcare for children. He is the clinical lead for the Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation (SNEPT) and has received funding to investigate how LHNs can achieve better outcomes for children with autoimmune liver disease.

Robert H. Squires, MD, FAAP, FAASLD participates in two multicenter studies to define the epidemiology and outcome of acute liver failure in children and the pathogenesis of biliary atresia. Squires is the principal investigator of the acute liver failure study. He heads the local project in the NIH consortium for biliary atresia.

Arvind Srinath, MD, MS research focuses on subspecialty medical education, in particular curriculum development, in addition to functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Veena Venkat, MD is involved with clinical research studies related to pediatric liver disease and liver transplant outcomes.  She is an active co-investigator in iWITH, a clinical trial of immunosuppression withdrawal in stable pediatric liver transplant recipients.  Her focus has been on the long term graft health, safety outcomes and reversibility of rejection during immunosuppression withdrawal. Her clinical work with the liver transplant program has led to publications in challenging pediatric liver transplant populations including primary sclerosing cholangitis, re-transplantation, and strategies to improve patient adherence to the medical regimen.  Venkat is a co-investigator in the ChiLDReN (Childhood Liver Disease and Research Network) and has worked collaboratively to further understand the natural history and outcomes of children with cholestatic liver diseases such as biliary atresia and Alagille syndrome.   This collaboration includes her role as site lead in PRIME, A Phase I/IIa Trial of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) Therapy Following Portoenterostomy in Infants with Biliary Atresia.