New GI leaders to launch basic science program, further expand clinical care

Charles Vanderpool, MD, and Brian DeBosch, MD, PhD, have big plans for advancing care for children with complex GI and liver disease. Under a shared leadership model, the new co-division chiefs of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Riley Children’s Health are focused on further expanding clinical services across Indiana and diversifying the division’s research portfolio to include basic and translational science targeted to developing new treatments.

Both physicians acknowledge they have big shoes to fill succeeding outgoing division chief Jean Molleston, MD, who led pediatric GI and hepatology at Riley Children’s and Indiana University School of Medicine since 2005. During her tenure, the number of faculty nearly doubled, and the division opened satellite offices in six Indiana communities. In addition, the division currently supports a robust clinical research program. Participating in more than 200 IRB-approved studies, Riley GI and liver specialists are engaged in IBD research with ImproveCareNow, the acute liver failure study TRIUMPH, National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded trials for pediatric liver disease, industry-sponsored EoE trials and more.

“While we’ve become very active in clinical research, we haven’t had the opportunity to expand in the same fashion with basic science,” said Dr. Vanderpool, who oversees the division’s clinical program after serving as associate division director since 2019. “This new co-leadership model offers a unique opportunity for continued growth clinically and increased innovation through the focused development of a basic and translational science research program.”

Nationally recognized for basic science research, Dr. DeBosch, a physician scientist whose research explores the gut determinants of metabolic disease, joined Riley Children’s in July 2024 to lead the division’s research efforts. Lead investigator of three NIH R01 awards, Dr. DeBosch uses genetic and pharmacological approaches in cell culture, animal models and patient-derived organoids to understand pathways downstream of the glucose transporters involved in metabolic conditions such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and metabolic syndrome. He has a patent pending on an enzyme that augments the urea cycle, a metabolic pathway that his research has demonstrated to be upregulated during intermittent fasting or pharmacologic blockade of hepatocyte glucose uptake.

“I’m looking forward to expanding this line of research using the strengths and resources available at Riley Children’s and IU School of Medicine,” said Dr. DeBosch, whose laboratory will be housed in the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research at Riley Children’s. “I’m also excited about the potential to partner with the corps of amazing scientists at IU, and to leverage the strengths of the biomedical community in Indianapolis, for example, through potential collaborations with bioengineering partners at Purdue University.”

In addition to continuing his research and clinical practice, Dr. DeBosch, in his role as co-division chief, seeks to expand training opportunities for physician scientists at Riley Children’s and recruit mid-career scientists to grow the division’s basic science and translational research program.

“Capitalizing on the excellent trainees that IU School of Medicine attracts, my goal is to continue developing top-notch basic and translational physician scientists from our training programs at IU,” Dr. DeBosch said.

On the clinical side, Dr. Vanderpool, who also directs the nationally recognized Parenteral Support and Intestinal Rehabilitation Program (PAIR) at Riley Children’s, is exploring ways to bring more extensive clinical services, such as advanced endoscopy, to the division’s satellite locations across Indiana.

“I'm excited to work with our faculty and Riley to continue building our clinical program,” Dr. Vanderpool said. “Couple that with the synergy of this new leadership model that allows the division to also expand our basic science capabilities, we’re poised to create a lot of new opportunities to continue improving care for children in the future.”