Weekly News

April 1 | 2026

Shape our Future: 2026 NASPGHAN Leadership Nominations NOW Open

NASPGHAN is excited to announce that Leadership Nominations are now open for the 2026 NASPGHAN Election (beginning July 27).

Serving in a NASPGHAN leadership role is a meaningful way to contribute beyond your day-to-day work—helping guide the Society’s strategic direction, represent the perspectives of members across practice settings and regions, and support initiatives that advance clinical care, education, and research.

This year, members will have the opportunity to help shape the future of the Society by nominating yourself or putting forward candidates for four important leadership roles:

President-elect
Secretary-Treasurer
Clinical Practice Councilor
Canadian Councilor

In preparation for this year’s election, NASPGHAN leadership thoroughly reviewed the knowledge, skills, attributes and competencies that are needed to advance NASPGHAN’s strategic priorities which resulted in updated and enhanced descriptions for these four positions. To view the enhanced descriptions and access the application, please visit here.

We encourage you to consider nominating a colleague - or yourself - whose leadership, perspective, and experience would strengthen the Society, advance it's future and achieve its mission. The deadline for nominations is May 20, 2026.

If you have questions, please contact Steve Farace, Director of Member Engagement.

2027 NASPGHAN Committee Enrollment Now Open

Interested in enhancing your level of engagement with NASPGHAN while supporting key initiatives within pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition? Applications are now open for 2027 NASPGHAN Committee Enrollment.

Serving on a NASPGHAN committee offers a meaningful opportunity to contribute your expertise, collaborate with colleagues across the field, and support initiatives that advance the mission of NASPGHAN. Committees play a vital role in driving education, research, advocacy, and member-focused programs.

Committee appointments will begin December 1, 2026, with a standard three-year term. Members may serve on only one committee at a time, and we encourage thoughtful consideration of where your interests and experience can have the greatest impact. Click here to view the full list of committees.

Whether you are a first-time applicant or a current volunteer whose current committee term is expiring and are looking to continue your involvement in a new capacity, we encourage you to explore available opportunities and apply.

Click here to access the application (use your NASPGHAN credentials to login). The deadline for application submission is May 11, 2026.

Click here to learn more about committee roles, expectations, and the appointment process.

If you have questions about the committee appointment process, please contact Steve Farace, Director of Member Engagement.

NASPGHAN 2026

Foundation Grants

Explore this year’s grant opportunities in research, innovation, advocacy, and training! See what opportunities you may be eligible for as well and watch the 2026 NASPGHAN Foundation Grants Informational webinar for important application and review information.

Applications are now open, and members are encouraged to review the available opportunities and apply through the online portal .

Your NASPGHAN Foundation donations helped make this year’s grant opportunities possible. Consider donating to make these opportunities available for future members!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

May 6 - Clinical Utility of Integrating Functional Luminal Imaging probe with Standard EGD for Comprehensive Esophageal Assessment

8PM ET

May 20 - Management of Anemia in IBD

8PM ET

June 16 - Practical Applications of Generative AI in Peds GI

8PM ET

2026 Baby Shark Tank

Submission Deadline: June 1, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern Time

The submission site is now open for 2026.

The 5th Annual NASPGHAN Baby Shark Tank is an opportunity to share your GI innovation or medical device idea with colleagues and the world! Applications will be reviewed by a panel of experts, and the Top 3 will be chosen to pitch live at the NASPGHAN Annual Meeting on the evening of Thursday, October 22, 2026 in San Diego, CA.

Click here to Apply now: https://naspghan.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/172/home

The Top 3 innovations will be publicized by NASPGHAN and the pitch competition winner will receive a cash prize of $1,000.00 as well as support to enter the AGA Shark Tank (Spring 2027).

Requirements:

Innovation, medical device, or technology in an early stage of development (not yet commercially available)
Meets need of digestive health or patients, families, or the medical team (not limited to pediatrics)
Limited to 1 entry per applicant
Agreement for any information shared in the Shark Tank to be publicized through video recording and/or print (i.e. your idea could be shared)

All applicants will be contacted with results by August 3rd, 2026.

Past Winners of Baby Shark Tank:

2025 Rachel Rosen: Bile Blaster: A Bile Acid-Sequestering Blenderized Enteral Tube Feed

2024 Peter Ngo: Pediatric Emergency Esophageal Tamponade Kit

2023 Peter Lu: Tibi-Stim: Treat your child's constipation using a piece of tape

2022 Steve Moulton: EZaLife, LLC: Button Huggie

If you have any questions about this application or the Shark Tank in general, please contact either Ada Lee or Dhandapani Ashok.

FDA Launches New Infant Formula Online Resources

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently launched a significant redesign of its infant formula web-based resources, including a modernized website with improved navigation and user-friendly design for parents, caregivers, health care providers, and manufacturers including a new publicly accessible list of all FDA-notified infant formulas available in the U.S. market.

An updated homepage includes links to dedicated pages, including a page with information for parents and caregivers. That page includes information for finding safe formula substitutes, which references and links to NASPGHAN’s list of comparable formulas.

According to the FDA, the website redesign addresses a long-standing need for centralized, accessible infant formula information.

Webpages:

Infant Formula Homepage

https://www.fda.gov/food/resources-you-food/infant-formula-homepage

Information for Infant Formula Manufacturers and Retailers

https://www.fda.gov/food/infant-formula-homepage/information-infant-formula-manufacturers-and-retailers

Infant Formula Information for Parents & Caregivers

https://www.fda.gov/food/infant-formula-homepage/infant-formula-information-parents-caregivers

Operation Stork Speed

https://www.fda.gov/food/infant-formula-homepage/operation-stork-speed

Infant Formulas Marketed in the United States

https://www.fda.gov/food/infant-formula-homepage/infant-formulas-marketed-us

2026 Abstract Site NOW OPEN

We are pleased to announce that the Annual Meeting abstract submission site is now OPEN with a final submission deadline of June 1.

We encourage all members to begin preparing their submissions now and to share this information widely with trainees, colleagues, and collaborators.

What's New This Year?

NEW: Dedicated Quality Improvement Submission Pathway

Quality Improvement (QI) abstracts will have their own submission pathway this year, providing clearer review and categorization. As a reminder, 25 ABP MOC Part 4 credits remain available for authors of each qualifying QI abstract presentation.

NEW: Abstract Evaluation Rubrics are Available

Abstract evaluation rubrics will now be publicly posted for all abstract submitters to review. This is intended to provide transparency as well as clear guidance on evaluation criteria and help authors better align their submissions with review standards.

Poster Format Reminder

We will continue with the smaller poster format this year.

Posters should not exceed 4 feet × 4 feet in size.