Nemours Center for Eosinophilic GI Disease
- Overview
- Patients and Families
- Meet the Team
- Clinical Trials & Studies
- For Researchers
Innovative Care and Research for Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Kids with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) have inflammation of the esophagus (the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach). This inflammation can make eating difficult or uncomfortable, and create other medical issues. Most people with eosinophilic (ee-eh-sin-eh-FIL-ik) esophagitis (eh-sof-eh-JYE-tis) improve with treatment. Our pediatric team will provide state of the art, personalized care for your child. We're also advancing EoE care for all kids through research.
Advanced Care With Less Wait, Kids-Only Experts and More
Our pediatric GI Center of Excellence offers families convenience and expertise, including:
- we're one of the few places in the nation that offers unsedated transnasal endoscopy (TNE) for kids
- testing and on-site care from our experts in pediatric allergy & immunology
- personalized plans from registered dietitians with special training in the needs of kids with EoE
- programs and clinical trials led by GI experts with decades of experience caring for children
Pediatric Care From Providers Who Are Leaders in Their Field
Designed for Families to Be a Center of Excellence
Your Support Changes Lives
Your donations will help improve clinical care through research. Our active research program is focused on understanding why some patients do not respond well to standard therapies. In the near future, we will use what we learned from our research to develop a precision medicine approach tailored for each individual. Right drug, right patient, right time.
“We're beyond grateful to Dr. Franciosi for getting the transnasal endoscopy started. My son's had 17 regular endoscopies…TNE was so fast and simple!"
"I really liked having the TNE… I was happy to not have to deal with the anesthesia…I got to watch a movie and the procedure didn't feel bad at all!"
Does Your Child Have Eosinophilic Esophagitis?
Schedule a consultation with a specialist to determine if your child’s symptoms are due to EoE and to learn more about our clinical services and research. We're here to help.
Center for Eosinophilic GI Disease
at Nemours Children's Hospital, Florida
6535 Nemours Parkway
Orlando, FL 32827
Hours
Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Our programs are staffed by pediatric specialists trained to provide care specifically for children, from newborns to age 18.
A Team to Care for Your Child's EoE
We have a multidisciplinary Center for Eosinophilic GI Disease team that includes physicians, nurse practitioners, psychologists, social workers, nurses, research assistants and registered dietitians. We offer comprehensive GI and allergy care including unsedated transnasal endoscopy, traditional endoscopy, EndoflipTM, allergy testing, nutritional counseling and innovative clinical trials.
Plan Your Visit to Our Center for Eosinophilic GI Disease
Plan a visit to our center located at Nemours Children's Hospital, Florida in Orlando. Or see or one of our GI specialists throughout Florida.
The Nemours App
If your child’s provider recommends it, you and your child can have a video visit from the comfort of your home using the Nemours app. Nemours providers have cared for thousands of patients on video (telehealth) for a long time. We’re ready to provide the best care for your child.
Does Your Child Have Eosinophilic Esophagitis?
James P. Franciosi, MD, MS, MSCE, FAAP
Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Nemours Children's Hospital, Florida
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Hadeel Alatrash Haddad, MD, MRCPCH
Division of Gastroenterology
Hepatology and Nutrition
Nemours Children's Health, Orlando
Jordan Smallwood, MD
Division of Allergy and Immunology
Nemours Children's Health, Orlando
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Beth Long, PsyD
Division of Pediatric Behavioral Health
Nemours Children's Health, Lake Nona Medical City
Ed Mougey, PhD
Research Scientist
Department of Research, North Florida
Nemours Children’s Health, Jacksonville
Kimberly Howard, MOTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Department of Therapeutic and Rehab Services
Aimee Molineaux, RD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Division of Gastroenterology
Hepatology and Nurtrition
Our research is all about our patients.
We offer cutting edge diagnostic procedures and treatment for EoE, including unsedated transnasal endoscopy (TNE) for kids. Our technology supports our care and offers convenience for patient families with options such as telehealth visits and direct email with your child's provider via the Nemours app.
What is a clinical trial?
A clinical trial is how researchers and medical professionals find out if a new drug, diet, device, or other medical treatment is both safe and effective. A clinical trial may compare a new treatment to an existing one. Or, it may compare a new medicine to a placebo (a medicine that has no active ingredients). Sometimes clinical trials compare new treatments to no intervention at all.
FREoE Study
The FREoE study is a novel diet study for children ages 2 to 18 who suffer from symptoms of EoE. Although there is increasing evidence that consumption of food additives may impact health, scientists have not tested how food additives influence clinical outcomes in EoE. While elimination of dairy from the diet provides relief for some EoE patients, we are interested in whether elimination of both common food additives and dairy from the diet results in even better outcomes for EoE patients.
PPIREoE Study
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are one of the approved therapies for treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis. A large percentage of EoE patients fail to respond to PPIs due to a complex mix of environmental and genetic factors that are unique to the individual. Dr. Franciosi is leading a group of internationally recognized EoE researchers to identify factors that limit response to PPIs in EoE and will use this information to improve individual response.
PPI Precision Medicine Study
For every drug therapy that is currently on the market, a percentage of the patients who receive the therapy will respond poorly due to variability in individual environmental and genetic factors. Precision medicine is the study of the factors that associate with poor therapeutic response and the use of this information to improve therapeutic outcomes. This study seeks to establish precision medicine recommendations for drug therapies that are routinely used to treat gastrointestinal (GI) conditions.
“We're beyond grateful to Dr. Franciosi for getting the transnasal endoscopy started. My son's had 17 regular endoscopies…TNE was so fast and simple!"
Donations That Help Change Lives
Your donations will help improve clinical care through research. Our active research program is focused on understanding why some patients do not respond well to standard therapies. In the near future, we will use what we learned from our research to develop a precision medicine approach tailored for each individual. Right drug, right patient, right time.
Our Research Is All About Our Patients
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact our research team with additional questions at the contacts provided.
We Are a Resource Center For Researchers
Whether you have a question about our clinical care, research, or general condition or institutional questions, we're here to help. You can also contact us for things such as access to REDCap data entry, Protocols, Manual of Procedures, forms and progress reports on studies.
Please specify which study you are inquiring about when contacting our team. We look forward to collaborating with you to improve the health of all children for many generations to come.
Get Involved or Enroll in Our Research Studies
We are changing the outcome together. Beyond providing unmatched clinical care, we are working around the clock to advance eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) innovation and research.
How Genetic Variations Influence PPI Therapy
James Franciosi, MD, MS, MSCE
How Genetic Variations Influence PPI Therapy in Pediatric EoE
Dr. Franciosi, who leads the Eosinophilic GI Disease Center at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida, discusses the prevalence of pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), his research on how genetic variations can differentiate responses to proton-pump inhibitor therapy in pediatric EoE, and more.
Eosinophilic Esophagitis: It Takes A Village
Presentation by Dr. James Franciosi (GI)
Dr. Jordan Smallwood (Allergy & Immunology)
Edward Mougey, PhD (Research Scientist)
This presentaion includes highlights from the EoE GI Disease program such as initial research findings related to pharmacogenetics and pharmacokinetics of PPI treatments for EoE, the importance of multidisclplinary coordnation for diagnosis and treatment of EoE, and the Nemours EoE Center of Excellence.
Would You Like to Be Part of Our Research Team?
If you are a clinical researcher who is participating in one of our research studies and would like to set up an account for web access, or if you would like request access to research resources, please click the "Request Access" button below.