Motility Team

Dr. Di Lorenzo is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Di Lorenzo has been among the first clinical investigators to assess the diagnostic value of antroduodenal and colonic manometry and to use the electronic barostat to assess visceral sensitivity in children. Dr. Di Lorenzo has co-authored the only book on pediatric gastrointestinal motility and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed original articles and 80 chapters, invited reviews and editorials. He serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Neurogastroenterology and Motility. He has functioned as a grant reviewer for the NIH and as abstract reviewer for the AGA. Dr. Di Lorenzo has served on the Council of NASPGHAN. He has chaired the subcommittee of the American Academy of Pediatrics on development of guidelines for evaluation and treatment of functional abdominal pain, the Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders and Neurogastroenterology Working Group of the second World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology and the AMS committee for the development of minimal standards for motility testing in children. He currently serves on the AMS Clinical Practice Committee. Dr. Di Lorenzo currently chairs the Adolescent Committee of the Rome III criteria, is Council member of the Functional Bowel Group, a member of the Subboard of Pediatric Gastroenterology of the American Board of Pediatrics and a member of the Functional GI Disorders and Motility Disorders Working Group of the National Commission on Digestive Diseases (NCDD). Dr. Di Lorenzo is named among the “Best Doctors in America".

Dr. Mousa is the Medical Director of the Center for Advanced Research in Neuromuscular Gastrointestinal Disorders (CARING) and the Director of the Advanced Training in Gastrointestinal Motility and Functional Disorders at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Mousa is interested in gastrointestinal motility disorders and functional disorders. She has served as the Medical Director of the Interdisciplinary Feeding Evaluation Clinic (IFEC). She has active trials studying acid and non-acid gastroesophageal reflux in children and she has published several articles about the association between gastroesophageal reflux disease and apnea and the effect of fundoplication on the gastric sensory and motor functions. She is currently conducting a trial studying the health consequences of sleep disorders in obese children and its association with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Dr. Mousa also is interested in the evaluation and management of children with constipation. She has published about the value of colonic motility in predicting the outcome of cecostomy placement in patients with severe constipation and is currently conducting with the motility team prospective studies to evaluate the difference between constipated children with or without lower urinary symptoms and comparing the ambulatory and stationary colonic manometry techniques. She presented the results of her research in different national meetings. Dr. Mousa is named among the “Best Doctors in America".

Dr. Punati is an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and an attending physician in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Dr. Punati completed her fellowship in Motility at Nationwide Children's in 2009. Her research interests include intestinal mast cells in patients with motility disorders, and her clinical interests include patients with abdominal pain and motility disorders. Dr. Punati has presented her work at international gastroenterology conferences. Dr. Punati is named among the “Best Doctors in America".

Dr. Alioto is a Pediatric Psychologist in the Department of Psychology at Nationwide Children's Hospital. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. Dr. Alioto serves as the training director for the Pediatric Psychology track of the Psychology Pre-Doctoral Internship Program. Dr. Alioto and his staff work to increase the family’s understanding of the interplay between emotion and GI functioning and how factors such as stress, depression, and anxiety have a significant impact on GI disorders. They also evaluate the family’s behavioral and emotional functioning to allow a more individualized treatment plan.

Dr. Campo is the Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Medical Director of Behavioral Health at Nationwide Children's Hospital. He is board certified in pediatrics, psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. Dr. Campo's clinical and research interests include functional abdominal pain and other medically unexplained physical symptoms in children and adolescents, the association between physical and psychiatric illness, and the delivery of behavioral health interventions in primary.

Dr. Hogan is the Chief of the Section of Vascular and Interventional Radiology in the Department of Radiology at Nationwide Children's Hospital and a Clinical Associate Professor of Radiology and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He also holds clinical academic appointments at the University of Toledo Medical Center. Dr. Hogan’s clinical interest is in Interventional Radiology including chest, gastrointestinal, genitourological and surgical interventions, care of cystic fibrosis patients, and oncologic interventions. His clinical research interests are in the same fields. He is a member of the Trauma Committee and has worked on the Thrombophilia Team, the IV Task Force and the Conscious Sedation Advisory Group.

Dr. Jadcherla is a member of the Neonatology Section/Center for Perinatal Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Perinatal Research conducting innovative research on neonatal feeding disorders. Dr. Jadcherla is interested in elucidating the mechanism of feeding problems in infants. Understanding the feeding mechanism using the technique of pneumohydraulic water perfusion micromanometry and provocation testing at the bedside is the highlight of these methods. Specifically, pharyngoesophageal motor function tests and gastroduodenal motility studies are done in this program. He is working to understand the pathophysiologic basis for the evidence of symptoms, and thereby make more appropriate changes in feeding management. His clinical research works to define the mechanisms of feeding failure and airway compromise in developing infants and to pave the way for evidencebased diagnosis and therapeutic intervention particularly in neonatal dysphagia, gastro esophageal reflux disease and chronic lung disease of infancy.

Dr. Woodley holds a PhD in molecular and cellular biology from The Ohio University. He is currently a senior research scientist at Nationwide Children's Hospital where he has a clinical appointment in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and research appointments in the Centers for Healthy Weight and Nutrition and Advanced Research in Neuromuscular Gastrointestinal Disorders (CARING). He is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. His clinical responsibility at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is for the analysis of combined pH/multichannel intraluminal impedance (pH/MII) tracings for all pH/MII studies conducted in the GI Division. Working closely with Dr. Hayat Mousa (the medical director), his research endeavors involve studies aimed at: 1) elucidating the effect(s) of formula feeds on acid clearance in infants, 2) comparing gastric emptying rates of different formula feeds that contain either casein or whey as the predominant protein source, 3) assessing the clinical importance of different types of acid gastroesophageal reflux events in infants, 4) elucidating and characterizing mechanism(s) regulated to release of bicarbonate and protein into the esophageal lumen by submucosal glands in response to gastric acid exposure and swallow-induced peristalsis, 5) assessing the impact of aging on efficiency of acid clearance in cystic fibrosis patients, and 6) assessing the impact of feeding methods (oral versus enteral) on efficiency of acid clearance in infants.   In the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, Dr. Woodley is designing/constructing a database of obese children to be used for purposes of identifying early markers/indicators of obesity in infants, toddlers, and adolescents. Dr. Woodley has presented his research findings on gastroesophageal reflux at both national and international meetings. In addition to his work at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Dr. Woodley is an adjunct professor of molecular and cellular biology at Capital University and an adjunct professor of microbiology at Columbus State Community College.

Dr. Green is a first year Motility Fellow in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital. He received his DO from Ohio University College of Medicine,  Athens, Ohio. He completed his Pediatric Residency at Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland, Ohio and his Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Mary Lee Montgomery is a pediatric nurse practitioner for the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She specializes in the area of pediatric gastro motility disorders. Mary Lee has been a pediatric nurse practitioner for over 20 years and has a wide range of experience with chronic illnesses of children in the areas of endocrinology, pulmonology, neonatology and lactation as well as gastro motility disorders. She received her Masters in Nursing degree from California State University at Long Beach and her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Bowling Green State University.  She is a fellow of the National Association of Nurse Associates and Practitioners and a member of Sigma Theta Tau nursing honorary.

Beth Skaggs, CCRC
Beth has over 10 years experience as a clinical research coordinator and has been with the GI Division for three years.  She has received certification as a research coordinator through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals and is the lead coordinator for motility research conducted in the GI Division.

Charmaign Albright, RN is a nursing  graduate of  Kettering College of Medical arts with five years experience in Cardio Throacic Intensive Care before moving to Columbus and joining Nationwide Chiledren’s Hospital.  After providing excellence in patient care for eight years on multiple units at NCH, Charmaign joined the Gastroenterology Motility Team fulltime. In addition to coordinating and scheduling various motility procedures she performs the manometry studies (colonic, duodenal, esophageal, and anal) as well as places pH probes to initiate  the Impedance/pH testing.