Gail Besner, MD, Named Ohio State University Distinguished Professor

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Gail E. Besner, MD, chief of pediatric surgery at Nationwide Children’s, has been named a Distinguished University Professor at The Ohio State University — the institution’s highest faculty honor. This prestigious title recognizes faculty with exceptional, nationally recognized achievements in teaching, research and service. Dr. Besner is not only the first surgeon to receive this distinction, but also the first awardee from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. 

Dr. Besner also holds the William Clatworthy Jr. Professor of Surgery at Ohio State and has earned widespread recognition for her leadership and contributions to pediatric surgery. In 2025, she received the American Surgical Association’s Medallion for Scientific Achievement, the organization’s highest honor, becoming just the third pediatric surgeon and second woman to do so. That year she also was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. 

Her recent honors also include the Daniel Drake Medal from her alma mater, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and the Surgical Career Achievement Recognition Award and the Steve Allen, MD Distinguished Scholar in Pediatric Research Award, both from Nationwide Children’s.

Dr. Besner is an internationally renowned expert on novel therapeutics to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis since her seminal discovery of heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor in 1990.  Necrotizing enterocolitis is a debilitating and deadly condition affecting infants born prematurely. She also conducts pioneering research on administering probiotics in their biofilm state to protect the intestines and brain. That research has progressed to a recently completed first-in-human FDA-approved Phase-1 clinical trial.

In addition to her many honors, Dr. Besner will serve as president of the American Pediatric Surgical Association in 2026.