Besner Lab Staff

Gail Besner, MD
Principal Investigator
Gail.Besner@NationwideChildrens.org

Gail Besner, MD, is a surgeon-scientist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University. She holds the H. William Clatworthy, Jr. Chair in Surgery, and has been the Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for the past thirteen years. She completed her research training in the laboratory of Dr. Judah Folkman, during which time she discovered a new growth factor known as heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF). Dr. Besner established a basic science research laboratory in pediatric surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 1991, and her research has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health for the past 30 years.

Her research focuses on identifying novel therapeutic strategies to protect the intestines from injury including necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). She is a scientific Co-Founder of Scioto Biosciences, Inc., whose goal is to initiate clinical trials of Limosilactobacillus reuteri delivered in its biofilm state for the prevention of NEC. She served a four-year term on the Surgery, Anesthesia and Trauma Study Section of the NIH and a four-year term as a member of the National Advisory General Medical Council of the NIH. She was the 2024 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Allen Distinguished Scholar in Pediatric Research. In addition, she was awarded the 2024 Drake Medal from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the highest recognition the college can bestow, awarded for outstanding scholarly achievements. She is the President-Elect of the American Pediatric Surgical Association. She is the author of more than 220 peer-reviewed and has delivered over 500 local, national and international presentations.

Belgacem Mihi, DVM, PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Belgacem.Mihi@NationwideChildrens.org

Belgacem Mihi, DVM, PhD, is a veterinarian who has dedicated his career to GI research. He is the senior research scientist in Dr. Besner's laboratory. After graduating with a degree in veterinary medicine, he earned a master's degree in cell biology from Rennes University in France and a doctorate from Ghent University in Belgium. He has made significant contributions to GI biology and mucosal immunology. Dr. Mihi's research interests focus on the pathophysiology of NEC. He has recently uncovered the crucial roles of the IL-22 and AHR signaling pathways in protecting the intestinal epithelium from damage caused by NEC. He is also interested in intestinal stem cell biology, intestinal inflammation, and early and late-onset neonatal sepsis. Since joining the Besner Lab, Dr. Mihi has been investigating a new delivery system for probiotics aimed at preventing NEC. Additionally, he has developed a novel Gut-On-Chip platform that can serve as a preclinical tool to identify new therapeutic targets.

Siddharth Narayanan, PhD
Lab Manager
Siddharth.Narayanan@NationwideChildrens.org

Siddharth Narayanan, PhD, (‘Sid’ as he is fondly known to all) is the current lab manager for the Besner Laboratory. He earned his doctoral degree from Durham University, United Kingdom working on a Wellcome Trust basic science project. He continued his postdoctoral work on a Cancer Research UK project focusing on telomere biology and genomics before moving to the USA where he diversified to gain experience and expertise related to the clinical translational field. Currently, he is passionate to further expand his knowledge and experience focusing on “bench-to-bedside” approaches under the overarching goal of better understanding the devastating disease necrotizing enterocolitis within the Besner Lab. His approachable and friendly disposition has enabled him to build fruitful and long-term collaborations with a range of professionals. Sid thoroughly enjoys knowing more about people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, with cooking, badminton, world music and movies, hikes and fun-banter being some of his soulful “go-to’s!

Colton D. Wayne, MD
Surgical Research Fellow
Colton.Wayne@NationwideChildrens.org

Colton Wayne, MD, a General Surgery resident at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, is currently a surgical research fellow within Besner Laboratory. His basic science research aims to investigate the pathophysiology of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in neonates and, as a member of the Besner Laboratory, is working to create an FDA-approved probiotic as therapy and prevention against NEC. Additionally, he has been awarded an NIH T32 training grant in the Postdoctoral Research Training Program in Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Disease in the Center for Cardiovascular Research to investigate NEC in the setting of congenital cardiopathology. He is also involved in a wide range of clinical research areas including pediatric burn surgery and burn-related injury outcomes, pediatric metabolic and bariatric surgery, clinical support for NEC patients and families and pediatric trauma. Dr. Wayne aspires to pursue a Pediatric Surgery fellowship and, upon completion of training, to continue in research and academic surgery.

Taylor H. Jacobs, MD
Surgical Research Fellow
Taylor.Jacobs@NationwideChildrens.org

Taylor Jacobs, MD, is a surgical research fellow in the Besner Laboratory. He earned his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia where he continues to pursue his general surgery residency. He is pursuing his passion for scientific discovery in the Besner Lab at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where he is working to broaden his research experience, transitioning from a basic science background to focus on clinical-translational research with an NIH funded T32 project that focuses on an “-omics” approach to identify novel molecular targets to better understand the disease necrotizing enterocolitis. When not in the lab or in the operating room, Taylor enjoys playing soccer, long-distance running, and going on long walks with his black labrador retriever “Frankie”. Taylor’s goal is to continue to help bridge the gap between scientific discovery and the generation of therapies through his own translational research lab of as a future pediatric surgeon-scientist.

Zachary Dumbauld
Graduate Research Assistant
Zachary.Dumbauld@NationwideChildrens.org

Zachary Dumbauld was an undergraduate student when he began working in the Besner Laboratory. He completed his thesis titled “Lactobacillus reuteri (Lr)-Mediated Protection Against NEC is Associated with AHR Activation” for his degree in microbiology with research distinction. He is currently a research assistant in the Besner Lab where he contributes to several projects with the focus of understanding and preventing necrotizing enterocolitis in infants. In the lab, he assists with animal and molecular biology experiments for NEC, as well as clinical research projects. He is interested in a career in medicine and is in the process of applying to medical school.

Ethan Mills
Research Student
Ethan.Mills@NationwideChildrens.org

Ethan Mills is a medical student at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Louisville and joined the Besner Lab in December 2023. His research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms involved in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a deadly disease of newborn babies. Ethan’s specialty interests include general surgery and related specialties.

Beckey DeLucia
Graduate Research Student
Beckey.DeLucia@NationwideChildrens.org

Beckey DeLucia is a medical student at The Ohio State University. She joined the Besner Laboratory as a student researcher eager to apply her previous experiences with mice handling and bacterial work acquired from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute to support the lab’s research goals. Beckey was awarded the Samuel J. Roessler Memorial Scholarship allowing her to work full-time in the Besner lab between her M1 and M2 year. Her project focused on the underlying molecular mechanisms leading to NEC. Currently, she supports the lab by participating in animal experiments regarding the use of a probiotic-biofilm formula for the prevention of NEC, with the hope to someday have our therapy approved for human neonatal use. Beckey’s current clinical interests are in surgery, oncology and pediatrics. She hopes to follow in the steps of Dr. Besner and become a leading female surgeon-scientist at the forefront of discovering and applying novel therapies to improve outcomes for her patients.

Lillian Cleaves
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lillian.Cleaves@NationwideChildrens.org

Lillian Cleaves is an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University majoring in health sciences who works in the Besner Laboratory as an undergraduate research assistant. All research initiatives in the Besner Lab are directed towards improving our understanding of the debilitating disease necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in infants. Lillian’s primary objective is to gain as much basic science research experience as possible with the goal of addressing hypothesis-driven wet lab experimentation. To achieve this, Lillian assists with various projects, including those involving swine and rodent models of NEC, as well as cell culture work. Lillian’s goal is to become a pediatrician, and being a part of Besner Lab is a great opportunity to pursue her career aspirations.