ASCI / Young Physician-Scientist Awards, 2026
The Young Physician-Scientist Awards (YPSA) recognize physician-scientists who are early in their first faculty appointment and have made notable achievements in their research.
About the awardee
Amiko Uchida, MD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at the University of Utah. She received her MD at the University of Utah, during which time she was an HHMI–NIH Research Scholar mentored by Yasmine Belkaid. She then completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Washington and research fellowship at Benaroya Research Institute under mentorship of James Lord before training in gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Uchida completed an advanced fellowship in eosinophilic and inflammatory bowel diseases at MGH while completing her post-doctoral training at MGH/Dana Farber Cancer Institute under Stephanie and Michael Dougan.
Dr. Uchida’s research focuses on eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs), with emphasis on the role of diet and the microbiome in disease pathogenesis and treatment. She co-leads the EGID Multidisciplinary Clinic and directs the Microbiota and GI Immunology Consortia (MAGIC) Biobank, which she established as a resource to enable translational studies at the intersection of the gut, microbiota, and host immune responses. Her research program integrates human immunology, microbiome science, and dietary interventions to develop precision therapies. She is currently translating her bench discoveries into a novel investigator-initiated clinical trial and serves as lead principal investigator for a Phase 2 clinical trial imaging tissue-resident eosinophils in EGID patients. Her work is supported by a K23 Career Development Award from NIDDK, foundation awards from the American College of Gastroenterology, Mountain West Microbiota Alliance, philanthropy, and institutional support through the inaugural John C. Fang Gastroenterology and Microbiota Endowed Chair. She has published nearly 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals like JAMA, Nature Communications, Allergy, and Gastroenterology. Through her research, leadership, and collaborations across disciplines, Dr. Uchida is advancing the scientific foundation for diet- and microbiome-targeted therapies and transforming the care of patients with EGIDs.