John A. Barnard, MD, is chief of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, president of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s and holds the Ann I. Wolfe Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research Leadership. He is chair of the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, where he is a professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. He is also a practicing gastroenterologist in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's. An accomplished physician-scientist, he has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, reviews and book chapters and garnered NIH support for more than 2 decades.
As president of The Research Institute, Dr. Barnard is responsible for strategic direction, administration, recruiting, resource allocation and infrastructure design in support of all research activities at Nationwide Children's. The Research Institute is one of the fastest growing pediatric research institutions in the United States and has consistently ranked among the top ten free- standing children’s hospitals based on National Institutes of Health funding. In 2015, The Research Institute received more than $90 million in external awards.
As chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Ohio State, he offers counsel, mentorship and oversight for clinical and academic activities of the more than 500 full-time faculty members. He also oversees the education of more than 300 medical students, pediatric residents and fellows training at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Barnard received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi and was an intern and resident at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he also completed a fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition. He was a faculty member at Vanderbilt for 11 years, including 5 years as Director of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology. He has been named among the Best Doctors in America for the past decade and has served as a past president of the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN). He is currently a member of Ohio’s Third Frontier Commission, chair of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association Research Collaborative Task Force, past-resident of the NASPGHAN Foundation, and chair of the American Board of Pediatrics Subboard on Pediatric Gastroenterology.