David L Suskind, MD

David L Suskind, MD

Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research, Aerodigestive Program

On staff since October 2003

Children's Title: Director, Quality Improvement; Co-chair, Nutrition Subcommittee

Academic Title: Professor, Pediatrics

Research Center: Center for Clinical and Translational Research

"As a Pediatric Gastroenterologist working within a tertiary care center, I am all too familiar with the pain and anguish IBD inflicts on my patients and their families. These same families show immense strength and perseverance in the face of such a debilitating disease. Innovative and groundbreaking research is a crucial step in improving the lives of patients and their families. I have had a long-term interest in IBD and the fecal microbiome. My research has focused on the effect of the fecal microbial transplant and diet on inflammatory bowel disease, both of which impact the fecal microbiome. I have concluded studies focusing on the clinical, laboratory and microbiome changes which occur after fecal microbial transplantation as well as on nutritional treatment approaches in inflammatory bowel disease. My research on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) in IBD has shown that patients with active Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can go into clinical and biochemical remission with diet alone. My studies also examine the impact of the diet on the fecal microbiome composition. Clinically, I have focused my work within Seattle Children's Hospital IBD center. My mission is to improve the quality of care and clinical outcomes for patients with IBD by focusing on the patient and not just the disease they are dealing with."

  • David Suskind, MD, is Director of Clinical Gastroenterology at Seattle Childrens Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. An expert in intestinal diseases, Dr. Suskind has focused much of his energy into clinical care and research for inflammatory bowel disease.

    He is leading a national effort to integrate nutritional therapy into clinical care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease and to studying the effect of dietary therapy in inflammatory bowel disease. He believes in patient and family empowerment through medical education.

    • Related Pages

    • Nutrition in Immune Balance (NiMBAL)

      NiMBAL was created to support patients, families, healthcare providers and anyone concerned with eating healthier by integrating diet into health care. Explore today.

    • Kristine Kirkland, WA 07.12.23

      Dr. Suskind has the best bedside manner. You can tell that he genuinely cares about his patients. He always talks directly to my daughter and makes her feel like she is a part of the conversation and not just me as the parent. He listens to us and our concerns and we don't feel like we are put in a box with him. He's creative and solution oriented and we feel seen and heard by him. We are so grateful that we have him as an advocate to walk through this difficult diagnosis with our daughter.

    • Libbi Duval, WA 05.29.14

      Dr. Suskind has been great to work with for our son. He is very informative and gracious with his time. Heidi, his nurse, is also wonderful and helpful. They are a great team and we feel fortunate to have their care for our son.

    • Cathy Duvall WA 01.23.14

      Dr. Suskind is awesome! He has been my son's doctor since he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and always greets us warmly. He has always made my son feel comfortable during the office visits and the two of them have some very "fun" conversations. Dr. Suskind keeps me well informed of what to expect and how to treat my son's condition. The nurses are always friendly and helpful as well. I highly recommend him and the Gastroenterology department at Children's Hospital.

    • Kevin Marysville, WA 01.30.13

      Dr. Suskind has very easily been the most open-minded doctor I have ever been a patient of. When going into his office I feel at ease knowing that all my concerns will be addressed, all questions will be answered and if I want to explore a new avenue with my treatment he treats me as an equal at the discussion table, never talking down to me. I have seen numerous doctors since being diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of 8, and now at the age of 18 my only regret is I will have to part ways with one of my favorites.

    • Mark North Bend, WA 01.28.13

      Dr. Suskind has an ease and wonderful bedside manner when working with difficult cases. My son requires invasive procedures every 5 +/- weeks so that he can eat and thrive. The care provided by Dr. Suskind and his pleasant team invites my son, by reducing his anxiety, to tolerate these repetitive and very painful procedures. Dr. Suskind's skill is exceptional and up-to-date. My son and I highly recommend Dr. Suskind and his team. Your child and you will be in great caring hands.

    • Jamie Puyallup, WA 08.29.11

      We drive from Puyallup to see Dr. Suskind @ Seattle Children's, even though there are other local doctors available. He is WONDERFUL with our daughter. Such a kind-hearted and knowledgeable doctor. We trust him and his expertise, and feel we are receiving excellent care. We recommend Dr. Suskind highly!

    • Lisa Napavine, WA 08.15.11

      Dr. Suskind has saved my granddaughters life. He diagnosed her with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis; under his care and speciality in treating children with Kabuki Syndrome she went from being very close to a liver transplant to taking medication and doing very well. That was several years ago, when she was in the 4th grade Today she is preparing to enter her freshman year of high school. Dr. Suskind is a very special man whom we own our dear sweet granddaughter life and happiness to.

    • Jean Woodinville, WA 11.24.10

      Dr. Suskind patiently worked through our daughter's severe vomiting issues, which were secondary to severe cerebral palsy, and didn't give up until we found a solution. We had been other places and were told she would have to live with this. Finding a solution gave our daughter her life back as she previously had so little "quiet awake" hours that her development was held back. While she still has occasional incidents, she has since been so much healthier and happier, and her development has taken off as a result.

    Recommend David L Suskind, MD
  • Award Name Award Description Awarded By Award Date
    SEATTLE TOP DOCTOR - 2022 Seattle Magazine 2022
    Seattle Top Doctor - 2019 Seattle Magazine 2019
    SEATTLE'S TOP DOCTOR - 2018 Seattle Magazine 2018
    SEATTLE'S TOP DOCTOR - 2017 Seattle Magazine 2017
    SEATTLE MAGAZINE TOP DOCTOR - 2016 Seattle Magazine 2016
    SEATTLE MAGAZINE TOP DOCTOR - 2015 Seattle Magazine 2015
    SEATTLE'S TOP DOCTOR - 2015 Seattle Met Magazine 2015
    SEATTLE'S TOP DOCTOR - 2014 Seattle Metropolitan Magazine 2014
    SEATTLE MAGAZINE TOP DOCTOR - 2014 Seattle Magazine 2014
    Seattle Top Doctor Seattle Magazine 2014
    Seattle Top Doctor Seattle Magazine 2013
    Pfizer Obesity Visiting Professorship 2009
    Nominated for Family Choice Award 2008
    Medical Staff Honor Role Seattle Children's 2007
    Pediatric Nutrition Education for Pediatric Residents and Community Physicians, Fund for Excellence, $10,000 Seattle Children's 2007 - 2008
    Nominated for Family Choice Award 2006

  • Manuscripts in Refereed Journals

    • David Suskind
      Nutritional therapy in pediatric Crohn disease: the specific carbohydrate diet.
      Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition

    Other Publications

    • Lane ER, Lee D, Suskind DL
      Dietary Therapies in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: An Evolving Inflammatory Bowel Disease Paradigm.
      29173518 Gastroenterology clinics of North America, 2017 Dec. : 46(4)731-744
    • Braly K, Williamson N, Shaffer ML, Lee D, Wahbeh G, Klein J, Giefer M, Suskind DL
      Nutritional Adequacy of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
      28825603 Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 2017 Nov. : 65(5)533-538 PMCID:PMC5653423
    • Bluestone H, Kronman MP, Suskind DL
      Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infections in Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients.
      29040661 Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, 2017 Oct 5
    • Wahbeh GT, Ward BT, Lee DY, Giefer MJ, Suskind DL
      Lack of Mucosal Healing From Modified Specific Carbohydrate Diet in Pediatric Patients With Crohn Disease.
      28825776 Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 2017 Sept. : 65(3)289-292
    • Miller TL, Lee D, Giefer M, Wahbeh G, Suskind DL
      Nutritional Therapy in Very Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case Report.
      28551707 Digestive diseases and sciences, 2017 Aug. : 62(8)2196-2200
    • Lane ER, Zisman TL, Suskind DL
      The microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease: current and therapeutic insights.
      28652796 Journal of inflammation research, 2017 : 1063-73 PMCID:PMC5473501
    • Bishop C, Simon H, Suskind D, Lee D, Wahbeh G
      Ustekinumab in Pediatric Crohn Disease Patients.
      26854655 Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 2016 Sept. : 63(3)348-51
    • Brittnacher MJ, Heltshe SL, Hayden HS, Radey MC, Weiss EJ, Damman CJ, Zisman TL, Suskind DL, Miller SI
      GUTSS: An Alignment-Free Sequence Comparison Method for Use in Human Intestinal Microbiome and Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Analysis.
      27391011 PloS one, 2016 : 11(7)e0158897 PMCID:PMC4938407
    • Suskind DL, Wahbeh G, Gregory N, Vendettuoli H, Christie D
      Nutritional therapy in pediatric Crohn disease: the specific carbohydrate diet.
      24048168 Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 2014 Jan. : 58(1)87-91
    • Mallon DP, Suskind DL
      Nutrition in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.
      20702837 Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 2010 Aug. : 335-9
    • David L. Suskind, MD, Forrest Jespersen, Rona Levy, Ghassan Wahbeh, Dennis Christie, Shelby Langer, David Suskind
      Depression and Anxiety Measures in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel disease (Poster Presentation)
      Digestive Disease Week (DDW), 2010
    • Muraji T, Suskind DL, Irie N
      Biliary atresia: a new immunological insight into etiopathogenesis.
      19929581 Expert review of gastroenterology & hepatology, 2009 Dec. : 599-606
    • Suskind DL
      Nutritional deficiencies during normal growth.
      19931062 Pediatric clinics of North America, 2009 Oct. : 1035-53
    • David L. Suskind, MD, K. Halamay, G. Wahbeh, M. Golchha, T. Chapman, D. Suskind
      Exposure to diagnostic imaging radiation in children under 8 years old with inflammatory bowel disease (oral presentation)
      International Symposium on Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease, 2009
    • David L. Suskind, MD, James E. Heubi, Kenneth DR Setchell, Philip Rosenthal, Sohela Shah, Pinky Jha, Donna Buckley, Wujuan Zhang, David Suskind, Carol Potter, Laura Bull
      Oral glycocholic acid treatment of patients with bile acid amidation defects improves growth and fat-soluble vitamin absorption (poster presentation)
      American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, 2009
    • David L. Suskind, MD, James E. Heubi, Kenneth DR Setchell, Philip Rosenthal, Sohela Shah, Pinky Jha, Donna Buckley, Wujuan Zhang, David Suskind, Carol Potter, Laura Bull
      Oral glycocholic acid treatment of patients with bile acid amidation defects improves growth and fat-soluble vitamin absorption (poster presentation)
      American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, 2009
    • Suskind DL, Murray KF
      Increasing the mutation rate for Jagged1 mutations in patients with Alagille syndrome.
      17661408 Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.), 2007 Aug. : 598-9
    • Suskind DL, Finn L, Wahbeh G, Christie D, Horslen S
      A child with Kabuki syndrome and primary sclerosing cholangitis successfully treated with ursodiol and cholestryamine.
      17033534 Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 2006 Oct. : 542-4
    • Suskind DL, Wahbeh G, Christie D
      Gastrointestinal stromal tumor.
      16819369 Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 2006 July : 1-2
    • Muench MO, Ohkubo T, Smith CA, Suskind DL, Bárcena A
      Maintenance of proliferative capacity and retroviral transduction efficiency of human fetal CD38(-)/CD34(++) stem cells.
      16522167 Stem cells and development, 2006 Feb. : 97-108
    • Suskind DL, Murray K, Christie D
      An unusual case of an ulcerative colitis flare resulting in disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and a bladder hematoma: a case report.
      15471542 BMC gastroenterology, 2004 Oct 7 : 26
    • Suskind DL, Rosenthal P, Heyman MB, Kong D, Magrane G, Baxter-Lowe LA, Muench MO
      Maternal microchimerism in the livers of patients with biliary atresia.
      15285784 BMC gastroenterology, 2004 Jul 31 : 14
    • Suskind DL, Rosenthal P
      Chronic viral hepatitis.
      15272262 Adolescent medicine clinics, 2004 Feb. : 145-58, x-xi
    • Suskind DL, Muench MO
      Searching for common stem cells of the hepatic and hematopoietic systems in the human fetal liver: CD34+ cytokeratin 7/8+ cells express markers for stellate cells.
      14739097 Journal of hepatology, 2004 Feb. : 261-8
    • Muench MO, Suskind DL, Bárcena A
      Isolation, growth and identification of colony-forming cells with erythroid, myeloid, dendritic cell and NK-cell potential from human fetal liver.
      12734573 Biological procedures online, 2002 Jun 11 : 10-23

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  • Presentations Title Event Location Date
    Evolving Therapies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Fecal Microbial Transplant and Nutrition CCFA webinar 2014
    Fecal Microbiome: The Evolving Story of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Grand Rounds Seattle Children's Hospital 2013
    Fecal Microbial Therapy in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Inflammatory Bowel Disease Symposium Seattle Children's Hospital 2013
  • Grant Title Grantor Amount Award Date
    Fecal Microbial Therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Academic Enrichment Fund $20,000 2012
    Fecal Microbial Therapy in Pediatric Crohn's Disease Cuyamaca Foundation $70,000

Overview

Board Certification(s)

Pediatric Gastroenterology

Medical/Professional School

Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Psychiatry, New Orleans, LA

Residency

Tuffs Medical Center, Boston, MA

Fellowship

University of CA at San Francisco School of Medici, San Francisco, CA

Research Description

An expert in intestinal diseases, Dr. Suskind has focused much of his energies into clinical care and research for patient's with inflammatory bowel disease. With a strong background in nutrition, he has initiated and pushed forward research into the impact of dietary therapies in IBD. Dr. Suskind's philosophy in health care centers on patient and family empowerment through education

Research Focus Area

Quality Improvement, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Autoimmune Diseases