Payton Harmon’s research brings a remarkable combination of compassion, curiosity, and scientific rigor to one of the most urgent global health challenges facing children today. As a Ph.D. candidate in Nutritional Sciences at SGS, she is working to improve the effectiveness of oral rehydration therapy, a lifesaving treatment for pediatric diarrhea that has saved millions of lives but still leaves too many children vulnerable. Her work in Dr. Paul Breslin’s lab aims to make this therapy both more physiologically effective and more palatable for children, translating advanced biochemical research into tangible health outcomes. Payton present this research on October 29, 2025 at 3 PM ET.
Payton is a PhD Candidate in the Nutritional Sciences Graduate Program working with Dr. Paul Breslin. While working as a nanny after graduating from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences, she found a passion for pediatric nutrition and improving children's health through food. While in Dr. Breslin's lab, she has conducted taste studies to block the bitter taste of amino acids and to improve children's acceptance and liking of a bitter and unpleasant medical food. Outside of the lab, she enjoys working out and trying new foods.
Amino Acid-Fortified Oral Rehydration Therapy Decreases the Duration of Pediatric Acute Infectious Diarrhea.
Diarrhea is a leading cause of death among children under 5 years old worldwide. The current gold standard of treatment is oral rehydration therapy (ORT), which is a solution containing glucose and salts that promotes absorption of the electrolytes lost through diarrhea. ORT has saved the lives of millions of children since its introduction in the 1960s, but diarrhea remains a leading cause of mortality and incurs billions of dollars in healthcare costs in the United States each year.
My project aims to improve ORT by fortifying it with amino acids that have been proven to aid in the recovery from infectious diarrhea. These amino acids will 1) promote absorption of electrolytes through ion-coupled transporters, 2) embolden the gut during sickness by providing gut endothelial cells with their preferred metabolizable fuels to enable easier protein synthesis and cellular regeneration, and 3) trigger immunological destruction of invading gut microbes by activating the innate immune system.
We are conducting a double-blind, randomized control trial to compare the duration and severity of acute infectious diarrhea in children treated with standard ORT and children treated with the amino acid-fortified ORT (fORT). Our midpoint analysis has revealed that children who receive fORT have a 30% reduction in diarrhea duration compared to children who receive ORT. These findings are extremely promising and may help reduce the burden of diarrhea worldwide. We aim to conduct a larger clinical trial outside of the United States in children with more severe diarrhea in the future.