Research Funding and Mentorship

The Reese's Purpose Foundation has helped fund a collaborative research study with another nonprofit organization, the Global Injury Research Collaborative. Jackson Moore, an Ohio high school student, was mentored by Dr. Kris Jatana, a Professor and Pediatric ENT Surgeon at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University. The research evaluated whether honey or sucralfate can slow esophageal injury caused by button batteries, including newer batteries with bitter coatings, with or without blue dye.

All button battery types produced the same mechanism and rate of esophageal injury, with tissue pH rapidly increasing to highly alkaline levels. Serial application of honey or sucralfate every 10 minutes effectively neutralized pH and reduced tissue injury across all battery types; the presence of coatings did not diminish treatment effectiveness. Radiographic imaging confirmed that bitter-coated and bitter/blue-dye-coated batteries retained the characteristic double-ring (halo) sign, supporting reliable clinical diagnosis. To date, no published studies have examined injury mechanisms, mitigation strategies, and imaging characteristics of these new coated button batteries. These findings support continued clinical use of honey and sucralfate following button battery ingestion and highlight the need for further innovation toward a safer battery design that prevents severe injury or death.

Jackson received a Superior Rating for this project at the high school district science fair and will compete at the Ohio State Science Fair in May 2026.