Edgar Achkar, MD (Cleveland Clinic). Dr. Achkar is vice chairman of the Digestive Disease Institute at the Cleveland Clinic and director of the American College of Gastroenterology Institute. He earned his MD from Saint Joseph University Faculty of Medicine in Beirut, Lebanon, and completed his residency and fellowship at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass.
John I. Allen, MD, MBA (Minnesota Gastroenterology, Minneapolis). Dr. Allen is medical director for quality at Minnesota Gastroenterology and chair of the board of Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, a Minnesota-based health care improvement collaborative. His clinical focus is gastrointestinal cancer, colon cancer and cancer genetics.
Dr. Allen earned his MD from the University of New Mexico and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Minnesota. He holds an MBA in medical group management from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. He is a community private practice councilor of the American Gastroenterological Association and chairs the Clinical Practice and Quality Management Committee of the AGA Institute.
Paul K. Anderson, MD (Dallas Diagnostic Association). Dr. Anderson is a member of Dallas Diagnostic Association, a multi-specialty group, and is on the medical staff of the Ambulatory Endoscopy Clinic of Dallas, the first licensed freestanding surgery center exclusively for GI procedures in North Texas. He earned his MD from Tulane University, New Orleans and completed his residency at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and his fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas.
Damian Augustyn, MD (Pacific Internal Medicine Associates, San Francisco). Dr. Augustyn is managing partner of Pacific Internal Medicine Associates as well as chief of the medical staff and chair of the medical executive committee of California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. In addition to serving as a board member of the San Francisco Endoscopy Center and Anthem-Wellpoint-Blue Cross, he is CFO and treasurer of PRF Medical Malpractice Insurance Companies.
Dr. Augustyn earned his MD at Harvard Medical School, undertook his residency at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and UCSF Medical Center and completed his fellowship at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. He received the American Gastroenterological Association's Distinguished Clinician Award for his commitment and excellence in patient care. He speaks Spanish and Tagalog.
J. Sumner Bell III, MD (Gastroenterology Ltd., Norfolk, Va.). Dr. Bell is a member of Gastroenterology Ltd., a group practice, and professor of clinical internal medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Dr. Bell earned his MD from Medical College of Virginia, completed his residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital of Philadelphia and his fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He is secretary/treasurer of the American Gastroenterological Association and was president of the Eastern Virginia Medical School from 2000-2005.
Fernando Bermudez, MD (Eastside Endoscopy Center, St. Clair Shores, Mich.) Dr. Bermudez is medical director and board member of Eastside Endoscopy Center and a member of G.I. Medicine Associates. He specializes in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, the liver and pancreas and has a special interest in inflammatory bowel disease and motility disorders of the esophagus.
Dr. Bermudez earned his MD from Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia, completed his residency at St. John Hospital in Detroit and his fellowship in gastroenterology at Michael Reese Medical Center in Chicago. He previously served as division head of the department of gastroenterology, medical director of the endoscopy unit and chairman of the endoscopy committee at St. John Hospital.
Henry J. Binder, MD (Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.). Dr. Binder is senior research scientist in medicine and professor of medicine and cellular & molecular physiology at Yale University School of Medicine. He is winner of the 2005 Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Gastroenterological Association for his work on colonic ion transport and diarrhea.
Dr. Binder earned his MD at New York University and completed his residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York and his fellowship in gastroenterology at Yale University School of Medicine. In 2010, he received a $1.8 million grant from the Gates Foundation to study the use of oral rehydration solutions to improve diarrhea control worldwide.
C. Richard Boland, MD (Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas). Dr. Boland is chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at Baylor University Medical Center. Because many in his family had colon cancer, he focused on this entity and has identified the unique mutation in the gene that allows this cancer to occur in multiple family members.
Dr. Boland earned his MD from Yale University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Public Health Service hospital in San Francisco and his fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine. He is president-elect of the American Gastroenterological Association.
Geoffrey Braden, MD (Gastrointestinal Specialists, Philadelphia). Dr. Braden is a member of Gastrointestinal Specialists, a group practice with 11 gastroenterologists. He is on staff at Aria Health Hospital System and Roxborough Hospital, with faculty privileges at Drexel University College of Medicine.
Dr. Braden earned his MD from Ohio State University Medical School and completed a residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics and a fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is chair and journal editor for Medscape Gastroenterology. His special interests include inflammatory bowel disease.
Carol A. Burke, MD (Cleveland Clinic). Dr. Burke is director of the Center for Colon Polyp and Cancer Prevention and head of the Section of Polyposis in the Sanford R. Weiss Center for Hereditary Colorectal Neoplasia at the Cleveland Clinic. Her focus is on inherited colon cancer syndromes and the prevention of colorectal neoplasia.
Dr. Burke earned her MD at Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, completed her residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and completed her fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. She is on the board of the American College of Gastroenterology, chaired the college's Educational Affairs and Women in Gastroenterology committees and is an associate editor for the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Robert "Bruce" Cameron, MD (Endoscopy Center at Bainbridge, Chagrin Falls, Ohio). Dr. Cameron is the medical director of the Endoscopy Center at Bainbridge. His areas of special interest are colonic neoplasia, esophageal diseases, gastroenterology and general gastroenterology. Dr. Cameron earned his MD from Case Western Reserve University and completed his internship in internal medicine and his residency in gastroenterology at the University Hospitals of Cleveland. He is a clinical professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Donald O. Castell, MD (Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C.). Dr. Castell is director of the esophageal disorders program at the Medical University of South Carolina. He is considered one of the foremost experts in esophagology and is the 2010 recipient of Julius Friedenwald medal from the American Gastroenterological Association. He served in the Navy from 1959-1979.
Dr. Castell earned his MD from George Washington University; internship and residency at the National Naval Medical Center; fellowship at Tufts University. He has held faculty positions at George Washington University School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and MCP/Hahnemann School of Medicine.
Lin Chang, MD (University of California, Los Angeles). Dr. Chang is director of the Women's Digestive Health Center at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California. Her main area of research is the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome with particular interests in the overlap of IBS with fibromyalgia and gender differences and neuroendocrine alterations. She is principal investigator on two NIH grants studying the central and peripheral mechanisms underlying IBS.
Dr. Chang earned her MD at UCLA School of Medicine and performed her residency and fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She is a 2009 winner of the AGA Distinguished Clinician Award for her achievements as a clinical academician.
William D. Chey, MD (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor). Dr. Chey is director of the GI Physiology Laboratory and the Michigan Bowel Control Program at the University of Michigan. Research interests focus on the diagnosis and treatment of the functional bowel disorders, acid-related disorders, and Helicobacter pylori infection.
He is past chair of the Clinical Practice Section of the American Gastroenterology Association and is a board member of the American College of Gastroenterology. Dr. Chey is co-editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology and serves on the editorial boards of Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Digestive Health Matters, Gastroenterology & Hepatology and the Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Chey earned his MD and completed his residency at Emory University School of Medicine and completed his fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In 2005, he received the award for Excellence in Mentorship from the University of Michigan GI fellowship class.
Delbert L. Chumley, MD (Gastroenterology Consultants, San Antonio). Dr. Chumley is a member of Gastroenterology Consultants. He is 2010-2011 president of the American College of Gastroenterology and co-chaired the college's National GI Carrier Advisory Committee, which oversees federal Medicare payment issues. He is a past president of the Texas Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy. His interests include therapeutic endoscopy for hepatobiliary, pancreatic and sphincter of Oddi disorders, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Dr. Chumley earned his MD and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He holds an appointment as a professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Sheila E. Crowe, MD (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.) Dr. Crowe is professor of medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Virginia. Her clinical interests are inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, GI food allergy, acid-peptic diseases, Helicobacter pylori infection and colon cancer screening. Research interests include immune-epithelial interactions in mucosal inflammation.
Dr. Crowe earned her MD and completed her residency and fellowship at McMaster University in Canada. She is a councilor-at-large of the American Gastroenterological Association. She has collaborated with several investigators interested in gastric cancer that now constitute the Gastric Cancer Working Group.
Stephen Deal, MD (Carolina Digestive Health Associates, Charlotte, N.C.). Dr. Deal is a member of Carolina Digestive Health Associates, which operates five endoscopy centers in the Charlotte area. He specializes in gastroenterology with a subspecialty in pancreatic biliary tract diseases. He served on the Quality in Endoscopy Task Force of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American College of Gastroenterology.
Dr. Deal earned his MD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship at Medical College of Virginia Hospital. He has been a member of the ACG National Affairs Committee and the ACG Practice Management Committee.
Thomas Deas Jr., MD (Fort Worth Endoscopy Center, Fort Worth, Texas). Dr. Deas is the medical director of the Fort Worth Endoscopy Center and the Southwest Fort Worth Endoscopy Center, which are both operated by Surgical Care Affiliates. He has focused on achieving efficient, high-quality gastroenterology practices and endoscopy centers.
Dr. Deas earned his MD from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport, La., while serving in the U.S. Air Force, and completed his residency in internal medicine and his fellowship in gastroenterology at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He has been treasurer of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and has served in leadership positions with American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and North Texas Specialty Physicians.
Anthony J. DiMarino Jr., MD (Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia). Dr. DiMarino is chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Thomas Jefferson University. His clinical interests are consultative gastroenterology, celiac disease, swallowing disorders and problems of gastrointestinal motility and inflammable bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis & Crohn's disease. His research interests are new drug development in treatment of celiac disease, esophageal reflux and gastrointestinal endoscopic disinfection.
Dr. DiMarino earned his MD from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia and completed his internship at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital and his residency and fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Steven A. Edmundowicz, MD (Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis). Dr. Edmundowicz is chief of endoscopy and director of the Interventional Endoscopy at Washington University School of Medicine. He is a councilor of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and senior associate editor of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Dr. Edmundowicz earned his MD from Jefferson Medical College and completed his residency and fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine. He won Philadelphia Magazine's "Top Doctors" Award in Gastroenterology, Therapeutic Endoscopy.
Glenn M. Eisen, MD (Oregon Clinic, Portland). Dr. Eisen is a member of Oregon Clinic, a multispecialty practice with more than 120 physicians, and is clinical professor of dedicine at Oregon Health and Science University. His special interests lie in esophageal disease, Barrett's esophagus, colorectal cancer screening, therapeutic pancreaticobiliary endoscopy, capsule endoscopy and inflammatory bowel disease.
Dr. Eisen earned his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, completed his residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and completed his fellowship from Duke University Medical Center. He is editor of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Douglas O. Faigel, MD (Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland). Dr. Faigel is a member of the OHSU University Medical Group and is involved in the endoscopic ultrasound program at the university. His interests are primarily in therapeutic endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound.
Dr. Faigel earned his MD from University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, completed his residency at University of California, San Francisco, and completed his fellowship at University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. He is treasurer-elect of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and chair of the society's Quality Assurance Taskforce. He won the quality endoscopic research award from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Francis A. Farraye, MD (Boston Medical Center). Dr. Farraye is clinical director in the gastroenterology section at Boston Medical Center. His clinical interests are inflammatory bowel disease and management of colon polyps and colorectal cancer. He is studying Vitamin D absorption in patients with Crohn's disease.
Dr. Farraye earned his MD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, and completed his residency and fellowship at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston. He received the American College of Gastroenterology's William D. Carey Award for serving the college with distinction.
M. Brian Fennerty, MD (Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.). Dr. Fennerty is section chief of gastroenterology at Oregon Health & Science University. He is the current president of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Dr. Fennerty is an authority on gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett's esophagus and Helicobacter pylori. He is editor of Journal Watch Gastroenterology and Reviews in Gastroenterological Disorders and the past associate editor of American Journal of Gastroenterology and Clinical Perspectives in Gastroenterology.
Dr. Fennerty earned his MD from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and completed his residency in internal medicine at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and his fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson, Ariz. He is a past chair of the FDA Advisory Panel on Gastrointestinal and Urological Devices and the Imaging and Advanced Technology section of the AGA and the Research Committee of the ASGE.
Ira L. Flax, MD (Digestive and Liver Specialists, Houston). Dr. Flax is a managing partner of Digestive and Liver Specialists, a six-physician specialty practice in Houston. He has been board member of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston, chaired its gastroenterology section and was chief of staff of his hospital.
Dr. Flax earned his MD from the Medical College of Virginia, completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and completed his fellowship at the Medical College of Virginia. He co-founded and served as chairman of the Texas Alliance for Digestive Diseases, a regional gastroenterology IPA. Dr. Flax was a board member of the American College of Gastroenterology and is currently the ACG representative to the AMA Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement, which develops quality measures.
David Fleischer, MD (Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix). Dr. Fleischer is chair of the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona. His research interests include endoscopy, esophageal cancer, GI bleeding, capsule endoscopy and endoscopic therapy for Barrett's esophagus. Dr. Fleischer earned his MD from Vanderbilt University in Nashville and completed his residency at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital and his fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Amy E. Foxx-Orenstein, DO (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). Dr. Foxx-Orenstein is a member of the motility section, Enteric Neuroscience Program, and Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division at Mayo. Her research and clinical interests include obesity, motility disorders, functional bowel, pelvic floor disorders, eosinophilic esophagitis and pharmacodynamics.
Dr. Foxx-Orenstein earned her MD from Des Moines University and completed her residency at Geisinger Medical Center and fellowships at the Medical College of Virginia. She was president of the American College of Gastroenterology from 2007-8 and began the College's obesity initiative.
James T. Frakes, MD (Rockford Gastroenterology Associates, Rockford, Ill.). Dr. Frakes recently retired as a member of Rockford Gastroenterology Associates. An expert in therapeutic pancreaticobiliary endoscopy, he is the 2007 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the ASGE for long-term contributions to the field and was designated a Master of the American College of Gastroenterology for stature and achievement in clinical gastroenterology and teaching and contributions.
Dr. Frakes earned his MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Missouri Medical Center in Columbia and his fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a past president of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Robert A. Ganz, MD (Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis). Dr. Ganz is chief of gastroenterology at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital and associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota. He earned his MD and completed his residency at University of Illinois College of Medicine. He is foundation chair of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Ralph A. Giannella, MD (University of Cincinnati). Dr. Giannella is professor in the digestive diseases division at University of Cincinnati and co-supervises the University Hospital gastroenterology clinic. His focus is on intestinal infections and diarrheal disorders. He has been using a new breath test to determine problems in the GI tract.
Dr. Giannella earned his MD from Albany Medical College and completed his residency at Boston City Hospital. He was president of the American Gastroenterological Association and was 2005 winner of the association's Julius Friedenwald Medal.
Gregory G. Ginsberg, MD (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia). Dr. Ginsberg is executive director of the Endoscopic Service at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. His clinical interests include Barrett's esophagus, esophageal cancer, especially endosonographic staging and palliation, colorectal cancer screening and surveillance, resection of large polyps, ERCP for pancreaticobiliary cancer diagnosis and palliation, EUS staging and fine-needle-aspiration for diagnosis.
Dr. Ginsberg earned his MD from Thomas Jefferson Medical College and completed his residency and fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital. He is president-elect of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and won the clinical innovator award and the distinguished educator award at Penn Medicine.
Gary Gitnick, MD (University of California, Los Angeles). Dr. Gitnick is a professor of medicine and chief of the division of digestive diseases at UCLA School of Medicine. He leads the largest gastroenterology division in the world, with 80 full-time faculty members, 99 employees and a multi-million dollar budget.
Dr. Gitnick earned his MD from the University of Chicago and completed an internship at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore and a residency and fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He was chief of staff of the UCLA Medical Center and medical director of UCLA Health Care Programs.
David A. Greenwald, MD (Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.) Dr. Greenwald is in the division of gastroenterology at Montefiore Medical Center, associate professor of clinical medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the gastroenterology fellowship program at Montefiore Medical Center. He studies the risks of infection and issues of safety concerning GI endoscopy.
He is chair of the board of the American College of Gastroenterology and for many years chaired the ACG subcommittee on GI endoscopy for the American Society for Testing and Materials. He won the ACG Governor's Award in 2008. He won a Master Endoscopist Award from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in 2006.
Dr. Greenwald earned his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his residency fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.
Stephen B. Hanauer, MD (University of Chicago). Dr. Hanauer is chief of gastroenterology at the University of Chicago. His clinical research has been related to epidemiology and therapeutics for IBD. Dr. Hanauer earned his MD from the University of Illinois and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Chicago. He chairs the FDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee and is a member of the Subspecialty Board of Gastroenterology for the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Gail A. Hecht, MD (University of Illinois at Chicago). Dr. Hecht is section head of the Section of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is past president of the American Gastroenterological Association. Her current research interests include the interaction of enteric bacterial pathogens with host intestinal epithelial cells and the mechanisms. Dr. Hecht earned her MD from Loyola University in Maywood, Ill., and completed her residency at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and her fellowship at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Reed B. Hogan, MD (GI Associates and Endoscopy Center, Jackson, Miss.). Dr. Hogan is a member of GI Associates and Endoscopy Center. He is both an accomplished speaker and writer in the field of gastroenterology and has published numerous articles on the subject. Dr. Hogan earned his MD from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and completed his residency and internship in internal medicine at University of Mississippi Medical Center and his fellowship in gastroenterology at Baylor University Medical Center.
David A. Johnson, MD (Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Va.). Dr. Johnson is chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. His primary research interests are esophageal and colon disease, and he is a past president of the American College of Gastroenterology. Dr. Johnson worked to enact the historic first legislation to mandate colon cancer screening with colonoscopy as the preferred standard. He has served as a primary advisor for national Medicare GI issues on endoscopy, a CMS advisory committee, and has co-chaired the national Gastroenterology Medicare advisors.
Dr. Johnson earned his MD from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. He is a co-author of the U.S. Multisociety Task Force on Colorectal Cancer guidelines for colon cancer screening and surveillance, the ACG colon cancer screening guidelines and the joint guidelines from the American Cancer Society.
Nicholas F. LaRusso, MD (Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn.). Dr. LaRusso is a member of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Transplant Center at the Mayo Clinic and he chairs the Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition at the American Gastroenterological Association.
He is former editor of Gastroenterology, recipient of a MERIT Award and was principle investigator on two R01s from the NIH. A past president of the AGA and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, he has received distinguished achievement awards and a distinguished mentor award from the AGA.
Dr. LaRusso earned his MD from New York Medical College, completed a residency at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and Metropolitan Hospital Medical Center in New York and completed a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, where he was a Mayo Foundation scholar and guest investigator.
Anthony Kalloo, MD (John Hopkins University, Baltimore). Dr. Kalloo is chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Johns Hopkins University. His interests include therapeutic endoscopy, sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery, where he is considered a pioneer.
Dr. Kalloo earned his MD from the University of West Indies Medical School, performed his residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. and completed his fellowship training at the combined Georgetown University, VA Medical Center and NIH program. He was an instructor in medicine at Georgetown prior to joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins.
Philip O. Katz, MD (Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia). Dr. Katz is chair of the division of gastroenterology and associate program director for the internal medicine residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center. An authority on esophageal disease, Dr. Katz focuses on gastroesophageal reflux disease, including nocturnal recovery of gastric acid secretion during proton pump inhibitor therapy and esophageal pain perception.
Dr. Katz earned his MD from Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and served his residency and his fellowship at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine. He is clinical professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. The immediate past president of the American College of Gastroenterology, Dr. Katz has been ACG's representative to the American Board of Internal Medicine and was involved in the college's collaboration with the ABIM on criteria for gastroenterology training and board recertification.
David A. Katzka, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). Dr. Katzka is head of the esophageal interest group in the Miles and Shirley Fitterman Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Mayo Clinic. A consultative esophagologist, he created the Center for Swallowing Disorders, bringing together surgeons, radiologists, neurologists, internal medicine and sleep therapy experts. He won the 2010 Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Gastroenterological Association and the Simon B. Komarov prize for excellence in gastroenterology from the Penn Measey Foundation Award, the NIH Clinical Investigator Award and the Louis Duhring Award for Excellence in Clinical Specialty Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Dr. Katzka earned his MD and completed his residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and completed his fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He is a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, is on the editorial board of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and is section editor of Gastroenterology.
Michael L. Kochman, MD (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia). Dr. Kochman is the endoscopy training director and co-director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He is chairman of the editorial board of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and editor for techniques for that journal and for the Year Book of Gastroenterology.
Dr. Kochman earned his MD from University of Illinois College of Medicine, residency at University of Illinois and fellowships at Indiana University School of Medicine University of Michigan Hospitals. He received training in interventional endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound. Dr. Kochman is a councilor of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Loren A. Laine, MD (USC School of Medicine, Los Angeles). Dr. Laine is director of endoscopy and the associate director of the Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases. Areas of interest include gastrointestinal bleeding and upper gastrointestinal tract injury due to helicobacter pylori and anti-inflammatory medications.
Dr. Laine earned his MD from UCLA School of Medicine and completed his residency at University of California at Los Angeles and his fellowship at University of California at San Diego. He is vice president of the American Gastroenterological Association and has served as a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Bret A. Lashner, MD (Cleveland Clinic). Dr. Lashner is co-chair of the Cleveland Clinic Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative Advisory Committee. He is the chair of the Research Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology. He is an associate editor of The American Journal of Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
Dr. Lashner earned his MD from New York University School of Medicine, and completed a residency at Temple University Hospital and his fellowship at the University of Chicago. He holds a masters degree in public health from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
James S. Leavitt, MD (Miami Endoscopy Center, Miami). Dr. Leavitt is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine Department of Gastroenterology and a physician at the Miami Endoscopy Center and the Gastroenterology Care Center. He has served as a member of the American College of Gastroenterology's practice management committee.
Dr. Leavitt earned his MD from the State University of New York Downstate Medical School and completed his medical internship and residency and his gastroenterology fellowship at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
Blair Lewis, MD (Mount Sinai Hospital, N.Y.). Dr. Lewis is clinical professor of medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He was the primary investigator for the first clinical trial of capsule endoscopy for the small intestine and for the first clinical trial for the colon capsule. He chairs the International Conference of Capsule Endoscopy annually and coordinated the Consensus Conference statements to guide capsule usage throughout the world.
Dr. Lewis earned his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y., completed his residency at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and completed his fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is past president of the New York Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the New York Academy of Gastroenterology and served on the board of the American College of Gastroenterology.
James F. Martin, MD (Kaiser Permanente San Rafael, Calif., Medical Center). Dr. Martin is chief of the department of medicine at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center. He won the American Gastroenterological Association's 2010 Distinguished Clinician Award, cited as "the consummate private practice clinician who combines wisdom with a breadth of knowledge in the practice of gastroenterology and internal medicine."
Dr. Martin earned his MD from Ohio State University, completed his residency at Johns Hopkins University and completed his gastroenterology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He served in Operation Desert Storm, for which he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for Superior Performance.
Arthur McCullough, MD (Cleveland Clinic). Dr. McCullough is the chair of the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic and is vice-chairman of research and education at Cleveland Clinic's Digestive Disease Institute. Dr. McCullough earned his MD from SUNY Health Science Center at University Hospital of Syracuse, N.Y., and completed residency at Cleveland Clinic and a fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He was president of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and helped develop a non-invasive test for liver disease without needing a liver biopsy.
Kenneth R. McQuaid, MD (VA Medical Center, San Francisco). Dr. McQuaid is director of GI Endoscopy at the VA Medical Center. He is the primary clinician for luminal gastrointestinal disorders at the VA Medical Center, responsible for clinical and administrative oversight of the inpatient GI consult service, the outpatient GI clinics, the GI motility laboratory and the GI endoscopy unit.
Dr. McQuaid earned his MD from University of California San Francisco and completed his residency at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and his fellowship at University of California San Francisco. He is a member of the governing board of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Steven J. Morris, MD, JD (Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates). Dr. Morris is CEO and co-founder of Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates, a 47-physician GI group practice. A clinical associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine, he is past president of the Georgia Gastrointestinal Society and served as chief of staff at Emory University Hospital Midtown Hospital.
Dr. Morris earned his MD from the University at Buffalo and completed his residency at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta and a fellowship in digestive diseases at the University of Miami. He also holds a law degree from Georgia State University College of Law.
Daniel J. Pambianco, MD (Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, Va.). Dr. Pambianco is chairman of the endoscopy/ motility lab at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is also medical director of Charlottesville Medical Research, a local network of community-based physicians in private practice who conduct clinical research studies in the central Virginia area.
Dr. Pambianco earned his MD at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in Montserrat, British West Indies, completed his residency at Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pa., and undertook his fellowship at the University of Virginia Health Services Center at Charlottesville. He is vice chair of the board of governors of the American College of Gastroenterology.
John L. Petrini, MD (Sansum Clinic, Santa Barbara, Calif.). Dr. Petrini is a former board member of Sansum Clinic and is a past president of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. He earned his MD from University of California San Francisco and completed his residency at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals and his fellowship at University of California Los Angeles Medical Center.
Irving Pike, MD (Gastroenterology Consultants, Virginia Beach, Va.). Dr. Pike is president of Gastroenterology Consultants. His special interests are endoscopic management of biliary and pancreatic disease, inflammatory bowel disease and the prevention of colon cancer.
He is on the board of the American College of Gastroenterology and chairman of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy's Ambulatory Endoscopy Special Interest group. He recently co-chaired the American College of Gastroenterology and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy's joint taskforce for developing Endoscopic Quality Indicators.
Dr. Pike earned his MD from Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine and completed his residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and his fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He served as vice president of medical affairs at Sentara Bayside Hospital and served on the executive council of Re-Inventing Sentara.
Daniel K. Podolsky, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston). Dr. Podolsky is chief of the gastrointestinal unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Mallinckrodt Professor of Medicine and faculty dean for academic programs at Partners for Harvard Medical School and chief academic officer at Partners HealthCare System. He is the 2009 recipient of Julius Friedenwald medal from the American Gastroenterological Association.
Dr. Podolsky earned his MD from Harvard Medical School and completed his internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research interests include laboratory investigation of basic mechanisms contributing to gastrointestinal tract injury and the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases.
John W. Popp Jr., MD (Centocor Ortho Biotech, Horsham, Pa.). Dr. Popp is medical director for Centocor Ortho Biotech. He has served as chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and director of the Endoscopy Laboratory at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia.
He was a founder of the South Carolina Gastroenterology Association and has served as president of the American College of Gastroenterology, is on the ACG board and received the college's William D. Carey award in 2004.
Dr. Popp earned his MD and completed his residency at Yale University School of Medicine and completed his fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is clinical professor of medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. As a managing partner of Columbia (S.C.) Gastroenterology Associates, he was instrumental in growing the practice to nine gastroenterologists, three offices and two endoscopy centers.
Daniel H. Present, MD (Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York). Dr. Present is a founder of the Foundation for Clinical Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is co-founder of the Foundation for Clinical Research in inflammatory bowel disease.
Dr. Present earned his MD from State University of New York Downstate in Brooklyn and completed his residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He holds the Master award from the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterology Association's Distinguished Clinician award and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.
Douglas K. Rex, MD (Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.). Dr. Rex is a professor of gastroenterology and medicine at Indiana University and serves as director of endoscopy at the Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis. Research areas include colorectal disease and colorectal cancer screening and the technical performance of colonoscopy. He has been chairman of the board and president of the American College of Gastroenterologists.
Dr. Rex earned his MD at Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis. He co-authored the colorectal cancer screening recommendations of the ACG and those of the Gastroenterology Consortium. He is an associate editor of Journal Watch Gastroenterology and Reviews on Gastroenterological Disorders.
Moshe Rubin, MD (New York Hospital, Queens, N.Y.). Dr. Rubin is director of gastroenterology at New York Hospital Queens. His research shows real-time capsule endoscopy when given in the ED can rapidly identify patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding who require urgent treatment.
Dr. Rubin earned his MD from Yale University and completed his residency and fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He served as lead investigator in a research study that sought to determine whether vitamin D levels are associated with a person's ability to resolve a C-diff infection.
Michael A. Safdi, MD (Ohio Gastroenterology and Liver Institute, Cincinnati.) Dr. Safdi is a member of Ohio Gastroenterology and Liver Institute, a group practice with 20 physicians, and built the Consultants for Clinical Research arm of the practice, involving the group in more than 220 clinical research trials. He has been a surveyor for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care since 1996 and is ACG representative on AAAHC's board.
Dr. Safdi earned his MD from University of Cincinnati Medical School and completed residency and fellowship at the University of California at San Diego. He received the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America Distinguished Leadership Award. Dr. Safdi served on a joint committee of the American College of Gastroenterology and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy formulating the first benchmarks for quality endoscopy. He was an ACG board member and the college's representative to the Subspecialty Advisory Group for Socioeconomic Affairs for the ACP.
William J. Sandborn, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.) Dr. Sandborn is vice chair of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic. He is involved in clinical trials and clinical pharmacology in inflammatory bowel disease and is the principal investigator on several clinical studies on the management of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Dr. Sandborn earned his MD and completed his residency at Loma Linda University and completed his fellowship at Mayo Clinic. He chairs the Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Section of the American Gastroenterological Association and the International Organization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Robert S. Sandler, MD (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.). Dr. Sandler is a professor of medicine and epidemiology and chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of North Carolina. He is also longstanding director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, an NIH-funded Digestive Disease Research Core Center based at UNC and North Carolina State University.
Dr. Sandler earned his MD from Yale University and completed his residency at George Washington Hospital and his fellowship at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He has been an associate editor of Gastroenterology and served as president of the American Gastroenterological Association.
Harry Sarles Jr., MD (Digestive Health Associates of Texas, Garland, Texas). Dr. Sarles is a gastroenterologist with the Digestive Health Associates of Texas. Areas of interest include colon cancer screening, pancreato-biliary problems of the GI tract, gastrointestinal bleeding problems and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Dr. Sarles earned his MD and completed his residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and completed his fellowship at the VA Hospital in Phoenix through the University of Arizona. He is secretary of the American College of Gastroenterologists and chairman of the legislative affairs committee for the Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy.
Mark A. Schattner, MD (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York). Dr. Schattner practices at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He has a special interest in therapeutic endoscopy and specialized nutrition support for cancer patients. He perform endoscopic procedures including colonoscopy, polypectomy, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, fine needle aspiration, capsule endoscopy and endoscopic placement of feeding tubes and stents.
Dr. Schattner earned his MD for the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his residency at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center and his fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is president of the New York Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Lawrence R. Schiller, MD (Digestive Health Associates of Texas, Dallas). Dr. Schiller is a member of the board of Digestive Health Associates of Texas, clinical professor at University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas and program director of the gastroenterology fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center. His clinical interests include colon cancer screening gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's Disease.
Dr. Schiller earned his MD from Thomas Jefferson University and completed his residency at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and his fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. He is president-elect of the American College of Gastroenterology and chairman of the institutional review board for human subject protection at Baylor University Medical Center.
Helen M. Shields, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston). Dr. Shields is a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor at the department of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She has served as chair of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Advisory Committee at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is education and training councilor at the American Gastroenterological Association.
Dr. Shields earned her MD from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her residency at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and her fellowship at University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Leonard B. Stein, MD (Long Island Center for Digestive Health, Garden City, N.Y.). Dr. Stein is medical director at the Long Island Center for Digestive Health, an endoscopy center performing 6,000 procedures a year, and a member of Gastroenterology Associates, a single-specialty group also in Garden City. Dr. Stein earned his MD from Sackler School of Medicine, completed his internal medicine at residency Long Island Jewish Hospital and gastroenterology fellowship at Temple University Hospital. He is clinical assistant professor of medicine at State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Ian L. Taylor, MD (SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.). Dr. Taylor is senior vice president for biomedical education and research and dean of the College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. He is president of the American Gastroenterological Association.
A native of Liverpool, England, Dr. Taylor earned the equivalent of an MD there and performed his fellowship in gastroenterology at UCLA/Wadsworth VA Medical Center. He was dean of the School of Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans and before that chairman of the Department of Medicine and president of the University Medical Associates at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Kalpesh H. Thakkar, MD (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston). Dr. Thakkar is assistant professor for pediatrics in the section of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine. His research interests include abdominal pain, gastrointestinal endoscopy and clinical outcome and epidemiology.
He earned his MD from Texas Tech University College of Medicine, completed his residency at University of Texas Medical Branch and completed his fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. He won the Quality Endoscopic Research Award from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Jacques Van Dam, MD, PhD (USC University Hospital, Los Angeles). Dr. Van Dam, formerly at Stanford University, joined the gastroenterology department at University of Southern California in Aug. 2010. An NIH-funded investigator, Dr. Van Dam's research efforts include developing methods for the endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer.
Dr. Van Dam earned his MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine, completed his residency at New England Deaconess Hospital and undertook fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. He is an NIH-funded investigator. He has been president of both the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Bockus International Society of Gastroenterology.
John J. Vargo II, MD (Cleveland Clinic Foundation). Dr. Vargo is a member of the Section of Therapeutic Endoscopy in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and is program director of the advanced endoscopy fellowship there. Interests include biliary tract disease, capsule endoscopy, deep enteroscopy, deep enteroscopy and interventional endoscopy, upper endoscopy, double balloon enteroscopy, endoscopic mucosal ablative and resection techniques, endoscopic ultrasonography, endoscopic cancer therapy and stenting.
Dr. Vargo earned his MD at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, completed his residency at Montefiore Hospital University Health Center, Pittsburgh and completed his fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. He also holds a master of public health from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and is an honorary fellow of the Gastroenterology Society of Ecuador. He is a councilor of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and was recognized for editorial excellence in gastrointestinal endoscopy.
Ronald J. Vender, MD (Yale Medical Group, New Haven, Conn.). Dr. Vender is chief medical officer of Yale Medical Group, the physician practice of Yale University faculty. He is vice president of the American College of Gastroenterology. Dr. Vender earned his MD from Yale School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowships at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He won the Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Gastroenterological Association.
Kenneth K. Wang, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). Dr. Wang is director of the Advanced Endoscopy Group and Esophageal Neoplasia Clinic and consultant in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Mayo Clinic. His interests include laser therapy, Barrett's esophagus Esophageal cancer, photodynamic therapy, endoscopic ultrasonography, gastrointestinal bleeding, optical biopsy, laser confocal microscopy, radiofrequency ablation and endoscopic mucosal resection/dissection.
Dr. Wang earned his MD from Wayne State University and completed his residency and fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. He is secretary of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, a member of the National Commission on Digestive Diseases in the Gastrointestinal Neoplasia section and a member of the Progress Review Group in upper GI carcinomas. He has served on numerous NIH panels examining Barrett's esophagus and novel imaging techniques of the gastrointestinal tract.
James J. Weber, MD (Texas Digestive Disease Consultants, Dallas). Dr. Weber is president of Texas Digestive Disease Consultants, which has 17 offices. He specializes in colorectal cancer prevention and irritable bowel disease. Dr. Weber earned his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed his residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital and his gastroenterology fellowship at Baylor University in Dallas.
David C. Whitcomb, MD, PhD (University of Pittsburgh). Dr. Whitcomb is chief of the division of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh. He co-founded and directed the Center for Genomic Sciences, which formed the foundation for the current Genomic and Proteomic Core Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Whitcomb earned his MD and a PhD in physiology at Ohio State University and completed his residency and fellowship at Duke University. His laboratory group discovered the gene causing hereditary pancreatitis and other causes of pancreatic disease. He is actively involved in studies of mutations in the trypsinogen gene (PRSS1), SPINK1 gene and the CFTR gene.
F. Taylor Wootton III, MD (Digestive & Liver Disease Specialists, Norfolk, Va.)
Dr. Wooten is a member of Digestive & Liver Disease Specialists, a seven-physician practice. He is a community private practice councilor of the American Gastroenterological Association. He earned his MD from Eastern Virginia Medical School and completed his residency and fellowship at Medical University of South Carolina.