Here are profiles of 125 of the leading gastroenterologists in the United States.
Jean-Paul Achkar, MD (Cleveland Clinic). A member of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department of the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Achkar is the principal or co-investigator in a number of research trials in leading peer-reviewed journals. His special interests are Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis. Dr. Achkar earned his MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland and completed a residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland and a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He received the Physician of the Year Award from the Cleveland Clinic GI Department, the Premier Physician Award from the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and the Governors Award for Best Scientific Paper from the American College of Gastroenterology.
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 healthcare improvement collaborative. His clinical focus is gastrointestinal cancer, colon cancer and cancer genetics. Dr. Allen earned his MD from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. 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.
Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston). Dr. Ananthakrishnan works at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Mass General North Shore Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers. He won the 2011 American Gastroenterological Association research scholar award for a prospective study of diet and risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. He earned his MBBS from the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research in India and completed a residency and a fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. His clinical interests are Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and general gastroenterology.
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 in New Orleans and completed his residency at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and his fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas.
Damian H. 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, part of Sutter Health. In addition to serving as a board member of the San Francisco Endoscopy Center and Blue Cross of California, he is CFO and treasurer of PRF Medical Malpractice Insurance Companies.
Dr. Augustyn earned his MD at Harvard Medical School in Boston, undertook a residency at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and completed a 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.
Peter A. Banks, MD (Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston). An international authority on pancreatitis, Dr. Banks is director of both the Center for Pancreatic Disease and the Clinical Research Track at Brigham & Women's Hospital. He is vice chairman of the Digestive Disease National Coalition and immediate past president of the Digestive Disease National Coalition. His main research interests include identification of risk factors and new markers of severity in acute pancreatitis, newer treatment for fulminant pancreatitis and newer modalities for treating pain in chronic pancreatitis.
He earned his MD from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York, completed his residency at Beth Israel Hospital in New York and fellowships in infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and in gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He was awarded the American Gastroenterological Association's Distinguished Educator Award and Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Gastroenterology Award, and he has been honored by the National Pancreas Foundation.
Christopher Bartolone, MD (Gastroenterology Associates, Williamsville, N.Y.). Dr. Bartolone is one of 11 physicians at Gastroenterology Associates, near Buffalo. He is also on staff at the Endoscopy Center of Western New York, also in Williamsville, a facility with four procedure rooms that is affiliated with Physicians Endoscopy. Dr. Bartolone earned his MD and completed a residency at the State University of New York at Buffalo and a fellowship in digestive and liver diseases at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is on staff at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Williamsville and Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo.
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. He is secretary/treasurer of the American Gastroenterological Association and was president of the Eastern Virginia Medical School from 2000-2005. Dr. Bell earned his MD from Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, completed his residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and his fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Fernando Bermudez, MD (Eastside Endoscopy Center, St. Clair Shores, Mich.). Dr. Bermudez is medical director and board member of Eastside Endoscopy Center, a partnership with Physicians Endoscopy, and he is a member of G.I. Medicine Associates. He specializes in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, 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 in Detroit.
Henry J. Binder, MD (Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.). In 2010, Dr. Binder received a $1.8 million grant from the Gates Foundation to study the use of oral rehydration solutions to improve diarrhea control worldwide. A senior research scientist in medicine and professor of medicine and cellular and molecular physiology at Yale University School of Medicine, he won 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.
C. Richard Boland, MD (Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas). The chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at Baylor University Medical Center, Dr. Boland is currently president of the American Gastroenterological Association. Many members of his family had colon cancer, so 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 in New Haven, Conn., 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.
Geoffrey Braden, MD (Gastrointestinal Specialists, Philadelphia). Dr. Braden helped launch Gastrointestinal Specialists, a group practice that now has 11 gastroenterologists. He is on staff at Aria Health Hospital System and Roxborough Hospital, with faculty privileges at Drexel University College of Medicine, all in Philadelphia. He also serves as chief of internal medicine at Aria Health and consults at a number of other hospitals. He is chair and journal editor for Medscape Gastroenterology. His special interests include inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Braden earned his MD from Ohio State University Medical School in Columbus and completed a residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics and a fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Aaron Brzezinski, MD (Cleveland Clinic). Dr. Brzezinski's clinical practice in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department at the Cleveland Clinic deals almost exclusively with inflammatory bowel disease, microscopic colitis and celiac disease. He earned his MD from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and then performed internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in Canada. He won the Premier Physician Award from the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.
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. 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. Dr. Burke earned her MD at Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health in Columbus, completed her residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital, also in Columbus, and completed her GI fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.
Robert "Bruce" Cameron, MD (Endoscopy Center at Bainbridge, Chagrin Falls, Ohio). The medical director of the Endoscopy Center at Bainbridge, Dr. Cameron practices with Gastroenterology Associates, which is part of University Hospitals Medical Practices and is a clinical professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. 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 has a special interest for colonic neoplasia and esophageal diseases.
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 in Charleston. 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 is also the editor and principal contributor of "The Esophagus," the primary text on this subject. Dr. Castell earned his MD from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He completed a residency at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and a fellowship at Tufts University in Boston. He served in the Navy from 1959-1979.
Amitabh Chak, MD (University Hospitals, Cleveland). Dr Chak is director of the Advanced Technology & Innovation Center of Excellence and director of clinical research for the Division of Gastroenterology at University Hospitals. His special interests include endoscopic ultrasonography, gastrointestinal cancer and therapeutic endoscopy. Dr. Chak earned his MD from Columbia University in New York and completed his residency and fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He is a councilor of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Lin Chang, MD (University of California, Los Angeles). Dr. Chang is director of the Women's Digestive Health Center at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California. Her main research area is the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome with particular interests in the overlap of irritable bowel syndrome 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 co-director of the Michigan Bowel Control Program at the University of Michigan. He is past chair of the Clinical Practice Section of the American Gastroenterological Association and is a board member of the American College of Gastroenterology. He is also co-editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology and serves on the editorial boards of Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Digestive Health Matters, Gastroenterology & Hepatology and Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Chey earned his MD and completed his residency at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. He then completed his fellowship at the University of Michigan. He received the award for Excellence in Mentorship from the University of Michigan GI fellowship class. Research interests focus on the diagnosis and treatment of the functional bowel disorders, Helicobacter pylori infection and acid-related disorders, including gastroesophageal reflux disease and peptic ulcer disease.
Delbert L. Chumley, MD (Gastroenterology Consultants, San Antonio). A member of Gastroenterology Consultants, Dr. Chumley is 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 also a past president of the Texas Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy.
Dr. Chumley earned his MD and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He holds an appointment at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. His interests include therapeutic endoscopy for hepatobiliary, pancreatic and sphincter of Oddi disorders, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Bradley A. Connor, MD (Travel Health Services, New York). Dr. Connor is founder and medical director of Travel Health Services, a travel medicine clinic in New York. A past president of the International Society of Travel Medicine, he has served as a consultant to the White House Medical Unit in the Clinton and Bush administrations and is a travel medicine advisor for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team. He was part of a team in Kathmandu, Nepal that first described the clinical illness associated with cyclospora infections and made subsequent contributions to the understanding of its pathogenesis, epidemiology and treatment.
On staff at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, his main research interests include chronic gastrointestinal disorders in returned travelers, emerging gastrointestinal pathogens, viral hepatitis, and enteric parasitic diseases. He earned his MD from the University of Texas South Western Medical School in Dallas and completed a residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center and a gastroenterology fellowship at New York Hospital.
Stephen Deal, MD (Carolina Digestive Health Associates, Charlotte, N.C.). Carolina Digestive Health Associates, where Dr. Deal practices, operates five endoscopy centers in the Charlotte area. Specializing 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 American College of Gastroenterology. He has been a member of the ACG National Affairs Committee and the ACG Practice Management Committee. 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 in Richmond.
Thomas Deas Jr., MD (Fort Worth Endoscopy Center, Fort Worth, Texas). The president-elect of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Dr. Deas is the medical director of the Fort Worth Endoscopy Center and 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, 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.
James H. DeGerome, MD (South Florida Gastroenterology Associates, Boynton Beach, Fla.). The president of Digestive Disease National Coalition, Dr. DeGerome wrote the 2009 book, "The Cure for the American Healthcare Malady," which laid out a plan for universal coverage without massive tax increases. A member of South Florida Gastroenterology Associates, Dr. DeGerome earned his MD and completed his residency at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. He then completed his gastroenterology fellowship at Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center in San Antonio. He is winner of the Distinguished Service Award from the Florida Gastroenterologic Society.
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 and 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, where he also completed his internship, and finished his residency and fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Peter V. Draganov, MD (University of Florida, Gainesville). Dr. Draganov is director of endoscopy at University of Florida. He won the National Quality Week Shands Star Award for exceptional empathy, compassion or advocacy in interactions with patients and the Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Gastroenterology and Hepatology from the American College of Physicians. Dr. Draganov earned his MD from the Medical Academy of Sofia in Bulgaria. He completed his residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Samuel Drake, MD (Gaston Digestive Disease Clinic, Gastonia, N.C.). A member of Gaston Digestive Disease Clinic, Dr. Drake treats hiatal hernias, tumors, ulcers, jaundice, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and disorders of the pancreas, gallbladder and liver. He also performs endoscopies, colonoscopies, endoscopic laser treatments and cancer screening. Dr. Drake earned his MD from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and completed a residency at Grady Hospital in Atlanta and a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Texas.
Marla C. Dubinsky, MD (Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles). The director of pediatric IBD Center at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Dr. Dubinsky is on the steering committee at IBD Working Group, serving as course director for hot topics there. Her research interests include the immune and genetic influences on the natural history and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
Dr. Dubinsky earned her MD from Queen's University in Canada and completed her pediatric residency at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, Canada, and her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at Sainte-Justine Hospital at the University of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. She completed a research fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Sainte-Justine Hospital and a research fellowship in inflammatory bowel disease at Cedars-Sinai.
Steven A. Edmundowicz, MD (Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis). The chief of endoscopy and director of interventional endoscopy at Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Edmundowicz also serves as a councilor of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and is senior associate editor of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. He won Philadelphia Magazine's "Top Doctors" Award in Gastroenterology and Therapeutic Endoscopy. Dr. Edmundowicz earned his MD from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and completed his residency and fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine.
Glenn M. Eisen, MD (Oregon Clinic, Portland). The Oregon Clinic, where Dr. Eisen practices, is the largest private specialty physician practice in the state, with more than 120 physicians. In addition to holding an appointment at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, he is editor of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and served as representative of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy on the GERD working group for the AMA physician consortium for performance improvement.
Dr. Eisen earned his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., completed his residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and completed his fellowship from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. Special interests are in esophageal disease, Barrett's esophagus, colorectal cancer screening, therapeutic pancreaticobiliary endoscopy, capsule endoscopy and inflammatory bowel disease.
Atilla Ertan, MD (Methodist Hospital System, Houston). Dr. Ertan is on staff at Methodist Hospital System and serves on the editorial board of six different medical journals. He won the Best Physician Award from the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, the Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Gastroenterological Association and the Master in Gastroenterology Award from the American College of Gastroenterology.
Dr. Ertan earned his MD from the University of Ankara Medical School in Turkey and completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His interests include ablation arocedures, anal rectal/colon, arteriovenous malformation, biliary disease, colon cancer, Crohn's disease, endoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy and GI sclerotherapy.
Douglas O. Faigel, MD (Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland). A member of the OHSU University Medical Group and part of the endoscopic ultrasound program at the university, Dr. Faigel is treasurer of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and chairs the society's Quality Assurance Taskforce. He won the quality endoscopic research award from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Dr. Faigel earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, completed his residency at the University of California, San Francisco, and completed his fellowship at University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. His research interests are in pancreatic cancer, capsule endoscopy, GI stromal tumors, natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery and issues surrounding quality assurance.
Francis A. Farraye, MD (Boston Medical Center). Dr. Farraye is clinical director in the gastroenterology section at Boston Medical Center and holds an appointment at Boston University School of Medicine. He is coeditor for the text, "Bariatric Surgery: A Primer for your Medical Practice," and associate editor for Therapy for Digestive Disorders. He received the American College of Gastroenterology's William D. Carey Award for serving the college with distinction.
Dr. Farraye earned his MD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and completed his residency and fellowship at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. His clinical interests are inflammatory bowel disease and management of colon polyps and colorectal cancer. He has been studying Vitamin D absorption in patients with Crohn's disease.
M. Brian Fennerty, MD (Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.). The section chief of gastroenterology at Oregon Health & Science University, Dr. Fennerty is past president of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. 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 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 at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and his gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson. He is a past chair of the FDA Advisory Panel on Gastrointestinal and Urological Devices; the Imaging and Advanced Technology section of the AGA; and the Research Committee of the ASGE. He also served as the American Gastroenterological Association representative on the National Colorectal Cancer Round Table.
Ira L. Flax, MD (Digestive and Liver Specialists, Houston). Dr. Flax co-founded and served as chairman of the Texas Alliance for Digestive Diseases, a regional gastroenterology independent practice association. A managing partner of Digestive and Liver Specialists, a six-physician specialty practice in Houston, he has served on the board of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston, chaired its gastroenterology section and was chief of staff of Hermann Memorial Hospital in Memorial City.
Dr. Flax earned his MD from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, completed a residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and completed a fellowship at the Medical College of Virginia. He 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 E. Fleischer, MD (Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix). Dr. Fleischer is chair of the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at 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.
Chris Forsmark, MD (University of Florida, Gainesville). The current chief of gastroenterology at the University of Florida, Dr. Forsmark is past president of the Pancreas Society, the American Pancreatic Association and the Florida Gastroenterologic Society. He also served as chairman of the Pancreatic Disorders Section and was postgraduate course director at the American Gastroenterological Association.
Dr. Forsmark is editor of Pancreas, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Techniques in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and International Journal of Pancreatology. He also served a director for the GI section of American Board of Internal Medicine. He earned his MD from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and then completed a residency and two gastroenterology fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco.
Amy E. Foxx-Orenstein, DO (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). Dr. Foxx-Orenstein was president of the American College of Gastroenterology from 2007-2008 and began the College's obesity initiative. She is a member of the Motility Section, Enteric Neuroscience Program and Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division at Mayo.
Dr. Foxx-Orenstein earned her DO from University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa, and completed her residency at Geisinger Medical Center and fellowships at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Her research and clinical interests include obesity, motility disorders, functional bowel, pelvic floor disorders, eosinophilic esophagitis and pharmacodynamics.
James Franciosi, MD (Cincinnati Children's Hospital). Dr. Franciosi is an assistant professor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. His research includes outcome measures in eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophilic esophagitis epidemiology, eosinophilic esophagitis clinical trials and inflammatory bowel disease clinical trials. He earned his MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and completed his residency and fellowship at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is winner of the Castell Esophageal Clinical Research Award and the Young Investigator Development Award in Eosinophilic Esophagitis.
James T. Frakes, MD (Rockford Gastroenterology Associates, Ill.). A past president of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Dr. Frakes is a member of Rockford Gastroenterology Associates. 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 an expert in therapeutic pancreaticobiliary endoscopy, practice management and endoscopic ambulatory surgery centers.
Robert M. Gannan, MD, PhD (ArtVentive Medical Group, Carlsbad, Calif.). The founder of Physicians Endoscopy, Dr. Gannan has retired from his duties there and now serves on the scientific advisory board of ArtVentive Medical Group, which develops, manufactures and markets endoluminal occlusion devices. Practicing in Bellevue, Wash., he served as director of gastroenterology at the Overlake Hospital Medical Center and president and partner of Northwest Gastroenterology Associates, and he established the Eastside Endoscopy Center, a partnership with Physicians Endoscopy. Dr. Gannan earned his MD from University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Medicine & Dentistry and completed a residency and fellowship at Moffitt Hospital at the University of California, San Francisco. He has taught gastroenterology and advanced endoscopy in developing countries.
Robert A. Ganz, MD (Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis). The foundation chair of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Dr. Ganz is chief of gastroenterology at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, and is associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He has a special interest in colonoscopy with polypectomy, gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett's esophagus, colonoscopy, esophageal dilations, endoscopic foreign body removal, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, liver disease and flexible sigmoidoscopy. Dr. Ganz earned his MD and completed his residency at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago.
Ralph A. Giannella, MD (University of Cincinnati College of Medicine). A former president of the American Gastroenterological Association, Dr. Giannella co-supervises the University Hospital gastroenterology clinic and is a professor in the Digestive Diseases Division at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. With a focus 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 (N.Y.) Medical College and completed his residency at Boston City Hospital. He won the AGA's Julius Friedenwald Medal.
Francis M. Giardiello, MD (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore). Dr. Giardiello directs the Colorectal Cancer Registry and Risk Assessment Clinic at Johns Hopkins, where he is also director of the gastrointestinal fellowship program. For nine years, he was director of the Division of Johns Hopkins' Gastroenterology. He has investigated the genetic basis of familial colorectal cancer and the use of genetic testing in the hereditary forms of colorectal cancer. Dr. Giardiello earned his MD from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and completed a residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a fellowship at Johns Hopkins. He is a clinical research councilor at the American Gastroenterological Association.
Gregory G. Ginsberg, MD (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia). The current president of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Dr. Ginsberg is executive director of the Endoscopic Service at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He won the clinical innovator award and the distinguished educator award at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.
Dr. Ginsberg earned his MD from Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and completed a residency and fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. 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.
Gary Gitnick, MD (University of California, Los Angeles). As chief of the division of digestive diseases at UCLA School of Medicine, Dr. Gitnick leads the largest gastroenterology division in the world, with 80 full-time faculty members, 99 employees and a multi-million dollar budget. Previously, he was chief of staff of the UCLA Medical Center and medical director of UCLA Health Care Programs. Dr. Gitnick earned his MD from the University of Chicago and completed a residency and fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
David A. Greenwald, MD (Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.). The chairman of the board of the American College of Gastroenterology, Dr. Greenwald is director of the gastroenterology fellowship program at Montefiore Medical Center and holds an academic appointment at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, also in the Bronx. He studies the risks of infection and issues of safety concerning GI endoscopy.
Dr. Greenwald earned his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his residency fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. For many years he chaired the ACG subcommittee on GI endoscopy for the American Society for Testing and Materials. He has won the ACG Governor's Award and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy's Master Endoscopist Award.
Pedro Greer Jr., MD (Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami). Dr. Greer is one of the founders of a new medical school, Herbert Wertham College of Medicine at Florida International University, where he is assistant dean for academic affairs. A recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship and the Presidential Service Award, he was an advisor to Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton on healthcare and poverty. He is the author of "Waking Up in America." Dr. Greer earned his MD from the Pontifica Universidad Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic and completed his residency and fellowships at Jackson Memorial Hospital and the University of Miami.
Stephen B. Hanauer, MD (University of Chicago). The chief of gastroenterology at the University of Chicago, Dr. Hanauer is also chair of the IBD Working Group and the FDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee. He is treasurer of the American Gastroenterological Association and a member of the Subspecialty Board of Gastroenterology for the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Hanauer earned his MD from the University of Illinois in Chicago and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Chicago. His clinical research involves epidemiology and therapeutics for inflammatory bowel diseases.
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 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. She completed her residency at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and her fellowship at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Anne Henkel, MD (Northwestern University, Chicago). An Instructor in medicine-hepatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Henkel won the American Gastroenterological Association Research Foundation's research scholars award in 2011 for her studies on the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the pathogenesis of NASH. Dr. Henkel earned her MD from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and completed a residency and fellowship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Reed B. Hogan, MD (GI Associates and Endoscopy Center, Jackson, Miss.). Dr. Hogan is a member of GI Associates and Endoscopy Center. He is 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 in Jackson. He completed a residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and a gastroenterology fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
David A. Johnson, MD (Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk). As a primary advisor for national Medicare GI issues on endoscopy, a CMS advisory committee, Dr. Johnson helped enact legislation mandating colon cancer screening with colonoscopy as the preferred standard. In addition to being chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, he is a past president of the American College of Gastroenterology and co-chaired the national Gastroenterology Medicare advisors.
Dr. Johnson earned his MD from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond. He is a co-author of the guidelines for colon cancer screening and surveillance from the U.S. Multisociety Task Force on Colorectal Cancer, the ACG colon cancer screening guidelines and the joint guidelines from the American Cancer Society. His primary research interests are esophageal and colon disease.
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 in Trinidad and Tobago, performed his residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and completed a fellowship at the combined Georgetown University, VA Medical Center and NIH program in Bethesda, Md. He was an instructor in medicine at Georgetown before joining Johns Hopkins.
Kalle Kang, MD (Overlake Internal Medicine Associates, Bellevue, Wash.). In addition to being one of six GI physicians at Overlake, Dr. Kang performs surgery at Eastside Endoscopy Center in Bellevue, a Physicians Endoscopy Center with nine other physicians on staff. Dr. Kang earned his MD from New York University, completed his residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his fellowship at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He then taught at the University of Connecticut Medical School in Storrs before joining Overlake Internal Medicine Associates.
Philip O. Katz, MD (Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia). Dr. Katz chairs the division of gastroenterology and is associate program director for the internal medicine residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center. The immediate past president of the American College of Gastroenterology, he has been the 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.
Dr. Katz earned his MD and completed a residency and a fellowship at Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. He is clinical professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. 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.
David A. Katzka, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). Dr. Katzka is head of the esophageal interest group in the 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 is on the editorial board of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and is section editor of Gastroenterology.
Dr. Katzka earned his MD and completed a residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He then completed a gastroenterology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He is the winner of the 2010 Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Gastroenterological Association, the Simon B. Komarov prize for excellence in gastroenterology from the Penn Measey Foundation, the NIH Clinical Investigator Award and the Louis Duhring Award for Excellence in Clinical Specialty Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Lawrence S. Kim, MD (South Denver Gastroenterology). Dr. Kim is a member of South Denver Gastroenterology, which has more than a dozen physicians on staff and is affiliated with two endoscopy centers, one of which is a joint venture with Amsurg Corp. He serves on the board of directors of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, the Clinical Practice and Economics Committee of the American Gastroenterological Association and the Regional Medical Advisory Board of the American Liver Foundation.
Dr. Kim earned his MD from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, completed his residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and completed his gastroenterology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, where he pursued additional training in outcomes and clinical research. He is the community private practice councilor of the American Gastroenterological Association.
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. Serving as chairman of the editorial board of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and editor for the "Year Book of Gastroenterology," he is also a councilor of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Dr. Kochman earned his MD and completed a residency at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. He then completed fellowships at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and the University of Michigan Hospitals in Ann Arbor, and he has also received training in interventional endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound.
Michael K. Koehler, MD (University Hospitals, Cleveland). In addition to practicing in University Hospitals Medical Practices, Dr. Koehler has admitting privileges at UH Case Medical Center and UH Bedford Medical Center and is one of five physicians on staff at the Endoscopy Center at Bainbridge in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Dr. Koehler earned his MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland and completed a residency, gastroenterology fellowship and pathology fellowship at University Hospitals.
Mark H. Kogan, MD (Northern California Gastroenterology, San Pablo, Calif.). Dr. Kogan has served as chief of staff at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo and medical director for the Alta Bates Medical Group, which operates around the Bay Area. A member of 19-physician Northern California Gastroenterology, he was president of the Alameda Contra Costa Medical Association and served on the clinical practice committee for the American Gastroenterological Association.
He earned his MD from Northwestern University in Chicago and completed a residency at Cornell University in New York and gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. He has teaching appointments at UCSF School of Medicine in San Francisco and Touro Osteopathic Medical School in New York. His special interests are colon cancer screening and inflammatory bowel disease.
Jeffrey Kutscher, MD (Gastroenterology Consultants of New Jersey, Lumberton). Dr. Kutscher has been chief of gastroenterology at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly, N.J., since 1988 and continues to teach gastroenterology in the Virtua residency program. He is one of seven physicians at both Gastroenterology Consultants of New Jersey and Burlington County Endoscopy Center in Lumberton.
Dr. Kutscher earned his MD from Case Western Reserve University Medical School and completed his residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the Cornell University Medical Center and the Sloan Kettering Center in New York. Selected as a Top Doctor in Gastroenterology by New Jersey Monthly in 2007, he focuses on colon cancer screening and prevention, gastroesophageal reflux disease, inflammatory bowel disease and liver disease.
Loren A. Laine, MD (USC School of Medicine, Los Angeles). The president-elect of the American Gastroenterological Association, Dr. Laine is director of endoscopy and the associate director of the Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases at USC School of Medicine. Areas of interest include gastrointestinal bleeding and upper gastrointestinal tract injury due to Helicobacter pylori and anti-inflammatory medications. Dr. Laine earned his MD and completed his residency at the University of California at Los Angeles and completed a fellowship at University of California at San Diego.
Louis La Luna, MD (Digestive Disease Associates, Wyomissing, Pa.). Dr. La Luna is medical director of Berks Center for Digestive Health, an outpatient endoscopy center, and the gastroenterology liaison for the cancer committee at Reading (Pa.) Hospital. He practices at 13-physician Digestive Disease Associates, which was founded by Barton Smith, MD, in 1972.
Dr. La Luna earned his MD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed a residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. During his fellowship he also trained at The University of Pennsylvania Health System and Fox Chase Cancer Center. He then completed an additional fellowship in advanced therapeutic endoscopy at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Nicholas F. LaRusso, MD (Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn.). Dr. LaRusso chairs the Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition at the American Gastroenterological Association. A member of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Transplant Center at Mayo Clinic, he is 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 Metropolitan Hospital Medical Center in New York and completed a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., where he was a Mayo Foundation scholar and guest investigator. He is former editor of Gastroenterology, recipient of a MERIT Award and principle investigator on two R01s from the NIH.
Bret A. Lashner, MD (Cleveland Clinic). The co-chair of the Cleveland Clinic Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative Advisory Committee, Dr. Lashner also chairs the Research Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology. He is an associate editor of The American Journal of Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and is on the steering committee of the IBD Working Group. Dr. Lashner earned his MD from New York University School of Medicine. He completed a residency at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia 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 (Galloway Endoscopy Center, Miami). Dr. Leavitt is a physician at the Galloway Endoscopy Center, affiliated with Baptist Health, and the Gastroenterology Care Center. He also holds an academic appointment at the University of Miami School of Medicine Department of Gastroenterology. Dr. Leavitt earned his MD from the State University of New York Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn and completed his medical internship and residency and his gastroenterology fellowship at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He has served as a member of the American College of Gastroenterology's practice management committee.
Jay R. Levinson, MD (Michigan Endoscopy Center, Farmington Hills). The medical director of Michigan Endoscopy Center, Dr. Levinson was recognized by his peers as one of the region's most respected gastroenterologists in Detroit Magazine's Top Doc survey in 2005 and 2008. Dr. Levinson earned his MD from Wayne State University in Detroit and completed his residency at Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit. In addition to his work at Michigan Endoscopy Center, Dr. Levinson holds hospital privileges at Providence Hospital In Southfield, Mich., Providence Park Hospital in Novi, Mich., and St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Madison Heights, Mich.
Blair Lewis, MD (Mount Sinai Hospital, New York). Dr. Lewis 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 and coordinated the Consensus Conference statements to guide capsule usage. On staff at Mount Sinai Hospital, he also holds an academic appointment at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
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 New York Academy of Gastroenterology and has served on the board of the American College of Gastroenterology.
Gary R. Lichtenstein, MD (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia). In addition to being director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Lichtenstein serves on the editorial boards of Gastroenterology, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, World Journal of Gastroenterology and Digestive Diseases and Sciences. He is also on the steering committee of the IBD Working Group and has served as medical secretary for the Gastroenterology Section at the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Lichtenstein's research interests encompass investigational therapies for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. He earned his MD from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He completed his residency at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and served a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Edward V. Loftus Jr., MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). A consultant in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Loftus is on the steering committee of the IBD Working Group and has chaired the Patient Education Committee of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. He is an associate editor of American Journal of Gastroenterology and a member of the editorial boards of Gastroenterology, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.
Dr. Loftus earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, completed a residency at Temple University Health Sciences Center in Philadelphia and completed a gastroenterology fellowship at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. In his early career, he was a general medical officer in the Indian Health Service in Harlem, Mont.
James F. Martin, MD (Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center, Calif.). Dr. Martin served in Operation Desert Storm, for which he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for Superior Performance. The 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 in Columbus, completed his residency at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and completed his gastroenterology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
Arthur McCullough, MD (Cleveland Clinic). A former president of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Dr. McCullough chairs the department of gastroenterology and hepatology and is vice-chairman of research and education at the Digestive Disease Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He helped develop a non-invasive test for liver disease without needing a liver biopsy. 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.
Alfred McNair, MD (Digestive Health Center in Biloxi, Miss.). Dr. McNair founded Digestive Health Center, which now has six physicians and provides colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy and EGD. He earned his MD from Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver and completed his medical and specialty training at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and at Columbia University in New York. He has practiced at several hospitals in Mississippi, most recently at Ocean Springs Hospital.
Kenneth R. McQuaid, MD (VA Medical Center, San Francisco). Dr. McQuaid is director of GI Endoscopy and is the primary clinician for luminal gastrointestinal disorders at the VA Medical Center. He is responsible for clinical and administrative oversight of the inpatient GI consult service, outpatient GI clinics, GI motility laboratory and GI endoscopy unit. He is treasurer-elect and a member of the governing board of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Dr. McQuaid earned his MD from University of California at San Francisco and completed a residency at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and a fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
Klaus D. Mergener, MD, PhD (Digestive Health Specialists, based in Tacoma, Wash.). Dr. Mergener is director of GI hospitalist services at Digestive Health Specialists, which is affiliated with four endoscopy centers. He is a member of the governing board of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, was a course director for the ASGE's Aug. 2011 meeting and is a member of the Council of Fellows of the American College of Physician Executives. Having earned his MD in Frankfurt and Heidelberg in Germany, Dr. Mergener completed a residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and received additional training in interventional endoscopy there.
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 in Atlanta, he is past president of the Georgia Gastrointestinal Society and served as chief of staff at Emory University Hospital. Dr. Morris earned his MD from the University at Buffalo (N.Y.) 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.
Bergein F. Overholt, MD (Gastrointestinal Associates, Knoxville, Tenn.). Dr. Overholt was a key contributor to the development of colonoscopy, earning him the Schindler Award from the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the William Beaumont Award from the AMA. The founder of Gastrointestinal Associates, he is also a member of the board of EDP Biotech in Knoxville. He co-edited the 1990 book, "Office Endoscopy" and is former president of the ASGE and the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.
Dr. Overholt earned his MD from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Nashville and completed a residency and a gastroenterology fellowship at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich. He then completed two more years of gastroenterology training at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He is a recipient of the Berk/Fise Clinical Achievement Award from the American College of Gastroenterology.
Daniel J. Pambianco, MD (Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, Va.). In addition to being chairman of the endoscopy-motility lab at Martha Jefferson Hospital, Dr. Pambianco is 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. He is also vice chair of the board of governors of the American College of Gastroenterology. Dr. Pambianco earned his MD at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in Montserrat, British West Indies. He completed a residency at Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pa., and undertook a fellowship at the University of Virginia Health Services Center in Charlottesville.
Henry P. Parkman, MD (Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia). Dr. Parkman is director of the GI Motility Laboratory and the Temple Clinical Research Unit at Temple University School of Medicine. He also chairs the research committee in Temple's Department of Medicine and is vice president of the Digestive Disease National Coalition. His interests include motility disorders of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. Dr. Parkman earned his MD from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He completed a residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, a GI fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a GI research fellowship in Mayo Clinic Medical School in Rochester, Minn.
Richard Peek Jr., MD (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn.). Dr. Peek is council chair-elect of the American Gastroenterological Association and director of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Specializing in research into the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric cancer, his research has shown that carcinogenic strains of H. pylori can selectively activate B-catenin. He earned his MD from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completed his residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System and his fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
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 in Atlanta and his fellowship at University of California Los Angeles Medical Center.
David A. Peura, MD (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.). A professor of medicine at the University of Virginia Health System, Dr. Peura was the 100th president of the American Gastroenterological Association and chaired its Digestive Health Initiative Ulcer Campaign and its education committee. He won the AGA's Julius Friedenwald Medal and Distinguished Educator Award in 2002. He has been involved in clinical investigation on acid peptic disorders, particularly peptic ulcer disease, and Helicobacter pylori and its role in ulcer pathogenesis.
Dr. Peura earned his MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington and completed his residency training at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco and his GI fellowship training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He was chief of gastroenterology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and consultant in gastroenterology to the Army Surgeon General. He retired from the Army in 1990 with the rank of colonel.
Irving Pike, MD (Gastroenterology Consultants, Virginia Beach). Dr. Pike is president of Gastroenterology Consultants. He served as vice president of medical affairs at Sentara Bayside Hospital in Virginia Beach and was on the executive council of Re-Inventing Sentara. His special interests are endoscopic management of biliary and pancreatic disease, inflammatory bowel disease and the prevention of colon cancer.
Dr. Pike 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. He earned his MD from Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine in Augusta and completed his residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and his fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Scott E. Plevy, MD (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Dr. Plevy is director of the University of North Carolina FOCIS Center of Excellence. He is on the steering committee of the IBD Working Group, was co-director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the University of Pittsburgh and has served as basic science section editor for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Research interests include inflammatory bowel disease, innate immunity, cytokine biology and inflammation, and he has been the principle investigator for numerous clinical trials in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Dr. Plevy earned his MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. He completed a residency at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston and a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of California at Los Angeles. In addition, he completed post-doctoral research fellowships at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Los Angeles.
Daniel K. Podolsky, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston). The chief of the gastrointestinal unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Podolsky is also chief academic officer at Partners HealthCare System and faculty dean for academic programs at Partners for Harvard Medical School in Boston. His research interests include laboratory investigation of basic mechanisms contributing to gastrointestinal tract injury and the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases. Dr. Podolsky earned his MD from Harvard Medical School and completed his internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is the 2009 recipient of Julius Friedenwald medal from the American Gastroenterological Association.
D. Brent Polk, MD (Children's Hospital Los Angeles). Dr. Polk is chair of pediatrics and vice president of academic affairs at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He chairs the American Gastroenterological Association Institute Council and the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Committee. In addition, he has served as an ad hoc journal reviewer for more than three dozen medical journals.
Dr. Polk earned his MD and completed his pediatrics residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. He then completed a fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif. His research includes pediatric inflammatory bowel disease and immune regulation of the gastrointestinal tract, focusing on regulation growth and development of the intestinal cell as related to ontogeny and disease.
John W. Popp Jr., MD (Columbia Gastroenterology Associates, S.C.). Currently the medical director for Centocor Ortho Biotech, Dr. Popp has served as chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Charleston and director of the Endoscopy Laboratory at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia, S.C. 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.
Dr. Popp earned his MD and completed his residency at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and completed his fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is clinical professor of medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia. He was also a founder of the South Carolina Gastroenterology Association, served as president of the American College of Gastroenterology and received the college's William D. Carey award in 2004.
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 and co-founder of the Foundation for Clinical Research in inflammatory bowel disease. He holds the American College of Gastroenterology's Master award, American Gastroenterological Association's Distinguished Clinician award and Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Present earned his MD from State University of New York Downstate in Brooklyn and completed his residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Douglas K. Rex, MD (Indiana University Hospital, Indianapolis). Dr. Rex has been chairman of the board and president of the American College of Gastroenterologists. He is director of endoscopy at Indiana University Hospital and a professor of gastroenterology and medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine 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. Dr. Rex earned his MD at Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship at Indiana University Medical Center. Research areas include colorectal disease and colorectal cancer screening and the technical performance of colonoscopy.
David T. Rubin, MD (University of Chicago). Dr. Rubin is program director for the gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Chicago, principal investigator for several research projects and clinical trials and is a member of the steering committee of the IBD Working Group. He serves as an invited reviewer for Gastroenterology, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
Dr. Rubin serves on the ethics committee of the American Gastroenterological Association and on the professional issues committee at the American College of Gastroenterology. He earned his MD and completed a residency and a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. His research interests include colon cancer screening and prevention and inflammatory bowel disease.
Moshe Rubin, MD (New York Hospital, Queens, N.Y.). Dr. Rubin is director of gastroenterology at New York 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. 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 in New Haven, Conn., and completed his residency and fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York.
Anil Rustgi, MD (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia). Dr. Rustgi is chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, director of the Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases and director of the Joint Center for Digestive, Liver and Pancreatic Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is vice president of the American Gastroenterological Association. He earned his MD from Duke University in Durham, N.C., performed his residency at Beth Israel Hospital and Brockton VA in Boston, and completed his gastroenterology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His research interests include oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, molecular genetics of GI cancers.
Michael A. Safdi, MD (Ohio Gastroenterology and Liver Institute, Cincinnati). Dr. Safdi helped formulate the first benchmarks for quality endoscopy when he served on a joint committee of the American College of Gastroenterology and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. A member of Ohio Gastroenterology and Liver Institute, a group practice with 20 physicians, he built an arm of the practice that participated in more than 220 clinical research trials. He has been a surveyor for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care since 1996 and is the ACG representative on the AAAHC's board.
Dr. Safdi earned his MD from University of Cincinnati Medical School and completed a residency and a fellowship at the University of California at San Diego. He received the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America Distinguished Leadership Award. He was an ACG board member and the college's representative to the Subspecialty Advisory Group for Socioeconomic Affairs for the American College of Physicians.
Robert A. Sable, MD (Riverdale Gastroenterology, Bronx, N.Y.). Dr. Sable has served as the medical staff president of Montefiore Medical Center and St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx and currently serves as co-medical director of the Advanced Endoscopy Center, also in the Bronx. He practices at six-physician Riverdale Gastroenterology, which he cofounded in 1981, and has an academic appointment at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. He earned his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed a residency at Montefiore Medical Center and a gastroenterology fellowship at New York Medical College.
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 a residency at Loma Linda (Calif.) University and a 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). The chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Sandler 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.
He has been an associate editor of Gastroenterology and served as president of the American Gastroenterological Association. Dr. Sandler earned his MD from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and completed his residency at George Washington Hospital in Washington, D.C., and his fellowship at University of North Carolina.
Bruce E. Sands, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston). At Mass General, Dr. Sands is medical co-director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center and the Clinical Research and Gastrointestinal Unit. An associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, he is vice chair of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America's Clinical Alliance and is a member of the steering committee of the IBD Working Group. His research interests include treatment of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Dr. Sands earned his MD at Boston University School of Medicine in Boston and completed a residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and clinical and research fellowships at Massachusetts General. He has also completed a master of science degree in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Harry Sarles Jr., MD (Digestive Health Associates of Texas, Garland). A member of Digestive Health Associates of Texas, Dr. Sarles is interested in colon cancer screening, pancreato-biliary problems of the GI tract, gastrointestinal bleeding problems and gastroesophageal reflux disease. He is secretary of the American College of Gastroenterologists and chairman of the legislative affairs committee for the Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy. Dr. Sarles earned his MD and completed a residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and a fellowship at the VA Hospital in Phoenix through the University of Arizona.
Mark A. Schattner, MD (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York). Dr. Schattner is president of the New York Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Practicing at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, he has a special interest in therapeutic endoscopy and specialized nutrition support for cancer patients. Dr. Schattner earned his MD for the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed a residency at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center and a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He performs endoscopic procedures including colonoscopy, polypectomy, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, fine needle aspiration, capsule endoscopy and endoscopic placement of feeding tubes and stents.
Lawrence R. Schiller, MD (Digestive Health Associates of Texas, Dallas). Dr. Schiller is president-elect of the American College of Gastroenterology. A member of the board of Digestive Health Associates of Texas, he is also clinical professor at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas and program director of the gastroenterology fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He is also chairman of the institutional review board for human subject protection at Baylor University Medical Center.
Dr. Schiller earned his MD from Thomas Jefferson University and completed a residency at Temple University Hospital, both in Philadelphia, and a fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern. His clinical interests include colon cancer screening gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease.
Colleen M. Schmitt, MD (Galen Medical Group, Chattanooga, Tenn.). A member of Galen Medical Group, Dr. Schmidt is a councilor for American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and was course director for the ASGE's Practical Solutions for Successful Practice Management in Aug. 2011. Dr. Schmitt earned her MD at the University of South Alabama in Mobile and completed a gastroenterology fellowship at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Konrad S. Schulze, MD (University of Iowa, Iowa City). Born in Germany, Dr. Schulze is in the Department of Medicine at the University of Iowa. He has won the Award for Sustained Achievement in Digestive Sciences from the American Gastroenterological Association. Dr. Schulze earned an MD from the University of Munich and University of Heidelberg in Germany, completed his residency at Montreal General Hospital in Canada and his fellowship at the University of Iowa. His interests include the mechanics of gastric filling, phase separation and particle breakdown and correlations between visual parameters of contraction and their hydromechanical effects.
Srinivas Seela, MD (Digestive and Liver Center of Florida, Orlando). In addition to being part of three-physician Digestive and Liver Center of Florida, Dr. Seela is an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida School of Medicine and has privileges at Florida Hospital in Orlando. His interests include advanced and therapeutic endoscopic procedures, colorectal cancer screening, gastroesophageal reflux disease and metabolic and other liver disorders. Dr. Seela completed a gastroenterology fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.
Nicholas Shaheen, MD (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Dr. Shaheen is president of the North Carolina Society of Gastroenterology and vice-chair of the Clinical Practice section of the American Gastroenterological Association. In addition to being director of the Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing at the University of North Carolina, he serves on the editorial board of Gastroenterology, Evidence-Based Gastroenterology and Clinical and Translational Science, and is a reviewer for Gut, Gastroenterology and Hepatology and American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Dr. Shaheen earned his MD and completed his residency at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his fellowship at UNC, where he also earned a masters degree at the School of Public Health. He has won the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic or Clinical Digestive Sciences from the AGA Institute. His clinical interests are in Barrett's esophagus, reflux disease and esophageal cancer.
Helen M. Shields, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston). Dr. Shields has served as chair of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Advisory Committee at Beth Israel Deaconess and is education and training councilor at the American Gastroenterological Association. She also holds an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School and is winner of the Distinguished Educator Award from AGA. Dr. Shields earned her MD from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and completed a residency at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and a fellowship at University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia.
Corey A. Siegel, MD (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, N.H.). The director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Dr. Siegel is also a section editor for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and is a reviewer for Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Gastroenterology.
Dr. Siegel earned his MD from Tufts University in Boston, completed a residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and completed an inflammatory bowel disease fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Research interests include the risk-benefit trade-offs in inflammatory bowel disease and improving risk communication for patients. He is on the steering committee of the IBD Working Group.
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, as well as a member of Gastroenterology Associates, a single-specialty group also in Garden City. He holds an academic appointment at State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Stein earned his MD from Sackler School of Medicine in New York, completed a residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital and a gastroenterology fellowship at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.
Lewis R. Strong, MD (Skyline Endoscopy Center, Loveland, Colo.). Dr. Strong is the president of the Skyline Endoscopy Center, a Pinnacle III facility. Having served on numerous committees at McKee Medical Center in Loveland, part of Banner Health, he founded the local physician hospital organization and served as its president for four years. Dr. Strong earned his MD and completed his residency and fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Ian L. Taylor, MD (SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.). A past president of the American Gastroenterological Association, Dr. Taylor is senior vice president for biomedical education and research and dean of the College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
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 in Los Angeles. Previously, he was dean of Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, chairman of the Department of Medicine and president of the University Medical Associates at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Kalpesh H. Thakkar, MD (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston). An assistant professor for pediatrics in the section of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Thakkar won the Quality Endoscopic Research Award from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. His research interests include abdominal pain, gastrointestinal endoscopy and clinical outcome and epidemiology. He earned his MD from Texas Tech University College of Medicine in Lubbock, completed his residency at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and completed his fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine.
Andrea Todisco, MD (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor). An associate professor at the University of Michigan, Dr. Todisco is a winner of the Funderburg Research Award in Gastric Biology Related to Cancer of the American Gastroenterological Association. He earned his MD from University of Rome, completed a residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and a fellowship in gastroenterology from the University of Michigan. His clinical interests are peptic ulcer disease and gastric acid secretion. His research has focused on the mechanisms that regulate epithelial cell growth and differentiation in the upper gastrointestinal tract. In particular, he has investigated the intracellular signal transduction pathways that mediate the multiple, complex actions of growth factors, such as gastrin and epidermal growth factor, in the stomach.
Phillip Toskes, MD (University of Florida, Gainesville). Dr. Toskes is past chief of gastroenterology and former chairman of medicine at University of Florida. A past president of the American Gastroenterological Association, he is well known for NIH studies and numerous publications on motility, bacterial overgrowth and pancreas disorders. He earned his MD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and completed his residency at the University of Maryland Hospital. He is the recipient of distinguished achievement awards from both the Florida Gastroenterologic Society and the Canadian Gastroenterological Association.
William J. Tremaine, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). A professor at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Tremaine is winner of the Distinguished Clinician Award, clinical academic practice, from the American Gastroenterological Association. He focuses on inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, ileal pouchitis and microscopic colitis. He earned his MD from the University of Mississippi in Jackson and completed a residency and a gastroenterology fellowship at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine.
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. As an NIH-funded investigator, Dr. Van Dam's research efforts include developing methods for the endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer. He has been president of both the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Bockus International Society of Gastroenterology.
Dr. Van Dam earned his MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., completed his residency at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston and undertook fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Cleveland Clinic and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
John J. Vargo II, MD (Cleveland Clinic). Dr. Vargo is program director of the advanced endoscopy fellowship in the Section of Therapeutic Endoscopy in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic. 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 (N.Y.) School of Medicine and Dentistry, completed his residency at Montefiore Hospital University Health Center in Pittsburgh and completed his fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. He also holds a master of public health from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and is an honorary fellow of the Gastroenterology Society of Ecuador. He is a councilor of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Ronald J. Vender, MD (Yale Medical Group, New Haven, Conn.). In addition to serving as vice president of the American College of Gastroenterology, Dr. Vender is chief medical officer of Yale Medical Group, the physician practice of the Yale University faculty. He has won the Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Gastroenterological Association. Dr. Vender earned his MD from Yale School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowships at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Kenneth K. Wang, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). The director of the Advanced Endoscopy Group and Esophageal Neoplasia Clinic at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Wang is also secretary of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, a member of the National Commission on Digestive Diseases in the Gastrointestinal Neoplasia section. He has served on numerous NIH panels examining Barrett's esophagus and novel imaging techniques of the gastrointestinal tract and is a member of the Progress Review Group in upper GI carcinomas.
Dr. Wang earned his MD from Wayne State University in Detroit and completed his residency and fellowship 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 and dissection.
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's laboratory group discovered the gene causing hereditary pancreatitis and other causes of pancreatic disease. He is chief of the division of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh and 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. He is actively involved in studies of mutations in the trypsinogen gene (PRSS1), SPINK1 gene and the CFTR gene. Dr. Whitcomb earned his MD and a PhD in physiology at Ohio State University in Columbus and completed a residency and a fellowship at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Sidney J. Winawer, MD (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York). Dr. Winawer is credited with helping to establish national guidelines for colorectal screening. He is former chief of the Gastroenterology and Nutrition Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and still retains an active position at the hospital. A past president of the American College of Gastroenterology, he also co-chaired the International Digestive Cancer Alliance and the New York City Department of Health colorectal cancer screening campaign. His special interest is in screening for and surveillance and management of polyps, colon cancer and gastrointestinal diseases.
Dr. Winawer earned his MD from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine and completed a residency at the Veterans Administration Hospital in New York and a GI fellowship at Boston City Hospital. He is winner of the Distinguished Achievement Award and the Clinical Achievement Award from the American College of Gastroenterology and the Schindler Award from the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
F. Taylor Wootton III, MD (Digestive & Liver Disease Specialists, Norfolk, Va.). A community private practice councilor of the American Gastroenterological Association, Dr. Wootton is a member of Digestive & Liver Disease Specialists, a seven-physician practice. He earned his MD from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk and completed a residency and a GI fellowship at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Russell Yang, MD (Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield). In addition to being chief of gastroenterology at SIU School of Medicine, Dr. Yang is a supervising physician for GI in the internal medicine residency program at SIU. Dr. Yang earned his MD from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, completed his residency at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and his fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Before coming to SIU, he was associate professor of clinical gastrointestinal and liver disease at the University of Southern California.
Vincent W. Yang, MD (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta). As director of the Division of Digestive Diseases at Emory University, Dr. Yang oversees clinical and academic activities in digestive diseases, including the gastrointestinal tract, liver and pancreas. The former director of Emory's gastroenterology fellowship program, he serves as a review member for the study sections in the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
He earned a PhD in biochemical sciences from Princeton University and an MD from what is now Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. He then completed a residency at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. A basic research councilor at the American Gastroenterological Association, his research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that control the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells.