Becker's ASC Review

34 GI & ENDOSCOPY SECTION: GI Leaders in the Spotlight 14 Gastroenterologists Leading IBD Fellowship Programs By Anuja Vaidya H ere are 14 GI physicians who head up inflammatory bowel disease programs at some of the leading medical centers and schools in the country. Leonard Baidoo, MD, FACG, serves as the pro- gram director of the IBD fellowship at the Univer- sity of Pittsburgh Medical Center. e one-year, non-accredited fellowship offers gastroenter- ologists advanced training in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis research and management. Dr. Baidoo's research interests include novel biologi- cal modifiers in treatment of IBD and IBD in the minority population. Russell D. Cohen, MD, serves as co-program di- rector of the advanced fellowship in IBD at Uni- versity of Chicago's department of medicine. e fellowship consists of an individualized clinical, basic or translational research program for GI physicians. Dr. Cohen is a professor of medicine and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center. He is the editor of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Diagnosis and erapeutics, which is now in its second edition. He completed his fellowship in gastroenterology and nutrition at e Univer- sity of Chicago Medicine. Raymond Cross, MD, MS, AGAF, is the direc- tor of the IBD program at University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, a multidisciplinary practice, including gastroenterologists and gen- eral surgeons, focused on diagnosing and manag- ing IBD. He is an associate professor of medicine and co-director of the Digestive Health Center at UMMC. He has published more than 100 articles, reviews and abstracts focused on inflammatory bowel disease. Stephen Hanauer, MD, FACG, is the advanced IBD fellowship program director at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. Trainees focus on both inpa- tient and outpatient IBD patient care. Dr. Hanauer is the Clifford Joseph Barborka Professor of Medi- cine and medical director of the Digestive Disease Center at Northwestern's school of medicine. He has won numerous awards over the course of his career, including the AGA Janssen Award for Clini- cal Excellence GI in 2004. He completed his resi- dency and fellowship at the University of Chicago. Kim Isaacs, MD, PhD, FACG, is University of North Carolina School of Medicine's advanced IBD fellowship program director. IBD fellows at UNC are trained in patient care in the inpatient, outpatient and endoscopy settings. Dr. Isaacs is co-director of the UNC Multidisciplinary Center for IBD Research and Treatment, as well as a pro- fessor of medicine. Her research interests include new drug development and translational studies in inflammatory bowel disease. She completed fellowship training at UNC Hospitals. David Katzka, MD, FACG, is the director of the IBD fellowship at Mayo School of Graduate Medi- cal Education in Rochester, Minn. e program offers exposure to research programs and clini- cal therapeutic trials, as well as epidemiology. Dr. Katzka's clinical interests include eosinophilic esophagitis, achalasia, gastroesophageal reflux and diffuse esophageal spasm. He serves as a sec- tion editor for Gastroenterology and a secretary of the American Board of Internal Medicine. Gary R. Lichtentstein, MD, is director of the IBD Center, as well as the advanced IBD fellowship at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. e trainees focus 50 percent of their time on clinical activities and the rest in research. Dr. Lichtentstein is a professor of medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology's Prac- tice Parameters Committee. His research interests include safety of current medical therapy for IBD and natural history of the disease. Uma Mahadevan, MD, is the IBD fellowship program director at University of California San Francisco. e funded, non-Accreditation Coun- cil for Graduate Medical Education fellowship offers training in inpatient and outpatient care of complex IBD patients, as well as clinical research. Dr. Mahadevan serves as co-medical director of the UCSF Center for Colitis and Crohn's disease and professor of clinical medicine at UCSF. Her work has been published in professional journals, including Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. She has completed two fellow- ships — one in gastroenterology at UCSF Medical Center and another in IBD at Mayo Clinic. Gil Melmed, MD, is the program director of the advanced fellowship in IBD at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. e program aims to facilitate the growth of future clinical and academic leaders in IBD. Dr. Melmed also serves as director of clinical trials at the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Cedars-Sinai. He is a member of the American Gastroenterology As- sociation, American College of Gastroenterology and Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. His current research includes ongoing assess- ments of predictors of postoperative outcomes. Daniel Present, MD, is the advanced IBD fellow- ship co-director at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. e year-long pro- gram, focused on IBD research and management, is intended for those who have completed a three- year GI fellowship. Dr. Present is also the founder of the Foundation for Clinical Research in In- flammatory Bowel Disease at Mount Sinai. He has published more than 150 articles and abstracts on inflammatory bowel disease and has received the Crohn's and Colitis Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a member of the International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. David T. Rubin, MD, is a co-program director of the advanced IBD fellowship at e University of Chicago. e program aims to ensure proficiency in a selected field of clinical, basic or translational research under a supervising IBD faculty mem- ber. Dr. Rubin is the Joseph B. Kirsner Profes- sor of Medicine; section chief, gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition; and co-director, Di- gestive Diseases Center at University of Chicago Medicine. He has earned numerous accolades, including the Governors Award for Excellence in Clinical Research in 2003 and 2013 from the American College of Gastroenterology. He is also the editor of a leading textbook on inflammatory bowel disease. David Sachar, MD, is the co-director of advanced IBD fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. e program focuses on the management of patients with IBD in inpa- tient and outpatient settings. Dr. Sachar is a clini- cal professor of medicine and director emeritus of the GI Division at Mount Sinai. He is a founding director of the Burrill B. Crohn Research Founda- tion, and is also the first American to have been elected chairman of the International Organiza- tion for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Additionally, he previously served as chairman of the GI Drugs Advisory Panel of the FDA. William J. Sandborn, MD, FACG, serves as di- rector of the 12-month advanced IBD fellowship at University of San Diego School of Medicine. e program gives fellows exposure to inpatients and outpatients with IBD under the supervision of GI faculty in the UCSD IBD Center. Dr. Sand- born is chief of the gastroenterology division and director of the IBD Center at UCSD. He is a past chairman of the International Organization for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He authored the American Gastroenterological Association's new clinical decision support tool for Crohn's disease. Vijay Yajnik, MD, PhD, is the advanced IBD fel- lowship program director at Massachusetts Gen- eral Hospital in Boston. e fellowship includes IBD patient care, clinical research and investiga- tion of intestinal epithelial biology and mucosal immunology. Dr. Yajnik is an attending physician at the MGH Digestive Healthcare Center and Mass General's Crohn's and Colitis Center. His research interests include treatment of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis as well as under- standing the genetic basis of inflammatory bowel disease. He completed fellowship training at Mas- sachusetts General Hospital. n

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