Mentoring Program

Dr. Adler is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Therapeutic Endoscopy at the University of Utah, Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Adler completed his internal medicine residency at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, part of Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Adler was a 3-year GI fellow and 4th year ERCP fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Afterwards, Dr. Adler returned to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for an additional fellowship in EUS. Dr. Adler was a member of the faculty at the University of Texas-Houston and Director of Endoscopy prior to moving to Utah. Dr. Adler’s interests include the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, pancreatic and biliary diseases, pancreatic and biliary endoscopy, training in endoscopy, and new endoscopic technologies. Dr. Adler has published over 150 original articles as well as two textbooks on endoscopy and GI cancers. Dr. Adler also has extensive interest in mentoring at all levels, including the mentoring of students, residents, fellows, and other faculty mentors and has conducted research and published on issues regarding training and mentoring in medicine.

Dr. Bosworth received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1995 where he graduated magna cum laude and wrote a thesis entitled “The Public Perception of Doctors in the Early Roman Empire. He was awarded his medical doctorate from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1999 and performed cardiac transplant immunology research. He subsequently completed internship and residency training in Internal Medicine in 2002 at New York Presbyterian Hospital: Columbia-Presbyterian Center where he was Chief Medical Resident. He subsequently completed his Fellowship in Gastroenterology in 2006 at New York Presbyterian Hospital: Weill Cornell Center.He joined the Gastroenterology Division as a faculty member in the Roberts Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at that time and has rapidly become a nationally recognized expert in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The majority of his responsibilities are caring for patients with Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease. A large number of clinical trials and investigator initiated studies are conducted at the Center, and he is either the Principal Investigator or co-investigator on all of them. He has published numerous articles, abstracts and book chapters.

Dr. Bosworth is Director of the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program. Teaching and education are an important aspect of the mission of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Weill Cornell Medical College and the IBD Center itself. Dr. Bosworth is Director of GI pathophysiology for 2nd year medical students. He was also named Teacher of the Year by the Class of 2008. He currently sits on the Education Committee for both the American College of Gastroenterology as well as for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Dr. Bosworth is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Carol A. Burke, MD, FACG, FACP has been a staff member in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic since graduating from her fellowship there in 1993 and holds a joint appointment in the Taussig Cancer Center and Department of Colorectal Surgery. She is the Director of the Center for Colon Polyp and Cancer Prevention and the Head of the section of Polyposis in the Sanford R. Weiss Center for Hereditary Colorectal Neoplasia. She is internationally known for her expertise in the inherited colon cancer syndromes and the prevention of colorectal neoplasia. Her area of clinical and research interests include the prevention of colorectal neoplasia both in sporadic individuals and those with the inherited colorectal cancer syndromes. She has funding for her research through the NCI, NIH, USDA and industry. She has been involved in the education of medical students, residents and fellows since 1991 and has developed and coordinated the digestive disease curriculum for trainees in the in and out patient setting in the Department. She has authored or co-authored over 50 publications, is an associate editor for The American Journal of Gastroenterology and a reviewer for many journals including Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, to name a few. She is on the Board of Trustees for the American College of Gastroenterology and was a former Chair of the Educational Affairs and Women in GI Committees of the American College of Gastroenterology.

I chose my current career because I love the stimulation of working in an academic setting with trainees and individuals in other specialties, in particular, to collaborate on research. I also like the recognition of a large institution which allows flexibility in work style, opportunities for program development and national leadership.

Sarah Canavan received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University where she studied how scientific theories and societal influences interact to shape each other. She then moved to Manhattan and earned her MD from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. She served her internship and residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She was honored to be appointed chief resident, and she spent an additional year developing her teaching and clinical skills. She continued at Yale where she also completed her fellowship in Digestive Diseases. She now practices within a large private practice in Connecticut and also mentors medical residents and Yale GI fellows.

Dr. Canavan’s interests include medical training and effective skill transfer, colon cancer screening, celiac disease, biliary and pancreas disease, and functional bowel disease.

My interest in GI was stimulated by an attending physician at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in the early 1960s. I created a deep curiosity on the pathophysiology of GI disorders which has continued throughout the past 45 years. Initially my interest was in liver disease because of all of the biochemical and physical abnormalities in these patients and the first 20 publications in my CV were in hepatology. In 1968 I had the opportunity to work with one of the premier esophageal motility gurus, Lauren Harris at Boston University. It was during that year that I became enamored with the physiological aspects of esophageal testing that has continued over the years and I have been fortunate to help move this field into the 21st century with applications of new technology such as intraluminal impedance testing for motility or reflux. My abiding interests are clinical research and education and I have been blessed with publication of >500 manuscripts and have published articles with >150 fellows, residents and students, many of whom are Professors today. I still am excited by waking in the morning with the notion that we may do something in the lab that is novel or yet undiscovered.

Naga Chalasani currently serves as Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine and as the Director of its Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He is a clinical hepatologist by training and in practice and is board certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology, and transplant hepatology CAQ. He was educated at Andhra Loyola College in India (biology 1979-81) and Kakatiya Medical College (MB, BS 1988), after which he served as an internal medical resident at Emory University in Atlanta (1991-4). He followed with a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Emory (1994-7). Subsequently he relocated to Indiana University School of Medicine where he remains to date. He was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, 1993; received the Dupont Young Investigator’s Award 1993; IUSM Young Investigator of the Year, 2002; American Society of Clinical Investigation, 2008. He has published over 150 original manuscripts and dozens of review articles, editorials, and text book chapters. He serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals, including Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He is one of founding PIs for the NIDDK-funded Drug Induced Liver Injury Network (DILIN) and for the NIDDK-funded NASH Clinical Research Network. He is a co-Principal Investigator for the NIAAA U01 grant to develop novel treatments for alcoholic hepatitis. In addition, he is the PI for an R01 grant and a K24 grant. He has previously served the ACG as a member of its Clinical Research Committee and Board of Governors. He is currently a trustee of the ACG. His passion for scholarly pursuits was stimulated by his early mentors and role models (Thomas Boyer and Charles Wilcox) and subsequently encouraged and strengthened by his colleagues at IU (Drs. Imperiale, Rex, and Crabb).

I received my MBBS in 1982 from the Bombay University after completing studies at The Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College and a one year internship at The King Edward Memorial Hospital in Bombay, India. I migrated to the USA to join my parents in 1982. I completed a three year Internal Medicine residency, including a year of Chief Resident, at the Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey City, NJ in 1985. I subsequently completed a two year fellowship in Gastroenterology at the Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey City, NJ in 1987.Following my post-graduate training I have held faculty appointments at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Seton Hall University School of Graduate Medical Education, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. I have served as Division Chief and Gastroenterology Fellowship Program Director at the Jersey City Medical Center and the Mount Sinai Services at Queens Hospital Center. In addition to administration of the gastroenterology division and medical education of students, residents and fellows, my interests in clinical gastroenterology include motility disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, GERD and specifically, geriatric gastroenterology (Geri GI).

I am currently an Associate Program Director at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY, NY and also serve as Chief of the GI Clinics. In addition to writing the core curriculum for the gastroenterology fellowship program at MSSM, I have been actively involved in the development of training and curriculum in Geriatric Gastroenterology. As there is no refuting the simple fact that we are all aging, there is increasing interest in the study of gastroenterological diseases in the older adult population. Formal training in geriatric gastroenterology is in evolution and also evidence based guidelines for management in this population are not yet established. As a result, I have become more involved in the development and evaluation of a curriculum for Geri GI.

Dr. Amy Foxx-Orenstein is a consultant and Associate Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic Arizona. As Director of the Constipation and Pelvic Floor Program and an active member of the motility section and of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division at Mayo she trains students, residents, fellows, visiting professionals and others in clinical practice, procedures and techniques. She educates staff on networking and positive role modeling, mentoring, and is engaged administratively in improving diversity and patient and staff satisfaction. She underwent medical training at Des Moines University; Residency at Geisinger Medical Center; fellowships (gastroenterology, nutrition, advanced therapeutic), and basic science research in smooth muscle physiology at the Medical College of Virginia where she joined staff as the first female on faculty in the Gastroenterology Division. She started the first multidisciplinary motility center at MCV. After joining Mayo she expanded her research and clinical interests to include motility disorders, obesity, fecal transplant, pelvic floor disorders and constipation , fecal incontinence, functional bowel. As President of the American College of Gastroenterology (2007-8) she began the College’s Obesity initiative and the Leadership initiative, and guided development of the College’s 2008 Mission Statement, as well as The American Journal of Gastroenterology monograph on IBS treatment (2009).

Dr. David Greenwald is currently the Fellowship Program Director in Gastroenterology at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Associate Division Director of the Division of Gastroenterology at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. Dr. Greenwald graduated with a BA degree from Wesleyan University, and attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he earned an MD. He did a residency in Internal Medicine followed by a Gastroenterology Fellowship, both at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He is a past president of the New York Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and currently serves as that organization’s Education Director. He is Chair of the ACG Board of Governors. He has served the ACG on the Membership, Nominating and Patient Care Committees, and developed the Patient Oriented Lecture Series. He was co-director of the ACG regional course in New York in 2007 and 2008. He served for many years as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on GI Endoscopy for the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). He was recognized by the ASGE with a Master Endoscopist Award in 2006. His interests in endoscopy include new technology, reprocessing and infection control in endoscopy, training, sedation, patient preparation, GERD, colon cancer and capsule endoscopy. The choice of a career in an academic medical center as a clinician/educator was grounded in a desire to teach as well as provide patient care.

I completed my internal medicine residency at North Shore University Hospital-NYU School of Medicine. I went on to do my gastroenterology fellowship at Mayo Clinic at the Jacksonville Campus. I focused my interest in gastrointestinal oncology and learned endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration. I also did extensive training in Barrett’s esophagus with ablation therapies (radiofrequency ablation and cryotherapy) as well as endoscopic mucosal resection. My other interests include small bowel disease and performing double balloon enteroscopy. I am currently doing active research in colonoscopy with improvements of quality such as adenoma detection, also looking into improvements on colonoscopic evaluation including prep quality as well as advanced technology such as narrowband imaging and the Third Eye Retroscope. I am currently practicing at NYU Langone Medical Center, where I am director of endoscopy at Tisch Hospital. I am also active on committees within the ACG and other societies.

Christine Hachem is an assistant professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at Saint Louis University. She did her internal medicine residency at Washington University in Saint Louis and her fellowship training at Baylor College of Medicine. Her clinical interests include motility disorders, esophageal disease, and outcomes research. Her clinical activities include outpatient clinic, hospital service, and teaching. She is in academic medicine because of her commitment to teaching, research, and advanced clinical care as well as the work life balance it offers. Dr. Hachem has been actively involved with ACG and American College of Physicians at the national level. She is part of a dual physician marriage and is balancing the joys of work with children.

I graduated with a B.S. from the University of Michigan and an M.D. from the University of Illinois. I have been at the University of Chicago since my Residency in Medicine. I completed a GI Fellowship in 1982 and have risen in faculty rank since then to the level of Professor in 1990. I am now tenured and have a named Professorship. I have been Chief of GI since 2000. My career interests have been Clinical Research, Clinical Care and Administration. I have been involved in Academic Medicine through both the AGA (Chairs of IMIBD and Clinical Practice, and Governing Board for Clinical Research) and the ACG (Editor of Nature Reviewsand Board of Trustees). I am currently on the Subspecialty Board of Gastroenterology for the ABIM and have served on the FDA advisory panel for GI and as Chair of the Panel. My clinical research has been related to epidemiology and therapeutics for IBD. I am a busy, practicing clinician and clinical trialist.

I have always enjoyed involvement in Academic medicine and leadership in both my own medical center and in National/International Organized Medicine. My greatest pleasure is in mentoring and the development of future leaders in our field.

Lucinda A. Harris, MS, MD, FACG is currently Associate Professor of Medicine, Mayo School of Medicine and Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale. She is Co-Director of the Motility Group there. Prior to her present position at Mayo, she was formerly Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, NY, where she also trained as a GI fellow. She has an active interest in motility as evidenced by her special clinical and research interests in IBS, chronic constipation and pelvic floor disorders. As a result of her interest in overlap syndromes, she has an additional interest in celiac disease. She has led a patient support group for IBS and has been active in teaching and mentoring medical students, residents and GI fellows over the years in addition to lecturing clinicians on IBS, celiac disease and chronic constipation.She is an active member of various professional organizations and is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology as well as the American College of Internal Medicine. She is also a member of the Functional Brain Gut Group, the American Motility Society and the American Medical Women’s Association. She also serves on the Women in Gastroenterology Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology. Further professional activities include being on the Advisory Board of the International Foundation of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders and as part of her work with that organization she has traveled with other members to lobby Congress for an increase in funding for research on functional bowel disorders.

A native of Philadelphia, I attended medical school at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, followed by residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship training at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY. I have always enjoyed teaching and was fortunate to have had many opportunities throughout the course of my various stages of training to pursue this passion. I currently serve on the voluntary clinical faculty at the Yale University School of Medicine, where I regularly participate in teaching gastroenterology fellows by supervising both luminal disease and hepatology clinics, as well as perform daily rounds with residents and fellows, and help to guide the development of endoscopic skills by supervising endoscopic procedures. I have been fortunate to find a unique hybrid of clinical practice, as I am both a private practitioner as well as a clinician educator for the Division of Gastroenterology. I have several research interests including pharmacologically mediated ischemic bowel disease, as well as complementary and alternative therapies in gastrointestinal and hepatic disease. Having recently authored the new chapter in Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease entitled “Complementary and Alternative Medicine,” I have been very interested in educating both patients and clinicians about the data detailing the usefulness of complementary and alternative therapies, as well as the importance of careful regulation of CAM therapies. Stemming from this interest, I am also a certified clinical hypnotherapist, as this modality has proven very useful in the treatment of functional abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome. I am a member of many local and national medical societies, and I am the current President-Elect of the New Haven County Medical Association. I currently serve as a member of both the ACG Training Committee and the ACG National Affairs Committee. I truly feel fortunate to practice medicine, as it affords me the opportunity to make a difference in patients’ lives and learn something new every day.

After attending medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine I did my internal medical residency at the University of Arizona, was a chief medical resident and then did my GI fellowship there. I remained on faculty and became the director of clinical gastroenterology and directed the endoscopy units at the University and affiliated VA medical center from 1991-1999. During that time I went on sabbatical to the Indiana University Medical Center where I learned EUS under the direction of Dr. Rob Hawes. I joined the Cleveland Clinic Florida in 1999 and became the GI chief, endoscopy unit director and chairman of the department of medicine at the Naples division until I left to join the faculty of the University of Connecticut in 2002. I became acting GI division chair and ran the GI unit there until 2005 when I joined Gastroenterology Center of Connecticut, a single specialty private practice in the New Haven area where I currently practice. I am currently the medical director of the GI endoscopy unit at the Hospital of St. Raphael, a teaching affiliate of the Yale University GI fellowship program, and managing partner of a 12 physician single specialty gastroenterology practice. Since fellowship I have served on a number of committees of the ACG including the Public Relations Committee, and several ASGE committees including the GESAP subcommittee and educational affairs committees, creating educational tools and programs for the national meetings.

I have always found the clinical and, in particular, the advanced endoscopic aspects of GI most interesting and have gravitated toward positions that have allowed me to develop these skills and take on challenging cases. Due to a very early exposure to mentors with an extraordinary devotion to achieving excellence in clinical practice, teaching, and clinical research, I developed a compulsive desire to emulate these role models. What I discovered was that I performed best in clinical practice and teaching but was less well suited to clinical research. My career choices have reflected this as I have consistently found myself in a position where I could take on difficult cases, teach, and to a lesser degree, write and perform clinical research. After years of struggling with this and being somewhat of an “academic elitist” I found that there were practice opportunities where someone with strong clinical skills and a desire to teach could find a place in the world and ultimately that is what led me to my current position. I currently perform and teach ERCP, EUS, and EMR as a routine part of my practice in addition to participating in ASGE and ACG committee work, practice management, teaching at regional courses, and hospital GI unit administration.

Dr. Kane got a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics before going to medical school. She was a research assistant to Dr. Stephen Hanauer helping with clinical drug trials and epidemiologic studies, which was what got her interested in IBD. She trained at Rush Medical College and did her Fellowship training at the University of Chicago. She was on faculty there for 8 years then moved to Mayo Clinic. She is currently a Professor of Medicine and has always practiced in an academic setting with fellows, residents and students rotating with her in clinic and on wards. She is active with patient care, clinical research as well as administrative duties within the Division of Gastroenterology, the ACG, and the CCFA. She also serves as Editor for several journals. Her areas of research interest include gender issues and medication compliance.

Philip O. Katz, MD, FACG is Clinical Professor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College and Chairman of the Division of Gastroenterology at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is also Associate Program Director of the Department of Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center.

Dr. Katz received his medical degree from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He served his residency and chief residency in internal medicine, followed by a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine. He completed a faculty development fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology.

Dr. Katz is a Past President of the American College of Gastroenterology. He is currently co-editor of the ACG Education Universe on line teaching and training site.

A recognized national authority on esophageal disease, Dr. Katz’s research interests include all aspects of gastroesophageal reflux disease, including nocturnal recovery of gastric acid secretion during proton pump inhibitor therapy and esophageal pain perception. Dr. Katz is a practicing clinician with active teaching and editorial positions. He has contributed to the publication of over 160 peer-reviewed papers, as well as numerous abstracts, books, book chapters, and monographs. I continue to enjoy the experience and rewards that come from instructing, lecturing, and mentoring medical students, residents and fellows.

Dr. Lashner is a Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. He is a graduate of Haverford College and New York University School of Medicine, and completed a residency in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital, a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Chicago, and a Masters degree in Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After 7 years on the faculty of the University of Chicago involved with a busy clinical practice and IBD clinical research, Dr. Lashner joined the Cleveland Clinic in 1993 to build an IBD Center and to continue his research studying the clinical epidemiology of IBD. Dr. Lashner has conducted numerous clinical studies in IBD on such topics as cancer prevention with folic acid, optimization of cancer surveillance techniques, risk factors for malignancy, IBD risk in families, and epidemiologic determinants of disease. Dr. Lashner is an Associate Editor of The American Journal of Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. He is the Co-chair of the Cleveland Clinic Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative Advisory Committee. He is the immediate past Chair of the Research Committee, and has served on the Education Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Levitt completed his undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania (major: psychology, minor: biology), magna cum laude. He attended the University of Massachusetts for medical school (grad ’01, AOA society) and completed his internship/residency at New York Presbyterian/Cornell University (completed, ’04) followed by his GI fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore in New York City. During training, Dr. Levitt developed an interest in therapeutic endoscopy, IBD, and liver disease, within the highly rewarding practice of general gastroenterology. Wishing to pursue a career as a clinical gastroenterologist, he joined a single specialty GI practice in San Jose, CA after fellowship, where he is delighted to practice in a stimulating and collegial environment, while providing first-rate patient-centered care. Dr. Levitt also participates in original clinical research, and has contributed multiple abstracts and published articles in peer-reviewed journals.

I qualified from Bristol University in 1988 and trained in Gastroenterology at Leeds’ General Infirmary, UK under the mentorship of Professor Axon. I obtained a PhD and Masters in Public Health from the University of Leeds. I also received training in Health Economics through a UK Medical Research Council Fellowship at the University of York. I was appointed Professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Birmingham in 2001 and then moved to McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada to be the first recipient of the Richard Hunt/AstraZeneca Chair of Gastroenterology in 2004.

I have published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 15 book chapters. My main research interests included population based GI research, prevention of GI cancer, H. pylori, management of dyspepsia, and gastro-esophageal reflux disease. My clinical expertise mirrors my academic interests. I am Editor of the Upper Gastrointestinal and Pancreatic Diseases Cochrane Group and joint Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology with Dr. William D. Chey. I developed a passion for research during my Bachelor of Science Degree in Anatomy where research was a heavy part of the curriculum. I find an academic career rewarding, as the working week is so varied. I have the opportunity to both care for patients and conduct research projects.

Fellowship Director, Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Associate Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Dr. Amy Oxentenko is a Minnesota native and did her medical school training at University of North Dakota, where she graduated AOA, with all clinical honors. She then completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Mayo Clinic, and was awarded one of the four Outstanding Achievement Awards for the graduating class. She then completed a Chief Residency and Fellowship in Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Mayo Clinic Rochester, and was the recipient of the GI Division’s Bargen Award, and the Institutional Mayo Brothers’ Distinguished Fellowship Award. She came on faculty at Mayo as a member of the Comprehensive Interest Group in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. She served as the Associate Program Director for the Gastroenterology Fellowship for 5 years and as one of the Associate Program Directors for the Internal Medicine Residency for 3 years before taking over as the Program Director of the GI fellowship program and advanced GI fellowship programs. She currently serves as the Vice Chair for Education for the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo. She has been one of five core faculty that teaches the GI block at the Mayo Medical School. She is heavily involved in continuing medical education, speaking at many courses including Mayo’s Internal Medicine Board Review and Selected Topics Courses, and is the Co-Director of Mayo’s Gastroenterology Board Review Course. She is also a Co-Editor for the 4th Edition of Mayo Clinic Gastroenterology and Hepatology Board Review Book. She has been an author for the GI section MKSAP 14, MKSAP 15, MKSAP Updates, and MKSAP Virtual Diagnosis, and is the GI Book Editor for the recently released MKSAP16. She recently started a 3-year term as the GI content writer for the Internal Medicine In-Training Examination. She has also served on the executive board for the AskMayoExpert online educational program, and has been a GI content writer for that program, including the development of GI Care Process Models. She is the current Chair of the American College of Gastroenterology’s Women in GI Committee, and Co-Chaired the first ACG Train-the-Trainer USA for Junior Faculty and Program Directors course this year. She serves on numerous educational committees throughout Mayo, and is Chair of the GI Education Committee. Clinical interests include celiac sprue, malabsorption syndromes and colorectal neoplasia. Additional research interests include duty hours and clerical documentation of trainees, and issues related to work-life balance, given she is in a dual-physician marriage with 3 school aged children.

Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program
H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine

University of California, Irvine

Dr. Parekh is a board certified gastroenterologist and brings extensive knowledge in the field of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. She completed her undergraduate and medical degrees as well as internal medicine training and chief residency at Tulane University in New Orleans. Fellowship training in gastroenterology was continued at University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She received advanced training in inflammatory bowel diseases at the University of Chicago. She is the director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program here at UC Irvine and believes in an integrated approach to management of inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Parekh is actively involved in the training of GI fellows, residents and medical students, and now serves as the Program Director for the GI Fellowship Program at UCI. She received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the gastroenterology fellows in 2009. She serves as co-director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America Orange County Chapter and on the medical advisory board for the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Support Foundation. She is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterology Association, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Chicago Center for Liver Diseases

I received my BA in Neuroscience from Oberlin College. My medical training was at Ohio State University where I completed Medical School, Internal Medicine Residency and a Gastroenterology Fellowship. In addition, I completed a Fellowship for Advanced Transplant Hepatology at the John Hopkins Medical Center. After finishing my postgraduate training, I resided at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center as an Assistant Professor of Medicine from 2002-05. I am currently at the University of Chicago Medical Center specializing in the diagnosis and management of liver diseases. In addition to seeing patients at the Medical Center, I have an outreach clinic in the southern suburbs near Kankakee. I am an expert in hepatitis B, hepatitis C, non-alcoholic liver disease as well as liver transplantation. My interests include improving awareness of liver diseases in at risk populations, treatment of fatty liver disease, hepatitis B and C therapy. I am currently a part-time academic hepatologist with clinical responsibilities encompassing both inpatient and outpatient management. I am also involved with several academic societies including the ACG, AGA and AASLD where I am the chair of the public policy committee and have served on the practice guideline committee. I am also involved in both the local and national American Liver Foundation, where I can help improve access to lay education regarding liver diseases. I chose this career path because it allowed a balance between my family, academics and clinical practice. I chose to participate in this mentoring project, as it has been my own mentor that has facilitated my successful and satisfying career.

I am currently practicing gastroenterology in a multispecialty group in Princeton, NJ. Formerly, I was Director of Gastrointestinal Motility at Yale University School of Medicine. My primary focus is in treating patients with motility disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, achalasia and gastroparesis. The majority of my patients are referred from other gastroenterologists with difficult to manage issues such as refractory GERD. My day-to-day activities are varied and include in- and outpatient consultations, endoscopy and motility study interpretation. My main interest lies in the esophagus, specifically in treating patients with dysphagia and performing radiofrequency ablation to eradicate Barrett’s esophagus.

I have authored two books on the gastrointestinal tract that inform and entertain: “What’s Your Poo Telling You?” and “What’s My Pee Telling Me?”.

Dr. Mitchell L. Shiffman received a BS degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the State University of New York at Buffalo, an MS degree in Physiology from the University of New Mexico and his MD degree from the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Medical College of Virginia (now the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center). During his fellowship, Dr. Shiffman received research training through a National Institutes of Health Training Grant. After completing his training, Dr. Shiffman joined the faculty of the Virginia Commonwealth University and soon thereafter became the Chief of the Hepatology Section and Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program. He held these positions for 20 years (1990-2009) and advanced to the rank of Professor of Medicine. During this time, Dr. Shiffman directed and/or participated in well over 100 clinical trials related to the treatment in chronic viral hepatitis and other liver diseases and become an internally recognized authority in liver disease and viral hepatitis. To date, he has published over 220 peer reviewed manuscripts, review articles and editorials and has edited 2 textbooks. Under Dr. Shiffman’s direction, the Hepatology Section at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center grew from a single faculty member to 7 full-time hepatologists and 10 clinical research coordinators. In 2009, Dr. Shiffman decided to leave the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center to start the Liver Institute of Virginia; a practice devoted to education, research and the treatment of patients with liver disease. He is a consultant and advisor to many pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers attempting to develop new and/or improved treatments for chronic viral hepatitis, other liver disorders and for ways to assess chronic liver disease. He regularly lectures on viral hepatitis and other liver disorders at regional, national and international meetings and continues to conduct clinical research at the Liver Institute of Virginia.

As a student, the physiology of achalasia fascinated me and sparked my interest in gastrointestinal diseases and having rotated on GI doing my first colonoscopy with one of our surgical staff at Loyola in Chicago, I was hooked. It seemed to me that gastroenterology was a perfect fit for a Med-Peds graduate. After finishing my training in El Paso at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, I pursued fellowship training and was lucky enough to receive great training and exposure to both adult and pediatric patients and fished my fellowship at Brooke Army Medical Center. After completing my 14 years of Army service, my family and I relocated to our home area of Upstate New York where I presently am lucky enough to serve as Training Director and Division Chair of gastroenterology. At each stop along this journey I remained very active in medical education, holding many different positions, but throughout, my passion lies in diseases of the foregut and esophagus with emphasis on the care and treatment of patients with Barrett’s and achalasia. Procedurally, I enjoy diagnostic and therapeutic EUS as well as endoluminal therapy of Barrett’s and adenocarcinoma.

Dr. Anne Travis is an Associate Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a Deputy Editor at UpToDate, Inc. She attended Medical School at Tufts University, graduating in 2000. She went on to complete her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Gastroenterology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. While a fellow, she obtained her Master of Science in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she performs endoscopic procedures and oversees capsule endoscopy and capsule endoscopy training. In addition to her work in endoscopy, Dr. Travis has a particular interest in medical writing. In 2009, she began working at UpToDate where she serves as one of three Deputy Editors for Gastroenterology and Hepatology. She is responsible for the content related to endoscopy, hepatitis C, and liver transplantation. As an active member of the American College of Gastroenterology, Dr. Travis serves on the Patient Education Committee and previously served as Chair of the Women in Gastroenterology Committee. Working on behalf of the Women’s Committee, Dr. Travis conducted a study looking at the influence of mentoring on career satisfaction, which was published in the May 2010 issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology. She is also active on the Patient Care Committee.

Currently, I am in private practice in a 12 member GI group. I have been in practice since 1998 in New Haven, Connecticut. I am a graduate from the Health Science Center in Brooklyn-SUNY. My medical residency is from Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center and I completed my Gastroenterology fellowship from University of Vermont. I went on and did my advanced fellowship in Hepatology at the Beth Israel-Deaconess Hospital in Boston. My current position also gives me the opportunity to work with GI fellows and medical students from Yale New Haven Hospital and the Yale medical school as I am also an assistant professor at Yale Medical School.

Atif Zaman, MD, MPH, received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University in 1987, his MD from Tufts University, and his MPH from Oregon Health and Science University in 2000. He is currently a Professor for both the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). He is the Vice Chair of Medicine and Section Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at OHSU. Dr Zaman’s research has involved collaborations with a number of scientists and a series of clinical research projects. Currently, he is involved in projects at OHSU involving hepatitis C and B infection and complications of portal hypertension. He is the Principal Investigator on numerous grants and is the recipient of the WAFMR Outstanding Investigator Award.Dr. Zaman is a member of several national societies: the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. He has also presented over fifty lectures and authored over fifty manuscripts, review articles, and abstracts.