A Special Virtual Run/Walk to Benefit ACG Summer Scholars and Celebrate Diversity!

A tradition continues! Be part of the Third Annual Diversity in GI Virtual 5K! This virtual event invites ACG members to get outside, run or walk, log their time on a special website, and pose for selfies in race tees, medals, and bibs for social media using #DiversityinGI to celebrate diversity, inclusion, and community in GI and medicine in the weeks leading up to and during the ACG 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting (October 21 to 26, 2022). This year there will be three early morning “fun runs” in Charlotte, see below for all the details.

About the Virtual Race: There is a small registration fee of $35 but, thanks to generous sponsorships from Ironwood and Takeda, proceeds from the event will benefit the ACG Summer Scholars mentorship program for medical students and residents from groups underrepresented in medicine. ACG is working with a virtual race company (goneforarun.com) and race registration includes an elegant medal for all participants. We hope everyone will wear this excellent swag with great pride!

How It Works

Registrants run or walk on their own, log their activity online, take photos in race swag and celebrate via social media using #DiversityinGI in the weeks leading up to and during the ACG 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Note on Logistics: ACG is working with a virtual race company, goneforarun.com, and once you register for the race and pick your tee shirt size, goneforarun.com will ship the tee and medal by U.S. Mail, and you can download and print the race bib.

Benefitting the ACG’s Summer Scholars

This year, the College is so grateful that Ironwood returns as a sponsor for the third year and Takeda adds its sponsorship support. All proceeds will benefit the ACG Summer Scholars mentorship program for medical students and residents from groups underrepresented in medicine. Since 2020, this event raised over $60,000 thanks to generous sponsorships from Ironwood, AbbVie, and Braintree/Sebela and race registrations. Thank you to our current and former sponsors!

2022 Race Sponsors

The College is deeply grateful to our Race Sponsors as champions of diversity in GI and partners in advancing clinical excellence and patient care. Thank you!


New in 2022! Fun Runs at ACG 2022 in Charlotte, NC

There will be three #DiversityinGI “fun runs” in Charlotte during ACG 2022:

  • Sunday, October 23 at 7am
  • Monday, October 24 at 7am
  • Tuesday, October 25 at 7am

Meetup spot: Meet outside the South College Street Entrance of the Charlotte Convention Center – this is the entrance near ACG Meeting Registration. See PDF of the Convention Center floor plan with the location circled in red.


Race Chairs

Sophie M. Balzora, MD, FACG, Chair, ACG Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee; NYU Langone Health

Darrell M. Gray, II, MD, MPH, FACG, Chief Healthy Equity Officer at Elevance Health

Race Committee

Neena S. Abraham, MD, MSc, MACG, Director, ACG Institute; Mayo Clinic Scottsdale


Anita Afzali, MD, MPH, MHCM, FACG, University of Cincinnati


Manasi Agrawal, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai


Adjoa N. Anyane-Yeboa, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital


Tauseef Ali, MD, FACG, Chair, ACG Public Relations Committee; St. Anthony’s Hospital, Oklahoma City, OK


Aline Charabaty, MD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Hopkins-Sibley Hospital


Fritz François, MD, FACG, NYU Langone Health


David A. Greenwald, MD, FACG, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai


Alyson McGhan Johnson, MD, Duke University School of Medicine


Millie D. Long, MD, MPH, FACG, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


Dana J. Lukin, MD, PhD, FACG, Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian Hospital


Matthew B. McNeill, MD, NYU Langone Health


Baharak Moshiree, MD, MSc, FACG, Atrium Health, UNC Charlotte


Neilanjan Nandi, MD, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania


Amy S. Oxentenko, MD, FACG, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale Arizona


Mark B. Pochapin, MD, FACG, NYU Langone Health


Felice Schnoll-Sussman, MD, FACG, The Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health, Weill Cornell Medicine


Brennan M. R. Spiegel, MD, MSHS, FACG, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

A Selection of 2021 Social Media Posts Celebrate Diversity

In 2021, the enthusiasm and commitment of so many ACG members for the #DiversityinGI virtual 5K were inspiring to witness. The race was a compelling way to rally ACG’s members, their families, their staffs, and GI fellows-in-training for healthy activity, community building, and positive social media engagement. ACG recognizes with thanks our 2021 sponsors, Ironwood and AbbVie for their sponsorship!

A Selection of 2020 Social Media Posts Celebrate Diversity

The response to the race in 2020 was stunning and inspiring, and, during the challenges of COVID-19, it was such a ray of hope to bring the GI community together in such a meaningful way. If you want to go down memory lane from 2020, here are some summary slides. Thank you Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and Braintree/Sebela Pharmaceuticals for sponsorship!


Ex Officio Members of the 2022 Race Committee

ACG Public Relations CommitteeACG Diversity, Equity & Inclusion CommitteeACG Board of Trustees
Manal F. Abdelmalek, MD, MPH, FACG
Tauseef Ali, MD, FACG
Jessica R. Allegretti, MD, MPH, FACG
Sophie M. Balzora, MD, FACG
David Beswick, MD, FACG
Amanda C. Cheung, MD
Maithili V. Chitnavis, MD
Reezwana Chowdhury, MD
Robin L. Dalal, MD
Mohamad El Zein, MD
Katie A. Falloon, MD
Adam J. Goodman, MD, FACG
Danny Issa, MD
Ankur Jain, MD, FACG
Leo C. Katz, MD, FACG
Jonathan S. Kung, MD
Adam C. Lessne, MD
Benjamin H. Levy, III, MD
Phillip Lindholm, MD
Dana J. Lukin, MD, PhD, FACG
Lisa B. Malter, MD, FACG
Maen Masadeh, MD
Sajan Jiv Nagpal, MD
Linda Ahn Nguyen, MD
Jose M. Nieto, DO, FACG
Anjana Pillai, MD, FACG
Atoosa Rabiee, MD
Francisco C. Ramirez, MD, FACG
Shawn Shah, MD
Tyson Sievers, MD
Pooja Singhal, MD, FACG
Joshua A. Sloan, DO
David W. Victor MD, FACG
Abdillahi M. Abdinoor, MD
Somaya A.M. Albhaisi, MD
Cassidy Alexandre, MD
Mazer R. Ally, MD, FACG
Adjoa N. Anyane-Yeboa, MD
Sumant Arora, MD
Fray M. Arroyo-Mercado, MD
Sophie M. Balzora, MD, FACG
Lanla Conteh, MD
Lukejohn W. Day, MD
Kalpit H. Devani, MD
Erina. N. Foster, MD, FACG
Cassandra D. Fritz, MD
Venu Gangireddy, MD
Lafaine Grant, MD
Vineet S. Gudsoorkar, MD
Nour Hamade, MD
Dominique E. Howard, MD, FACG
Daniel S. Jamorabo, MD
Alyson M. Johnson, MD
Gordon Kim, DO
Adam C. Lessne, MD
Zubair A. Malik, MD
Jose R. Martin, MD, FACG
Tracey Martin, MD
Cecilia Minano, MD
Kenneth O. Obi, MD
Leybelis Padilla, MD
Krunal Patel, MD
Sonali Paul, MD, MS
Stephanie D. Pointer, MD
Benjamin D. Renelus, MD
Nicolette J. Rodriguez, MD
Mankanwal S. Sachdev, MD
Neena S. Abraham, MD, MSc (Epi), MACG
Jean-Paul Achkar, MD, FACG
Jasmohan S. Bajaj, MD, MS, FACG
William D. Chey, MD, FACG
Dayna S. Early, MD, FACG
David A. Greenwald, MD, FACG
Seth A. Gross, MD, FACG
Immanuel K. H. Ho, MD, FACG
James C. Hobley, MD, MSc, FACG
Costas H. Kefalas, MD, MMM, FACG
Caroll D. Koscheski, MD, FACG
Paul Y. Kwo, MD, FACG
Jonathan A. Leighton, MD, FACG
Millie D. Long, MD, MPH, FACG
Amy S. Oxentenko, MD, FACG
Daniel J. Pambianco, MD, FACG
Irving M. Pike, MD, FACG
Mark B. Pochapin, MD, FACG
John R. Saltzman, MD, FACG
Samir A. Shah, MD, FACG
Nicholas J. Shaheen, MD, MPH, MACG
Neil H. Stollman, MD, FACG
Renee L. Williams, MD, MHPE, FACG
Patrick E. Young, MD, FACG


About the #DiversityinGI Social Media Campaign

Diversity and inclusion in gastroenterology and medicine are the focus of ACG’s social media campaign launched in April 2019 by the ACG Public Relations Committee in collaboration with the ACG Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion under the leadership of Sophie M. Balzora, MD, FACG and Darrell M. Gray, II, MD, MPH, FACG, who are the respective committee chairs.

The campaign aims to increase visibility of and promote diversity and inclusion within gastroenterology through the #DiversityinGI hashtag. The primary goals of the campaign are to motivate students and postgraduate trainees who aspire to a career in the GI field and enrich the pipeline of trainees and providers from underrepresented populations.

Upon its launch, the campaign generated an immediate wave of photos and personal reflections by U.S. gastroenterologists and colleagues around the world, as well as coverage by Healio Gastroenterology and Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News.

Beginning in 2019, the College partners with pediatric colleagues from NASPGHAN to engage new fellows and celebrate the diversity of incoming trainees in gastroenterology by reaching out to GI program directors and engaging via social media at the start of the academic year on July 1st.

Mentions of the #DiversityinGI campaign have been included in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology and the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, as well as a recent article in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, “Improving Diversity and Inclusion in GI,” co-authored by Dr. Balzora, Dr. Gray, and Dr. Adjoa Anyane-Yeboa.

  • Read more about the campaign HERE.