International Gastrointestinal (GI) Training Grants

North American International GI Training Grant

The North American International GI Training Grant provides partial financial support to U.S. and Canadian GI Fellows in training or GI Physicians who have completed their training within the last 5 years, to receive clinical or clinical research training or education in Gastroenterology and Hepatology outside of North America. The funding is provided so that an individual can acquire or develop new cognitive knowledge or a technical skill. This newly acquired knowledge or skill would then be used to improve patient care in the applicant’s geographic area.

The amount of the grant will not exceed $10,000, and is to be used for travel to and from the training center and to the ACG Annual Meeting as well as for incidental expenses related to the training. A travel grant may or may not be awarded in any given year. DEADLINE: April 15, 2024

Eligibility

GI Fellows in training who are enrolled in an accredited gastroenterology fellowship program or GI Physicians who completed their training within the last 5 years, and are citizens of the United States or Canada or have a U.S. Green Card, are eligible to apply together with his/her training institution. The training must take place between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

Requirements

Applicants must submit a completed online application form, which will include a personal statement that summarizes the reasons and objectives of additional training, a curriculum vitae, copies of applicant’s five most impactful published articles and five most impactful published abstracts and three letters of recommendation — one from the program director or mentor at the international host training institution; one from an ACG Fellow; and one from a person of your choosing. The host training instituion must also complete an online application form (a link to the host form will be provided when the applicant saves or submits their application).

Applicants are responsible for selecting a host training center who will voluntarily agree to participate in the program. The host training center must be able to accomplish the training goals and must complete the host training center application. ACG is not be responsible for any additional financial obligation to the preceptor of the GI training program.

The ACG North American International GI Training Grant must be mentioned in any publication(s) generated by the awardee and host training center through this program. At completion of the training, the awardee must submit a written summary (critique, educational experience) to ACG.

Application Forms

North American International GI Training Grant Application Form

All applications must be submitted onilne. Deadline: April 15, 2024

Review Process

The ACG International Relations Committee will select one awardee, subject to Board approval, based upon the applicant’s credentials, the merit of the proposed training by the selected host training center and the potential of enhancing the field of gastroenterology in the applicant’s home country.

Applicants will be notified after July 1, 2024 with funding to begin after July 2024. Questions regarding this program should be sent to ACG.

Past Recipients

Year	Recipient	Training Location	Training Center/Area of Training
2023	Yuying Luo, MD	Netherlands	Maastricht University Medical Center Building a prospective, and longitudinal patient cohort specifically for Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI).
2022	Rahul S. Dalal, MD, MPH	Denmark	Odense University Hospital, Center for Clinical Epidemiology Incidence of IBD-related complications and adverse events among patients receiving various analgesic therapies.
2022	Andrew M. Moon, MD, MPH	Spain	Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Patient-level data meta-analyses to explore overall survival and optimal patient characteristics for SBRT in HCC.
2021	Giselle Mahoro, MD	Rwanda	University Teaching Hospital of Kigali The risk factors and burden of colorectal cancer in the Rwandese population
2020	Edward L. Barnes, MD	Denmark	Statens Serum Institute Relationship between preoperative anti-TNF (and other biologic use) and the development of pouchitis
2019	Robert J. Huang, MD	Singapore	National University of Singapore Epidemiologic Cohort Design and Development
2018	Hassan Siddiki, MD, MS	Bogota, Colombia	WGO Training Center Therapeutic EUS
2017	Tracey G. Simon, MD	Stockholm, Sweden	Karolinska Institute Impact of Statin Medication on HCV-related Fibrogenesis and Tumorigenesis
2016	Gene K. Ma, MD	Tokyo, Japan	Jikei University School of Medicine Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD)
2015	Jennifer Yi-Jiun Pan, MD About her experience	Melbourne, Australia	University of Melbourne Colorectal cancer
2014	Akwi W. Asombang, MD About her experience	Lusaka, Zambia	The Cancer Disease Hospital Pancreatic cancer
2013	Ryan Law, MD About his experience	Yokohama, Japan	Showa Univ. Int’l Training Ctr. for Endoscopy POEM
2012	Hamed Khalili, MD	Stockholm, Sweden	Karolinska Institute IBD and risk factors
2011	Amit Bhatt, MD About his experience	Mainz, Germany	National Cancer Center Endoscopic submucosal dissection
2010	Jenny Sauk, MD About her experience	Tokyo, Japan	Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz Confocal endomicroscopy
2009	Tonya Kaltenbach, MD About her experience	Tokyo, Japan	National Cancer Center Hospital Endoscopic mucosal resection and submucosal dissesction
2008	Anna Marta Buchner, MD, PhD About her experience	Mainz, Germany Paris, France	University of Mainz Mauna Kea Technology Confocal imaging/endomicroscopy

International GI Training Grant

The International GI Training Grant provides partial financial support to physicians outside of the United States and Canada to receive clinical or clinical research training or education in Gastroenterology and Hepatology in selected medical training centers in North America. The funding is provided so that an individual can acquire or develop new cognitive knowledge or a technical skill. This newly acquired knowledge or skill would then be used to improve patient care in the applicant’s geographic area.

The amount of the grant will not exceed $15,000, and is to be used for travel to and from the training center and to the ACG Annual Meeting as well as for incidental expenses related to the training. A travel grant may or may not be awarded in any given year. DEADLINE: April 15, 2024

Eligibility

Physicians who are not citizens of nor are currently residing in the United States or Canada, and who are working in gastroenterology or related areas are eligible to apply together with his/her training institution. The training period must be for at least 2 months and must take place between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

Requirements

Applicants must submit a completed online application form, which will include a personal statement that summarizes the reasons and objectives of additional training, a curriculum vitae, copies of applicant’s five most impactful published articles and five most impactful published abstracts and three letters of recommendation — one from the program director or mentor at the host training institution; one from an ACG Fellow; and one from a person of your choosing. The host training instituion must also complete an online application form (a link to the host form will be provided when the applicant saves or submits their application).

Applicants are responsible for selecting a host training center who will voluntarily agree to participate in the program. The host training center must be able to accomplish the training goals and must complete the host training center application. ACG is not responsible for any additional financial obligation to the preceptor of the GI training program.

The ACG International GI Training Grant must be mentioned in any publication(s) generated by the awardee and host training center through this program. At completion of the training, the awardee must submit a written summary (critique, educational experience) to ACG.

Application Form

International GI Training Grant Application Form

All applications must be submitted onilne. Deadline: April 15, 2024

Review Process

Past Recipients

Year	Recipient	Country	Training Center/Area of Training
2023	Partha Pal, MD, DNB, MRCP (UK)	India	Allegheny Health Network Interventional IBD techniques, indications, and the finer details of endoscopic treatment of strictures, abscesses and fistulas related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
2022	Stella-Maris Chinma Egboh, MD, MSc	Nigeria	Massachusetts General Hospital Advanced endoscopic procedures and their role in the management of gastrointestinal cancers
2022	Kartik Natarajan, MBBS, MD	India	Mayo Clinic Rochester Advanced endoscopy techniques and skills including ESD, POEM, EMR, STER, therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound, and metabolic and bariatric endoscopic procedures
2021	Evaristus Chukwudike, MBBCh, FWACP	Nigeria	Brown University / RI Hospital Interventional Endoscopy and Helicobacter pylori research
2021	Artemis Trikola, MD, MPH, MSc	Greece	Massachusetts General Hospital Functional and Gastrointestinal Motility Disorders
2020	No Recipient
2019	Vikrant Sood, MD	India	University of Pittsburgh Med Ctr Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hepatology and Transplant Hepatology
2018	Luis Raul Valdovinos Garcia, MD	Mexico	Mayo Clinic Scottsdale Diseases of the Esophagus
2017	Irina Cazacu, MD	Romania	UT MD Anderson Cancer Center Oncologic Aspects of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy
2016	Sally A. Bampoh, MD	Ghana	Mayo Clinic Rochester Diagnostic and Therapeutic Endoscopy
2015	Piyush Somani, MD	India	Florida Hospital, Center for Interventional Endoscopy Advanced ERCP, Cholangioscopy and EUS
2014	Oriol Sendino-Garcia, MD	Spain	California Pacific Medical Center Interventional endoscopy
2013	Salome Bandoh, MD	Ghana	Mayo Clinic Rochester Infectious diarrhea and data
2012	Wiriyaporn Ridtitid, MD About her experience	Thailand	Indiana University ERCP
2011	Nikhil Anil Nadkarni, MD	India	Mayo Clinic Rochester Acute Pancreatitis
2010	Avelyn Kwok, MD	Australia	Medical University of South Carolina Advanced EUS procedures
2009	Andres Duarte Rojo, MD	Mexico	University of Toronto, University Health Network Clinical hepatology
2008	Ling Yi Zhang, MD, MS	China	Carolinas Medical Center and University of North Carolina Chronic hepatology; B&C
2007	Ian Homer Y. Cua, MD	Philippines	Columbia University Medical Center Transplant hepatology
2006	Alberto Rubio Tapia, MD	Mexico	Mayo Clinic Celiac disease
2005	Aldo Javier Montano-Loza, MD	Mexico	Mayo Clinic Autoimmune hepatitis
2004	Ender Fakioglu, MD	Turkey	University of Kansas Gastrenterology/health care service quality
2003	Kyoto Ito, MD	Japan	Baylor College of Medicine H. pylori in hepatocarcinogenesis
2002	Ratha-korn Vilaichone, MD	Thailand	Baylor College of Medicine H. pylori and gastroenterology
2001	Mohamed El Sadany, MD	Egypt	University of Texas Medical Branch Endosonography
2000	Harshad C. Devarbhavi, MD	India	Mayo Clinic Gastroenterology and hepatology
1999	Marko Duvnjak, MD	Croatia	Medical College of Virginia
1998	Eliza Maria de Brito, MD	Brazil	The Graduate Hospital
1997	Jan Gunnar Hatlebakk, MD	Norway	The Graduate Hospital
	Marisa Fonseca Magalhaes, MD	Brazil	University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
	Sri Prakash Misra, MD	India	Mayo Clinic
1996	Dervis Bandres, MD	Venezuela	Georgetown University School of Medicine
	Orsolya I. Halmos, MD	Hungary	Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
	Issa Marie Nigl Navarrete, MD	Mexico	University of Miami
	Rajko Ostojic, MD	Croatia	Medical College of Virginia
	Seren Ozenirler, MD	Turkey	Baylor College of Medicine
	Shayong Yu, MD	China	Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
1995	Lars Aabakken, MD	Norway	Medical University of South Carolina
	Carlos Midrani Boyle, MD	Mexico	University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
	I. Soykan, MD	Turkey	University of Virginia
	J. Woo, MD	Korea	Baylor College of Medicine