Department of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh
News
Dr. Brand’s Pancreatic Cancer Research in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The pancreatic cancer research of Dr. Randall Brand, professor of medicine, was featured in the July 27, 2009 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Dr. Brand and his colleagues are proud to partner with the Ladies Hospital Aid Society for the LHAS gala, Come Fly With Us, on Saturday August 22, 2009 at the Westin Convention Center Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. All proceeds from this evening will benefit GI Cancer research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Please see the Come Fly With Us invitation and response card or call LHAS at 412-648-6106 for more information.
PancreasFest 2009 a Success!
The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition was honored to host the 5th annual PancreasFest 2009 symposium on July 23, 24 & 25, 2009. Physicians and scientists traveled to Pittsburgh from Europe and all major pancreas disease centers in the U.S. PancreasFest 2010 will be held in Pittsburgh on July 29, 30 & 31, 2010. Mark your calendars!
Dr. Baidoo Receives Fellow Teaching Award
Leonard Baidoo, MD has received the Faculty Teaching Award in appreciation of his dedication to teaching and mentoring University of Pittsburgh gastroenterology fellows. This award was voted on and presented by the 16 GI fellows during the program’s 2008-09 graduation recognition event on June 10, 2009. Dr. Baidoo is an assistant professor of medicine with the University of Pittsburgh’s Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and he specializes in inflammatory bowel disease and general gastroenterology.
Dr. Malik Awarded “Fellowship2Leadership” Grant
Shahid Malik, MD, Year II gastroenterology fellow with the University of Pittsburgh’s Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition has been chosen to receive a 2009 Fellowship2 Leadership Gastroenterology/Hepatology Fellows’ Travel Grant to attend the American Society for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) annual meeting. Dr. Malik will be honored at a congratulatory dinner during this AASLD meeting slated for November 1, 2009 in Boston, MA.
CLD Staff Member Receives ALF Honor
Ms. Cathy Freehling, medical secretary for the UPMC Center for Liver Disease (CLD) will be honored for her commitment to liver health and disease prevention at the third annual American Liver Foundation (ALF) Tribute to Excellence event at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Club on June 26, 2009. Ms. Freehling is an active volunteer for ALF. She has chaired the Liver Life Walk Kick-Off event and has been actively involved with the Liver Life walk for the past four years. J. Wallis Marsh, MD, professor of surgery at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, will be honored at this ALF luncheon as well.
Dr. Cooper Honored by ASGE
Scott Cooper, MD received the Pentax Advanced Fellows Video Award at the ASGE Foundation’s 2009 Crystal Award Ceremony. This event was held on Sun. evening, May 31 during the annual Digestive Disease Week (DDW) meetings, and this gala will occur Chicago’s Navy Pier. Dr. Cooper will be an assistant professor of medicine with the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition as of July 2009.
Dr. Binion Featured in Erie Life Magazine
David G. Binion, MD was featured in the May 2009 issue of Erie Life Magazine.
Dr. Binion is a professor of medicine with the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and is an internationally recognized inflammatory bowel disease specialist. He co-directs the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Aoun Receives ACG Award
Gastroenterology fellow Elie Aoun, MD MS was selected to attend the North American Conference for GI Fellows (NACGF) in May 2009. Thirty fellows from the U.S. and Canada are selected for this meeting each year, and this is the second consecutive year that Dr. Aoun was invited to attend. Fellows present their research orally at this meeting, and a committee of ACG leadership gastroenterologists grades their presentations.
Dr. Aoun won the NACGF's Best Oral Presentation Award for his presentation on "The Diagnostic Accuracy of Interleukin 6 and Interleukin 8 at Predicting the Severity of Acute Pancreatitis: A Meta-Analysis." Dr. Aoun will be recognized for this honor at the October 2009 ACG Annual Meeting in San Diego, and he will receive a travel grant to attend this meeting.
Dr. Aoun is a Year II Gastroenterology Fellow with the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. For more information about Dr. Aoun's research, please contact him directly, aoune@upmc.edu.
Dr. Schoen’s Research Featured in Pitt Chronicle
Robert E. Schoen, MD MPH, professor of medicine and epidemiology with the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, has initiated testing on a vaccine that could prevent colon cancer in people at high risk from developing the disease. Read more about in this Pitt Chronicle article, Pitt Tests Vaccine to Prevent Colon Cancer.
Dr. Slivka Honored as NPF Person of the Year
Adam Slivka, MD PhD will be honored as the National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) 2009 Person of the Year at this nonprofit’s annual gala. The event will be held on Fri. evening, June 26, 2009 at the Circuit Center on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Those interested in attending or helping with this gala may contact NPF at www.pancreasfoundation.org or 866.726.2737.
Dr. Slivka is a professor of medicine with the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, where he serves as the Associate Chief for Clinic Services. Dr. Slivka’s research interests include the clinical applications of gastrointestinal endoscopy for diagnosis and therapy, including the development and testing of new instrumentation and therapy to improve endoscopic therapy outcomes for pancreaticobiliary disease.
Infliximab May Prevent Post-Surgical Crohn’s Disease Recurrence
Miguel Regueiro, MD and colleagues have found that infliximab lowers rates of clinical and histologic recurrence of Crohn’s disease after surgery (Regueiro M., et.al. Infliximab prevents Crohn’s disease recurrence after ileal resection. Gastroenterology 2009; 136: 441-450). For more information on this study, please visit the following web articles: Infliximab Halts Crohn's Recurrence After Surgery or Infliximab may help prevent post-operative Crohn's disease recurrence.
Dr. Regueiro is an associate professor of medicine with the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Committed to physician education, he serves as the Associate Chief for Education and as the Program Director for the University of Pittsburgh’s Gastroenterology Fellowship Program. Dr. Regueiro co-directs the UPMC Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and heads IBD clinical services.
Dr. Chantaphavong Elected to UPPDA Presidency
R. Savanh Chanthaphavong, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate with the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition has been elected as the sixth president of the University of Pittsburgh Posdoctoral Association (UPPDA). The UPPDA has grown tremendously since its inception in 2003. Dr. Chanthaphavong is the first president from the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.
Dr. Chataphavong works in the neurogastroenterology research lab lead by Anthony Bauer, PhD.
Division Administrator Honored as Leadership Scholar
Chad Scott, MA, MPM, administrator for the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, will participate in the multidisciplinary UPMC Leadership Development Intensive (LDI) 2009 program. Mr. Scott was selected for this honor due to his presence as a high performing, high potential leader within the UPMC system.
This will be UPMC's second LDI initiative and will include team and didactic training from nationally known executives from across the country. Building leadership capacity at UPMC is vital to its performance and growth as a leading health care deliver system.
Dr. Greer Authors Cookbook
Julia Greer, MD MPH is an epidemiologist whose work focuses on pancreatic, ovarian and breast cancers. Dr. Greer’s early cancer research concentrated on nutrition, body mass index and hormonal exposures and ovarian cancer risk. Her more current work is focused on high risk populations and the genetic predisposition to pancreatic cancer, particularly in relation to mutations in the breast and ovarian cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. Dr. Greer is an assistant professor of medicine with the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. For more information about Dr. Greer’s research, please click on her name link above.
Example of Dr. Greer's work:
Whitcomb Pancreatic Cancer Research Featured in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The pancreatic cancer research leadership of David C. Whitcomb, MD PhD, chief for the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, was featured in the April 14, 2008 issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette > LINK HERE.
Dr. Whitcomb is also the Giant Eagle Foundation Professor of Cancer Genetics and serves as a Professor of Medicine, Cell Biology & Physiology and Human Genetics with the University of Pittsburgh.
For more information on Dr. Whitcomb or his research, please visit his professional webpage, www.pancreas.org, or call 412-648-9604
University of Pittsburgh Physicians Featured in New Pancreas Book
University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Chief, David C. Whitcomb, MD PhD, and associate chief for clinical services, Adam Slivka, MD PhD, have written the June 2007 publication of "Gastroenterology Clinics of North America" --- "Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pancreatic Diseases." with their Department of Surgery colleagues, Kenneth K. Lee, MD.
Disorders of the pancreas have, in the past, been very frustrating because the diagnosis was often made late in the course of the disease and no significantly beneficial interventions were available. This situation is rapidly changing as new insights from multiple perspectives are integrated and focused on each step of this complex processes. This issue of Gastroenterology Clinics of North America highlights a number of areas of rapid progress in inflammatory and neoplastic disorders of the pancreas. Each chapter represents the integrated knowledge and perspective of experts in the field, and represent the most up to date analysis of these state of the art approaches to complex issues in the evaluation and treatment of pancreatic disorders.
Additional information about "Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pancreatic Diseases" may be found here.
Additionally, the preface for this book may be viewed here and for the table of contents click here.
Dr. Schoen's Research Featured in NY Times
Robert E. Schoen, MD MPH, a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology with the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition was recently featured in the Health Section of the New York Times. Please click here to read this article: Study Questions Colonoscopy Effectiveness.
Dr. Schoen Leads Multi-Center Colon Polyp Size and Cancer Risk Study
Robert E. Schoen, MD MPH, professor of medicine with the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, lead a study regarding medium-sized colon polyps. This study found that these polyps yield significant a number of advanced adenomas and cancer and should, therefore, be watched closely. To read more about Dr. Schoen's study, please click here.
Dr. Duerr finds new Crohn's Disease Gene, Researchers Report in Science
Discovery offers hope of better-targeted therapy for millions with inflammatory bowel diseases.
Click here for article.