Dear Member of the GRG:

I am delighted to write to you to highlight some of the activities of the GRG that will take place in the upcoming DDWR at San Diego. I would particularly like to thank members of the Steering Committee who worked very hard to make the various GRG-sponsored programs such as the Spring Symposium and award programs highly successful ones. As many of you know, the GRG has been having some productive discussion with the AGA for ways to further strengthen the relationship between the two societies and to synergize their mission and effort. This will be a focus of discussion in the upcoming Steering Committee meeting. We will definitively keep you informed of the progress and outcome of such dialogues.

As the outgoing president of the GRG, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for being such a supportive and loyal member. Following the Steering Committee's meeting in May, Jonathan Kaunitz, MD, will be inaugurated as the next president. Dr. Kaunitz has been very involved in many activities of the GRG in the last two years and will surely provide the robust leadership required to steer our society in the future. I look forward to continuing my contribution to the society as a member.

Thank you again for all your support and I look forward to seeing you at the DDW.

Sincerely Yours,

Vincent W. Yang, MD, PhD
President

We have lined up an exciting schedule for the 2008 GRG Spring Symposium, which will take place on Sunday, May 18, 2008, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the San Diego Convention Center, Room 24ABC. This symposium is organized by Rhonda Souza, MD, a member of our Steering Committee who will also serve as Chair at the symposium.

The title of the symposium is Senescence, Aging and Cancer and will feature three prominent speakers. I hope that you can attend this important meeting of our society.

Peiqing Sun, PhD
Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
Oncogene-induced senescence

Jerry Shay, PhD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas
Replicative senescence

Judith Campisi, PhD
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Aging: balancing regeneration and cancer

Winners of 2008 the GRG/AGA Young Investigator Awards

We had many outstanding applications this year for the Young Investigator Awards, which made our decision very difficult. After much deliberation, the Steering Committee has chosen the following winners for the awards. The awards will be given out immediately prior to the Spring Symposium. Please join us in congratulating the awardees for their accomplishments.

Clinical Science Award
Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston
Andrew is currently assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and assistant physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He received his MD and MPH, respectively, from Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. His training in medicine and gastroenterology was also conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital. His research is focused on the epidemiological studies of colorectal cancer risk.

Basic Research Award
Shanthi Srinivasan, MD
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta
Shanthi is currently assistant professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. She received an MD from the Wayne State University School of Medicine, medicine training at the University of Michigan and GI training at the Washington University at St. Louis. Shanthi's research focus is on the biology and pathobiology of enteric neurons.

2008 GRG/AGA Fellow Travel Awards and the Abstract of the Year Award

As always, the GRG is immensely indebted to the generous support of Rifat Pamukcu, MD, ex-officio, and CEO of Midway Pharmaceuticals, Inc., who has made continuous financial contribution to fund this program since its inception. This year we received over 20 excellent applications for the awards, again making our decision difficult. After much deliberation, the Steering Committee chose the following fellows who will receive financial support for traveling to DDW.

Abstract of the Year Award

Engda Hagos, PhD, Emory University; Mouse embryonic fibroblasts null for the Kruppel-like factor 4 alleles are genetically unstable.

Fellow Travel Awards

• Gopalan Natarajan, PhD, University of Oklahoma; RNA binding protein RBM3: a novel protooncogene required for tumor cells to overcome G2/M arrest and mitotic catastrophe.
• Yanfang Guan, MD, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; Alterations in transporters and regulators at the base of mouse colonic crypts after genetic disruption of the NHE2 isoform Na+/H+ exchanger.
• Amr Ghaleb, PhD, Emory University; Notch signaling regulates expression of the Kruppel-like factor 4 gene in the intestinal epithelium.
• Mark Kidd, PhD, Yale University; Abnormal immune mediated regulation of small intestinal EC cell serotonin release in inflammatory bowel disease.
• Franco Scaldaferri, MD, Cleveland Clinic; Mucosal non immune cells produce pre-inflammatory mediators in response to toll-like and NOD like receptor ligands: mesenchymal and endothelial cells as novel players of the gut innate immunity process.
• Jeff Ye, MD, PhD, West Virginia University; Molecular identity and regulation of Na-adenosine CO-transport during chronic intestinal inflammation.
• Michael Scharl, MD, University of California, San Diego; The Crohn's disease candidate gene protein tyrosine phosphate N2 is activated by gamma interferon in intestinal epithelial cells in an adenosine-monophosphate kinase dependant manner.
• Ziad Gellad, MD, MPH, Duke University; Time from positive screening fecal occult blood test to colonoscopy and risk of neoplasia.
• Agnieszka Bialkowska, PhD, Emory University; Identification of novel small molecule compounds that inhibit the pro-proliferative Kruppel-like factor 5 by high throughput screen.