Dear Member of the GRG:

I am delighted to write you to highlight some of the activities of the GRG over the past year. As the GRG is your society, I am also seeking guidance from the membership regarding your thoughts on what GRG is and where it is going. In the second part of this newsletter, you will find a questionnaire, which I would be greatly appreciative if you could take some time to complete. Your input will be incorporated into the development of new initiatives and strategic planning for the GRG in the future.

Sincerely Yours,

Vincent W. Yang, MD, PhD
President

I. Summary of GRG Activities

Current GRG Leadership
Election for President-Elect and new Steering Committee membership was held last summer. I am extremely delighted to report that over 150 members took part in this effort. As a result, the composition of the current leadership is as follows:

Officers:
Vincent Yang (President) - Emory University, Atlanta
Jonathan Kaunitz (President-Elect) - UCLA, Los Angeles
John Del Valle (Past President) - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Steering Committee Members:
Nicholas Davidson - Washington University, St. Louis
Jay Goldstein - University of Illinois, Chicago
Gregory Gores - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Mrinalini Rao - University of Illinois, Chicago
Shanthi Sitaraman - Emory University, Atlanta
Rhonda Souza - University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas

Ex-Officio:
Rifat Pamukcu - Midway Pharmaceuticals, Spring House, PA

International Liaisons:
Alastair Watson - University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Toshifumi Hibi - Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

Trainee Representative:
Scott Smith - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

I would also like to take this opportunity to give my sincere thanks to the steering committee members who completed their terms this year: Mitch Cohen, James Goldenring and John Inadomi.

Winner of 2007 GRG/AGA Young Investigator Basic Research Award
Jonathan P. Katz, MD
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Dr. Katz is assistant professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is also director of the Morphology Core of the Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases and principal investigator of an undergraduate training grant in gastrointestinal sciences. Jonathan received an undergraduate degree from Columbia University and an MD from the University of Chicago. He then completed training in internal medicine and gastroenterology at Penn and stayed on as a faculty member. Jonathan’s research is focused on the mechanisms regulating proliferation and differentiation of the gastrointestinal epithelial cells and the molecular pathogenesis of esophageal neoplasm. His research is funded by multiple grants from the NIH.

Winner of 2007 GRG/AGA Young Investigator Clinical Science Award
Neena S. Abraham, MD, MSCE, FASGE
Michael E. DeBakey, VA Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston

Dr. Abraham is with the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, as a health services research scientist at the Houston Center of Quality of Care and Utilization Studies and an assistant professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She is a graduate of Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and obtained her internal medicine training at the University of Alberta. She completed her gastroenterology fellowship and a Master's of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Following her GI training, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship in advanced therapeutic endoscopy, methodology and technology assessment supported by the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology. Neena’s research is focused on the study of physician non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug prescribing habits and their influence on clinical and pharmacoeconomic outcomes, specifically among older adults. She is currently the principal investigator on six funded grants in her topic area including an ASGE Career Development Award and a VA HSR&D Merit Review Award, the VA equivalent of an R01 award.

Winners of 2007 GRG/AGA Fellow Travel Awards
The GRG is immensely indebted to the generous support of Rifat Pamukcu, MD, Ex-Officio of the GRG and CEO of Midway Pharmaceuticals, Inc., who has made continuous financial contributions to fund this program since its inception. In 2006, the following fellows received $500 each for travel to DDW^® 2007:

Linda Feagins, MD - University of Texas Southwestern
Dharmalingam Subramaniam, MD - Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center
Mirajul Kazi, PhD - Johns Hopkins University
Neelima Reddy, MD - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Mohamad Othman, MD - University of New Mexico

2007 GRG Spring Symposium
The 2007 GRG Spring Symposium was organized by Vincent Yang, MD, PhD, and Andrew Neish, MD, and chaired by Dr. Neish. This year the symposium was entitled “Understanding the Dialog: The Microbial-Host Interaction”. Thanks to the following four speakers, this year’s symposium was an astounding success with an audience numbering more than 200.

James B. Kaper, PhD
Center for Vaccine Development and Department of Microbiology, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Bacterial cell-to-cell signaling in the gastrointestinal tract  

Ruth E. Ley, PhD
Center for Genome Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
Ecological and evolutionary forces shaping microbial diversity in the human intestine

Hans-Christian Reinecker, MD
Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston
Dendritic cells: the commanders-in-chief of mucosal immune defenses

Andrew S. Neish, MD
Department of Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta
Commensal bacterial modulation of intestinal epithelial signaling pathways

Other GRG Sponsored Activities in the Coming Year

13^th Annual Methodologies in Healthcare Outcomes in Gastroenterology: A Workshop Symposium,
Director: Jay Goldstein, MD
Co-Directors: Glenn M. Eisen, MD, MPH, John F. Johanson, MD, MSc
Nov. 9-10, 2007, Hollywood, FL

For the past thirteen years, the GRG has proudly sponsored an annual two-day course/symposium entitled Methodologies in Healthcare Research Outcomes in Gastroenterology: A Workshop Symposium in conjunction with the AGA Institute. This meeting provides interested individuals and gastroenterology trainees with instruction in the common research tools utilized in the broad field of outcomes research and emphasizes the exciting career opportunities in academic clinical research. Each year, the course is very well received by trainees and is a “must attend” meeting for any individual considering a career in outcomes/health services related research. Focused on individualized mentoring, this workshop allows for close interaction for the faculty and attendees in a comfortable and informal setting. Unique features of the course are that the GRG sponsors trainee scholarships to facilitate attendance and all trainees are encouraged to present their research in various stages of development.

The Japan & US Collaboration Conference (JUCC) in Gastroenterology
This conference and its precursor, GRG/AGA Japan Symposium, are organized principally by Toshifumi Hibi, MD, Keio University. The objectives of the conference are to foster young investigators who will play an active role in international GI research and to promote interaction of young investigators between Japan and the U.S. to explore new research directions. The GRG has suggested several candidates in the U. S. to the organizing committee who will choose the participants for the conference scheduled in November.

II. MEMBER SURVEY

As you know, the GRG was established in 1955 by Basil Hirschowitz, E. C. Texter, and Joseph Kirsner. The main driving force for establishing the organization was the desire of younger AGA members in academic centers to have a forum for the discussion of scientific issues and new research problems in digestive diseases. To date, the interests of the young investigators remain a central mission of the GRG. This is exemplified by the numerous GRG-sponsored activities including the GRG Young Investigator Awards (Basic and Clinical Science), GRG Fellow Travel Awards, the GRG Spring Symposium and the Methodologies in Healthcare Outcomes in Gastroenterology Symposium. Moreover, the GRG started many of the earlier efforts in several important young investigator-centered activities that are currently under the purview of the AGA, such as the annual Academic Skills Workshop and the Japan GRG/AGA Symposium. Over the years, both GRG and AGA have evolved in their roles in meeting the needs of their members who are primarily research based. At its most recent meeting, the GRG Steering Committee recommended performing a member survey to refine the mission of the society and the direction the society should take. We would greatly appreciate your taking a few minutes of your time to answer the following questions and e-mail them back to Pinky Bacsinila at PBacsinila@gastro.org. Your input is vital to the future development and strategic planning of the GRG. Thank you very much.

Q1. How long have you been a GRG member and why do you continue your membership?

Q2. What value do you get from being a member of the GRG?

Q3. What is your perception of the functions and goals of the GRG? What do you think its primary focus should be?

Q4. Do you believe that young investigators should continue to be a focus of the GRG’s mission, and, if so, what can the GRG do to support and increase participation from young investigators?

Q5. Do you favor more GRG-sponsored scientific sessions at DDW or more freestanding meetings?

Q6. Are the membership dues too low, too high or just right? What types of benefits or innovations would justify higher dues?

Q7. What principle should govern the future relationship between the GRG and AGA? Should the AGA subsume the GRG?

Q8. Please share any additional comments.