AGA Leadership
AGA Leadership
AGA Institute Governing Board
The AGA Institute Governing Board guides the organization in implementing its strategic direction. Get to know our 2025-26 board members.

President
Lawrence Kim, MD, AGAF
South Denver Gastroenterology
Littleton, Colorado
Dr. Lawrence Kim has spent his entire gastroenterology career in community-based private practice. He is a partner at South Denver Gastroenterology, a 32-provider independent GI practice in Colorado. A cum laude graduate of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, his thesis research focused on health care financing under Professor Uwe Reinhardt. He received his M.D. degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His postgraduate training included internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and gastroenterology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, where he pursued additional training in clinical outcomes research and endoscopic ultrasound.
Dr. Kim has served the American Gastroenterological Association in numerous capacities over 25 years, since his initial appointment to the Trainee and Young GI Committee. His volunteer activities have included terms on the Practice Management and Economics Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Clinical Practice Updates Committee, and as Clinical Practice Councilor. He co-directed the Winter Postgraduate Course and the Nurse Practitioner/Physician’s Assistant Course, and directed the 2015 Partners in Quality meeting. He has participated in numerous Advocacy Days and served on the board of the AGA Research Foundation. He was elected Secretary-Treasurer from 2018 to 2022.
In other medical leadership activities, he was the first gastroenterologist to join the Board of Directors of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, the leading accreditor of ambulatory endoscopy centers. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Digestive Health Physicians Association, an advocacy group for independent GI practice. Dr. Kim is committed to improving the quality of digestive care worldwide and has participated in multiple medical missions to Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Peru.

President-Elect
Byron L. Cryer, MD, AGAF
Baylor University
Dallas, Texas
Dr. Cryer’s clinical focus is on diseases of the upper GI tract, such as the esophagus, stomach and small intestine. He also treats the spectrum of general GI diseases and symptoms. Dr. Cryer is currently the chief of internal medicine and the Ralph Tompsett endowed chair in medicine at Baylor University Medical Center. In September 2022, Dr. Cryer joined Baylor Scott & White Center for Esophageal Diseases after many years working as a physician in gastroenterology at the Dallas VA Medical Center and as the associate dean for faculty development at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Bilingual in English and Spanish, one of Dr. Cryer’s hobbies is producing podcasts in Spanish for English speakers. He also enjoys indoor cycling and weight training.
Vice President
Richard M. Peek, MD, AGAF
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Dr. Peek is the Director of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, the Mina Cobb Wallace Chair in Immunology, and a Professor of Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, and Cancer Biology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His research focuses on elucidating the molecular origins and pathways that regulate microbially-driven inflammation and cancer.
Secretary/Treasurer
John Allen (retired), MD, MBA, AGAF
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
John I. Allen MD, MBA, AGAF, received his bachelor’s degree from Rice University. He obtained his medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. He completed internal medicine and gastroenterology training at the University of Minnesota and spent ten years on its academic faculty, serving at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center as a grant-funded researcher in colorectal cancer. In 1991, he joined a Twin-Cities-based private gastroenterology practice and, over the ensuing 20 years, helped build Minnesota Gastroenterology into one of the largest GI practices in the country. As Medical Director and Director of Quality, he led the development of their nationally known quality program. In 2001, he returned to school and obtained an MBA in Medical Group Management from the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis. In 2013, he left private practice to become clinical chief of digestive diseases and professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. In 2016, he moved to the University of Michigan School of Medicine (Ann Arbor, Michigan) as a clinical professor of medicine and clinical chief of gastroenterology. The following year, he became the chief clinical officer of the University of Michigan Medical Group, helping oversee the $2 billion ambulatory care infrastructure at Michigan Medicine.
John also has been a leader at Allina Health, a large non-profit health system in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He has served as chair of both the Quality and Population Health Committee and system-wide Credentialing Committee, sits on the Audit and Finance Committee and the Board of Directors (both ending in 2021). From 2006-2009, he chaired the Board of Directors of the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement in Minnesota.
John has been an active member of AGA for over 40 years. He has served in multiple leadership roles, including Community Practice Councillor, chair of the Clinical Practice and Quality Management Committee, Foundation Board member, and several guideline committees. Dr. Allen was president of AGA from 2014-2015 and has returned to the AGA Governing Board as secretary/treasurer (2022-26). He is the former editor in chief of GI and Hepatology News and was awarded the Julius Friedenwald Medal in 2019 — AGA’s highest award for lifetime achievement in gastroenterology.
Secretary/Treasurer-Elect
Michael Kochman, MD, AGAF
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr. Kochman is the Wilmott Family Professor of Medicine and Professor of Medicine in Surgery in the Gastroenterology Division at the Perelman School of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kochman is a graduate of Northwestern University (BA, Economics, 1982) and the University of Illinois Medical School at Chicago (MD, 1986). He served his residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was Chief Resident at West Side VA under Dr. Clifford Pilz from 1989-90. Subsequently Dr. Kochman completed his fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Michigan Hospitals and Clinics in Ann Arbor in 1993 under the direction of Drs. Chung Owyang and Tadataka Yamada. During that time Dr. Kochman also underwent training in interventional endoscopy and had specialized training in endoscopic ultrasound at Indiana University under the auspices of Drs. Robert Hawes and Maurits Wiersema. Subsequently he was recruited to the University of Pennsylvania by Dr. Peter Traber, where he rose through the ranks from Assistant Professor.
Dr. Kochman is past editor for Techniques and Innovation in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Dr. Kochman has published over 250 articles, chapters and videos. He has edited 19 published books: among them, the Clinicians Guide to Gastrointestinal Oncology (ed Kochman), Advanced Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (eds Ginsberg, Gostout, Kochman and Norton), and Endoscopic Oncology: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Cancer Management (eds Faigel and Kochman).
While at the University of Pennsylvania he has served in various capacities including as Vice-Chair for Clinical Services and as Development Officer for the Department of Medicine, on the School of Medicine Committee of Appointments and Promotions (COAP), the Physicians Billing Oversight Committee and numerous Departmental Review and Search Committees. Within the GI Division he has served as Fellowship Chairman and runs the regular endoscopy and advanced endoscopy training programs and directs the Wilmott Center for Endoscopic Innovation, Research, and Training. He has received several awards including the Luigi Mastroianni Clinical Innovator and Special Recognition Patient Advocacy Awards from the Health System as well as the Sid Cohen, MD and Donald Martin, MD awards for the education of fellows and residents.
Dr. Kochman has served many local and national societies in a variety of positions. He was honored and inducted as a Fellow into the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. ASGE recognized him as the ‘Master Endoscopist’ in 2015 and AGA recognized him as the ‘Distinguished Academic Clinician’ in 2018. His current major national commitments are to AGA as a member of the finance and operations committee and the investment subcommittee. He was one of the drivers behind the formation of the AGA-Varia GI Opportunity Fund. He is a past AGA Governing Board Councilor and also served AGA on the Education Committee, the Public Affairs Committee, was Chair of the Regulatory Workgroup and is a past Chair of the Center for GI Technology. Dr. Kochman also served as Chair of the GIE Editorial Board, treasurer of the ASGE Foundation, and was a Councilor of the ASGE Governing Board. He was co-chair of the Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research (NOSCAR). Additionally, for the ASGE Dr. Kochman has served on the Post-Graduate Education Committee, the EUS SIG, the Research Committee, the Program Committees and has directed post-graduate courses. He is a past president of the Delaware Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and was the Program Chairman for the Pennsylvania State Gastroenterology Society.
Dr. Kochman regularly speaks for various local GI societies and at SGNA meetings. He is a frequently a faculty member at national and international meetings as a lecturer, moderator and at Meet the Professor sessions on various topics including management of neoplasia, maintenance of luminal patency, EMR, EUS, and ERCP. He also serves as faculty for hands-on training courses held both nationally and internationally for EUS, ERCP, endoprosthetics, and hemostasis.
Past President
Maria T. Abreu, MD, AGAF
F. Widjaja Inflammatory Bowel Disease Institute
Los Angeles, California
Maria T. Abreu, MD, AGAF, received her medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Florida. She then completed her residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and her gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA School of Medicine, where she also completed her post-doctoral fellowship in molecular and cancer biology. In 2008, Dr. Abreu returned to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, serving as chief of gastroenterology from 2008-2016. In 2024 she was appointed to lead the Cedars-Sinai F. Widjaja Inflammatory Bowel Disease Institute as executive director.
Dr. Abreu’s research focuses on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer. She has also operationalized the “University of Miami IBD Center Clinical Phenotype Database and Tissue Repository,” which includes one of the largest numbers of Hispanic samples in the U.S. She has more than 100 publications and has received numerous honors, such as the Distinguished Clinician Award in the department of medicine for the University of Miami.
Dr. Abreu has made numerous contributions to AGA, most notably serving as the former chair of the AGA Institute Council, which plans AGA’s programming for Digestive Disease Week® (DDW). She has served on many AGA committees, including the nominating committee, public affairs and advocacy committee, and the committee for under-represented minorities.
At-Large Councillor
Fasiha Kanwal, MD, MSHS, AGAF
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
Follow Dr. Kanwal on X
Dr. Kanwal is the Nancy Chang Endowed Professor of Medicine, Director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, and associate dean for clinical and translational research at Baylor College of Medicine. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CGH) from 2017 to 2022 and as Section Chief for Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Baylor College of Medicine from 2017 to 2024.
In addition to these roles, she has an active research program in health services research. Dr. Kanwal has received research support from the NIH, Veterans Administration, Department of Defense, AASLD, ASGE, ACG, and Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas. She is also actively involved in the mentoring and training program. She serves as the co-director for the NIH-funded T32 program at Baylor College of Medicine. She is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigators (ASCI) and the American Association of Physicians (AAP).
At-Large Councillor for Development and Growth
Russ Arjal, MD, AGAF
WovenX Health
Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Arjal is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of WovenX Health, a venture-backed platform leveraging artificial intelligence and a national network of GI-trained advanced practice providers to expand access to care through partnerships with brick-and-mortar centers.
Previously, he served as Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Gastro Health, helping expand the nation’s second-largest GI platform. Before that, he helped lead Puget Sound Gastroenterology in Seattle, WA, where he played a key role in strategic growth initiatives.
Dr. Arjal has worked at the intersection of venture capital, private equity, and clinical gastroenterology, gaining a unique perspective on innovation and growth opportunities within the space. He is focused on scaling growth-oriented, consumer-forward solutions that enhance access, efficiency, and patient experience.
Dr. Arjal has previously served on the AGA Practice Management & Economics Committee and the board of the Digestive Health Physicians Association.
He holds a Doctor of Medicine from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, completed his Internal Medicine residency and Gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience from Pomona College.
Basic Research Councillor
Thaddeus Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, AGAF
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland, Ohio
Thaddeus Stappenbeck received his BA as a member of the Integrated Science Program at Northwestern University, as well as his MD and PhD from Northwestern University Medical School. He trained in anatomic pathology at the Washington University School of Medicine. He was hired as an assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University, where he moved up the ranks to Division Chief of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine. His leadership experiences include lead of the Physician Scientist Training Program, Pathology and Immunology promotions committee chair, study section chair and multiple search committees for leadership positions. Dr. Stappenbeck currently serves as the chair of Inflammation and Immunity at Cleveland Clinic, where his research program focuses on determining the root causes of chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases with the goal of developing new therapies for these diseases and disease prevention in susceptible individuals.
His expertise at the intersection of stem cell biology, microbiology and immunology has propelled his lab to define the stages and mechanisms of intestinal repair following injury. He has developed predictive diagnostics and early stage therapeutics for inflammatory bowel disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He has determined mechanisms for the effects of intestinal microbes on repair and prevention of infection, discovered microbes that inhibit proper regeneration and created a cell culture system for human intestinal stem cells that is used by labs around the world. He moved to Cleveland Clinic to partner with the world class clinicians and scientists in this institution to accelerate partnerships to create new concepts for therapy and prevention of inflammatory disease. Here he founded Mobius Care, Inc., a company that is devoted to developing personized care for inflammatory bowel disease. His deep expertise in stem cell biology, infectious disease and immunology enable the translation of his discoveries to areas of general human health and wellbeing, including aging. For this goal, rejuvenation of stem cells and prevention of the damaging effects of infection to stem cells are important approaches for his research program.
He serves on scientific advisory boards for Science Immunology and Gastroenterology, as well as several companies in the area of inflammatory bowel diseases. He has collaborated extensively with many other investigators and published over 170 articles in high impact journals, while successfully training numerous physician-scientists and scientists and encouraging them to inflammatory and infectious disease. His lab has been supported by a broad portfolio including the National Institute of Health, Crohn’s Colitis Foundation of America, Helmsley Trust, American Asthma Foundation, Rainin Foundation, Broad Medical Research Program, the Gates Foundation, the Pew Foundation and pharmaceutical companies including Genentech, Amgen, Pfizer, Janssen and Boehringer-Ingelheim.
Clinical Research Councillor
Shahnaz Sultan, MD
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dr. Shahnaz Sultan is a professor of medicine and the vice chair for diversity, equity and inclusion in the department of medicine at the University of Minnesota. She is a core investigator at the Center for Chronic Disease Research at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Her research interests are focused on reducing colorectal cancer morbidity and mortality by improving adherence and quality of colonoscopy. Nationally, Dr. Sultan is a leader in guideline development. She is the past chair of the AGA Clinical Guidelines Committee and a member of the GRADE Working Group and teaches evidence synthesis and guideline development.
Practice Councillor
Jonathan A. Rosenberg, MD
GI Alliance of Illinois
Highland Park, Illinois
Dr. Rosenberg grew up in Lake County, Illinois and resides there with his wife and two children. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Rosenberg received his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Illinois Medical Center Chicago. Dr. Rosenberg’s fellowship training in GI was undertaken at the University of Chicago. He completed an advanced therapeutic endoscopy fellowship at the University of Illinois Medical Center Chicago, receiving specialized training in endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and capsule endoscopy. Dr. Rosenberg is the first AGA Future Leaders Program alumni to ascend to the governing board.
Practice Councillor
Nicé Toriz, MD, AGAF
MNGI Digestive Health
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Bertha (Nicé) Toriz, MD, AGAF, obtained her Bachelors of Science from UC Berkeley. She earned her medical degree, residency and gastroenterology fellowship from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Toriz is currently a private practice gastroenterologist with MNGI Digestive Health. She is also an elected board member and treasurer of MNGI Digestive Health. Her clinical practice is focused on general gastroenterology, where she addresses a wide range of gastroenterological diseases. She also serves on several committees in the greater Minneapolis/St.Paul metropolitan area.
Dr. Toriz is an actively engaged member of the American Gastroenterological Association, with past and current terms on the Women’s Committee, Government Affairs Committee, AGA PAC Board, and Nominating Committee. Dr. Toriz was humbled and honored to receive the AGA Distinguished Clinician Award in Private Practice in 2018.
Education & Training Councillor
Brijen Shah, MD, AGAF
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, New York
Dr. Shah is a board-certified gastroenterologist and geriatrician who has focused his career at the intersection of adult learning, QI, and patient safety. As an educator, Dr. Shah has served as an Associate GI Fellowship director and is an Associate Dean for GME at the Icahn School of Medicine. Brijen has been involved in the design of competency based medical education in GME serving on four ACGME Milestones working groups. Brijen’s leadership roles have included serving as the Chief Medical Officer for Mount Sinai Queens and Vice President of Medical Affairs for the Mount Sinai Health System. Brijen’s current work focuses on developing a culture of safety and professionalism, creating systems to enhance provider performance, and working with leadership to better integrate advanced practice providers into the health care system. He serves as a consultant for Mount Sinai International collaborating on safety and quality projects in China, Guyana, Grenada and India. Brijen is a graduate of the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, the Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/Mount Sinai Hospital GI Fellowship program.
AGA Research Foundation Chair
Michael Camilleri, MD, AGAF
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
Michael Camilleri is a consultant in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and is professor of medicine, pharmacology, and physiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. His research interests include clinical enteric neurosciences, gut neurohormonal control, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, and pharmacology and pharmacogenomics; his work is funded by NIH. He has received numerous awards and honors including the 2012 Ismar Boas Medal from the German Society of Digestive and Metabolic Disease, the 2012 American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Distinguished Mentor Award, the Janssen Research Award, the AGA Joseph B. Kirsner Award, the AGA Julius Friedenwald Medal in 2021, as well as honorary doctorates from the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and the University of Malta, and he was elected to the membership of the prestigious Association of American Physicians.
Dr. Camilleri participates in educational and mentorship activities at Mayo Clinic and has mentored more than 80 national and international postdoctoral fellows and scientists. He maintains an active clinical practice in gastroenterology at Mayo Clinic, specializing in gastrointestinal motility disorders, gastroparesis and functional GI disorders.
Dr. Camilleri is past-president of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and AGA, former editor of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Neurogastroenterology and Motility, and is currently an associate editor of American Journal of Physiology.
Past AGA Presidents
2024 Maria T. Abreu, MD, AGAF |
2023 Barbara Jung, MD, AGAF |
2022 John M. Carethers, MD, AGAF |
2021 John M. Inadomi, MD, AGAF |
2020 M. Bishr Omary, MD, PhD, AGAF |
2019 Hashem B. El-Serag |
2018 David A. Lieberman |
2017 Sheila E. Crowe |
2016 Timothy C. Wang |
2015 Michael Camilleri |
2014 John I. Allen |
2013 Anil K. Rustgi |
2012 Loren Laine |
2011 C. Richard Boland |
2010 Ian L. Taylor |
2009 Gail A. Hecht |
2008 Robert S. Sandler |
2007 Nicholas F. LaRusso |
2006 Mark Donowitz |
2005 David A. Peura |
2004 Emmet B. Keeffe |
2003 Daniel K. Podolsky |
2002 Martin Brotman |
2001 Jon I. Isenberg |
2000 Thomas A. Brasitus |
1999 Ralph A. Giannella |
1998 Donald O. Castell |
1997 Phillip P. Toskes |
1996 Tadataka Yamada |
1995 James W. Freston |
1994 John H. Walsh |
1993 Don W. Powell |
1992 Walter J. Hogan |
1991 Sidney Cohen |
1990 David H. Alpers |
1989 Eugene D. Jacobson |
1988 Robert M. Glickman |
1987 John M. Dietschy |
1986 Douglas B. McGill |
1985 Jerry S. Trier |
1984 Norton J. Greenberger |
1983 Thomas R. Hendrix |
1982 John T. Farrar |
1981 Malcolm P. Tyor |
1980 Frank P. Brooks |
1979 Robert M. Donaldson, Jr. |
1978 William Silen |
1977 John A. Benson, Jr. |
1976 Marvin H. Sleisenger |
1975 Fred Kern, Jr. |
1974 Kurt J. Isselbacher |
1973 Albert I. Mendeloff |
1972 Henry D. Janowitz |
1971 Nicholas C. Hightower |
1970 James A. Clifton |
1969 Stewart G. Wolf |
1968 Thomas C. Chalmers |
1967 Morton I. Grossman |
1966 Wade Volwiler |
1965 Joseph B. Kirsner |
1964 Charles F. Code |
1963 Thomas P. Almy |
1962 G. Gordon McHardy |
1961 Franz J. Ingelfinger |
1960 Hugh R. Butt |
1959 H. Marvin Pollard |
1958 Clifford J. Barborka |
1957 Mandred W. Comfort |
1956 S. Allen Wilkinson |
1955 Robert Elman |
1954 Dwight L. Wilbur |
1953 Julian M. Ruffin |
1952 A.M. Snell |
1951 T. Brier Miller |
1950 John G. Mateer |
1949 J. Arnold Bargen |
1948 Albert F.R. Anderson |
1947 Henry L. Bockus |
1946 Walter L. Palmer |
1945 A.H. Aaron |
1944 A.H. Aaron |
1943 Sara M. Jordon |
1942 Sara M. Jordon |
1941 Russel S. Boles |
1940 Andrew C. Ivy |
1939 Irvin Abell |
1938 Ernest H. Gaither |
1937 Chester M. Jones |
1936 Ralph C. Brown |
1935 Howard F. Shattuck |
1934 B.B. Vincent Lyons |
1933 John Bryant |
1932 Burrill B. Crohn |
1931 Clement R. Jones |
1930 Ludwig Kast |
1929 Frank Smithies |
1928 Walter C. Alvarez |
1927 George M. Piersol |
1926 Franklin W. White |
1925 Charles G. Lucas |
1924 A.F. Chace |
1923 David Riesman |
1923 R.W. Mills, MD (died in office) |
1922 G.B. Eusterman |
1921 A.A. Jones |
1920 Joseph Sailer |
1919 T.R. Brown |
1918 W.A. Bastedo |
1917 J.A. Lichty |
1916 W.G. Morgan |
1915 C.G. Stockton |
1914 W.C. Bloodgood |
1913 J. Kaufmann |
1912 J. Kaufmann |
1911 W.B. Cannon |
1910 W.B. Cannon |
1909 J. Friedenwald |
1908 J. Friedenwald |
1907 J.P. Sawyer |
1906 H.W. Bettman |
1905 H.W. Bettman |
1904 S.J. Meltzer |
1903 S.J. Meltzer |
1902 J.C. Hemmeter |
1901 J.C. Hemmeter |
1900 Max Einhorn |
1899 Max Einhorn |
1898 D.D. Stewart |
1897 C.G. Stockton |