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 2024-25 board members.
President
Maria T. Abreu, MD, AGAF
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Miami, Florida
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. She currently serves as the director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center as well as the vice chair for research for the department of medicine.
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.
President-Elect
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.
Vice President
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.
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.
Past President
Barbara Jung, MD, AGAF
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Barbara Jung, MD, AGAF, is a professor and chair of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. As a practicing gastroenterologist and physician-scientist, her expertise in gastrointestinal disease is extensive, and her research interests range from basic to clinical science. She completed her medical degree with thesis at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. She then moved to the U. S. and completed post-doctoral studies in colon cancer at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego, California under the mentorship of Dr. Michael McClelland. She completed both her internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the University of California in San Diego in 2004 under the mentorship of Dr. John Carethers.
Dr. Jung’s research interests are far ranging and include both clinical and basic research. Her clinical focus is in hereditary GI diseases, and she leads a multidisciplinary, personalized high-risk GI cancer clinic with an associated registry. Her NIH-funded laboratory centers on TGF family member signaling in GI disease, including colorectal cancer and pancreatitis. Her research centers on the mechanisms of GI epithelial cell growth and motility and specifically the modulation of growth suppressive and pro-migratory signaling by TGF family members, primarily activin. Her work in pancreatitis focuses on the relationship between activin signaling and inflammation. Dr. Jung has a strong record of fostering research collaboration between basic, translational and clinical research. Her passion for training the next generation of clinicians is evidenced by her participation in mentoring events including acting as an Invited Mentor for the AGA Task Force on Mentoring; she was the co-chair/chair of the AGA Academic Skills Workshops in 2016 and 2018.
Dr. Jung has a diverse history of service within AGA. She has volunteered for terms on multiple committees including finance and operations, nominating and research policy, among others. She has chaired the ethics committee and the audit committee, and has been an associate editor or on the editorial board of multiple AGA publications.
At-Large Councillor
Kim E. Barrett, PhD, AGAF
UC Davis School of Medicine
Sacramento, California
Kim E. Barrett, PhD, AGAF, was appointed the vice dean for research at the UC Davis School of Medicine in November 2021. In this role, Barrett is responsible for implementing key initiatives and fostering partnerships across UC Davis Health, while also leading the medical school’s collaborative efforts to develop UC Davis’ Aggie Square research program.
Barrett is an internationally recognized scholar in gastrointestinal physiology and has published extensively and received numerous awards for her academic contributions as well as her teaching, administrative skills and mentoring. Her research interests have centered on the physiology and pathophysiology of the intestinal epithelium and their relevance to inflammatory bowel diseases and diarrheal diseases, and have resulted in more than 300 publications.
A native of the United Kingdom, Barrett received her Bachelor of Science and doctoral degree from University College London. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, she joined the faculty of UC San Diego School of Medicine in 1985 and became a professor of medicine in 1996. During her tenure at UC San Diego, Barrett held numerous leadership roles including the dean of the Graduate Division and the vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine.
Barrett has served in leadership roles at AGA throughout her career, and is the former chair of the AGA Publications Committee, the AGA Ethics and Audit Committees, and served twice as director of the Academic Skills Workshop. She was recognized with AGA’s top research award, the AGA Distinguished Achievement Award in Basic Science in 2021.
At-Large Councillor for Development and Growth
Lawrence Kosinski, MD, MBA, AGAF
SonarMD
Chicago, Illinois
A serial entrepreneur and thought leader in the world of value-based payment, Lawrence Kosinski, MD, MBA, AGAF, currently serves as chief medical officer of SonarMD, the leading value-based care coordination solution for complex chronic diseases. He founded SonarMD in 2014 to make it easier for specialists and patients to work together to manage symptomatic chronic illness and prevent clinical deterioration, improving health outcomes and lowering the cost of care.
Kosinski has more than 35 years of experience practicing gastroenterology in suburban Chicago. He began his career in a small, three-physician GI practice and built it along with others into the state’s largest, the 50-physician Illinois Gastroenterology Group.
Dr. Kosinski serves on CMS’ Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) to help develop bold, new Medicare payment models. He has been an active member of AGA for nearly 40 years, and serves as Councillor At-Large for Development and Growth.
Dr. Kosinski earned his MD from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine and an MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
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
Sheryl Pfeil, MD, AGAF
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, Ohio
Sheryl A. Pfeil, MD received her bachelor’s degree from Miami University and her medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her fellowship in Gastroenterology at University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. After beginning her career at Case Western Reserve University, she joined the faculty at The Ohio State University where she is currently a professor of medicine and practicing gastroenterologist.
Dr. Pfeil has 30 years of experience in medical education, leading medical student, resident and fellow education. She is the director of the Clinical Skills Education and Assessment Center at Ohio State and has received the Master Clinician, Master Educator and Lifetime Achievement Award in Education. Her educational research interests include professional development, training and assessment methods, and virtual education.
She has been an AGA member for 30 years, serving on the Education and Training Committee, the Advisory Council (past Chair) for the Academy of Educators, as Co-Chair of the Future Leaders Program and on the editorial board for Gastro Hep Advances. In 2022, she joined the AGA Institute Governing Board as the education and training councillor.
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
| 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 |
