Academy of Educators
The AGA Academy of Educators is the preeminent home for GI academic clinicians. We recognize excellence in education through the sharing of best practices, offering annual grants and supporting career advancement.
Your home for academic excellence
Founded in 2011, the AGA Academy of Educators supports the personal and professional needs of clinical educators in gastroenterology and hepatology. We are dedicated to strengthening pedagogy, mentorship, assessment, communication and career development.
Our members:
- Create tailored solutions to address their needs with an Academy educational grant.
- Share best practices during the annual plenary session at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW).
- Practice effective teaching methods using on-demand resources at AGA University.
- Cultivate a professional network of mentors and advice for career advancement opportunities.
- Receive recognition for their dedication to excellence in teaching.
All AGA members are eligible to join the Academy. Enhance your teaching skills, gain recognition and advance your career as an academic medical professional.
Academy Resources
Academy resources are publicly available at AGA University. Discover teaching tools, scholarly work, sample CVs and more.
Each year, four $1,000 educational grants are awarded to Academy of Educator members to fund the development of gastroenterology- or hepatology-related course or curricular materials, teaching or assessment tools, mentorship programs and research projects in education.
Awardees are asked to reflect on their experience at the AGA Academy of Educators plenary session during DDW. Previously awarded projects include:
- Confronting imposter syndrome: the case for increased emphasis on mentorship for underrepresented minorities interested in gastroenterology
- Development of a faculty video resource for assessment and development of endoscopy-oriented clinical reasoning
- Rethinking “bored” review: direct delivery of clinical cases to improve gastroenterology trainees’ education
- A comprehensive original experiential learning curriculum for Barrett’s Esophagus and determination of learning curves for gastroenterology trainees (core-be)
- Tool to aid decision making for providers and family members of patients requiring enteral feeding at the end of life
Grant applications are open until Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. EDT with award notifications sent in early October. All trainee and early career academy members are eligible to apply. Candidates should provide the following:
– Curriculum vitae
– A 1,200 word (max) description your proposed education project including:
- Goals and objectives of the project
- An analysis of the educational gap that will be addressed by the proposed project
- A discussion of the specific curriculum, program or research project proposed
- An explanation of how you will evaluate/assess the proposed project
- A detailed budget stating how the money will be used (educational resources, software, etc.).
– A letter of support from your project mentor (*for trainee applicants)
The Academy of Educators plenary session at DDW is open to all academic clinicians and medical educators attending the meeting. While the topic changes annually, each session highlights a relevant issue in teaching and techniques for mastering specific methodologies. Previous sessions include:
- Achieving competence through learner engaged teaching methods.
- Valuing educational leadership.
- Strategies for meeting different generational needs.
- Tips for implementing technology and gamification to medical education.
The plenary also provides a unique forum for networking among senior Academy mentors and potential mentees while education grant recipients present key takeaways from their grant-supported work.
Advisory Board
PROGRAM CHAIRS
Sheryl A. Pfeil, MD, AGAF, Director, Professor of Clinical Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Wexner Medical Center
Arthur DeCross, MD, AGAF, Co-Director, Professor of Medicine, University of Rochester
Christen Klochan Dilly, MD, MEHP, Co-Director elect, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine
MEMBERS
Frank Gress, MD, AGAF, Professor of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center
Joshua Melson, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases Rush University Medical Center
Sarina Pasricha, MD, Fellow, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology University of North Carolina Hospitals
Matthew Whitson, MD, Assistant Professor, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Chris E. Forsmark, MD, AGAF, Chair of the AGA Institute Education & Training Committee; Chief, Division of GI, Hepatology & Nutrition at the University of Florida (Education & Training Committee liaison)
David A. Katzka, MD, AGA Education & Training Councillor; Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic (Governing Board liaison)
View the full list of charter members.
For questions about Academy programs or membership, please email academyedu@gastro.org.
