Meet our new chair
Douglas J. Robertson, MD, MPH, AGAF
AGA Institute Council Chair
VA Medical Center, White River Junction & Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
“For me, Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) is about connection. Connection to the newest developments in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology and gastrointestinal endoscopy. It is also about connection to the best science that underpins developments in those fields. Finally, it is about connection to colleagues across the globe that work in the clinic, classroom, and laboratory to either prevent GI disease or improve the care of those afflicted with it. My goal, as AGA Institute Council Chair, is to support that process of meaningfully connecting each attendee to the meeting. Working with our outstanding AGA council members, we will create a scientific agenda that presents the best science in our field in an approachable way and within an environment that invigorates.”
Dr. Robertson will serve as council chair for three years (May 2024-May 2027; DDW 2025, 2026 and 2027).
Section leadership
We are pleased to announce the results of the elections held recently by the AGA Institute Council, the driving force behind AGA’s programming at DDW.
We welcome nine members into their new roles as section vice chairs, joining the existing 17 Council members.
Each new vice chair will serve a two-year term that begins immediately following this year’s DDW meeting and extends through DDW 2026. Following their term as vice chair, they will move into the role of section chair for an additional two years through DDW 2028.
We are also pleased to announce the members joining nominating committees during the 2026 nomination/election cycle. The chairs of the nominating committee will be the immediate past section chairs, whom we also recognize and thank for their service and dedication to the section and the council.
BASIC & CLINICAL INTESTINAL DISORDERS (BCID)
Uma Sundaram, MD
Vice Chair
Marshall University School of Medicine
Nominating committee members
- Colleen Renee Kelly, MD, AGAF, Chair
- Amy Engevik, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina
- Ravinder Gill, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Madhusudan Grover, MD, Mayo Clinic
- Lisa Strate, MD, Harborview Medical Center
CLINICAL PRACTICE (CP)
Linda Anh Nguyen, MD
Vice Chair
Stanford University School of Medicine
Nominating committee members
- Gary W. Falk, MD, MS, AGAF, Chair
- Megan Adams, MD, JD, MSc, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System Endoscopy Unit
- Mohammad Bilal, MD, Minneapolis VA Health Care System
- Carolyn Newberry, MD, Weill Cornell Medical Center
- Adam Weizman, MD, MSc, Mount Sinai Hospital
ENDOSCOPY, TECHNOLOGY & IMAGING (ETI)
Vivek Kaul, MD, AGAF
Vice Chair
University of Rochester Medical Center
Nominating committee members
- Irving Waxman, MD, Chair
- Sushovan Guha, MD, PhD, University of Texas at Houston
- Pichamol Jirapinyo, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Vladimir Kushnir, MD, Washington University St Louis Barnes Jewish Hospital
- Andrew Storm, MD, Mayo Clinic
IMMUNOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY & INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES (IMIBD)
Florian Rieder, MD
Vice Chair
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Nominating committee members
- Fernando S. Velayos, MD, AGAF, Chair
- Brigid Boland, MD, University of California, San Diego
- Karen Edelblum, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Michael Kattah, MD, PhD, UCSF Gastroenterology
- Andres Yarur, MD, Cedars Sinai Medical Center
LIVER & BILIARY (LB)
Don Rockey, MD
Vice Chair
Medical University of South Carolina
Nominating committee members
- Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, AGAF, Chair
- Brett Fortune, MD, MSc, Montefiore Medical Center
- Ruben Hernaez, MD, MPH, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine
- Cynthia Moylan, MD, MHS, MS, Duke University
- Douglas Simonetto, MD, Mayo Clinic Rochester
MICROBIOME & MICROBIAL THERAPY (MMT)
Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH
Vice Chair
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Nominating committee members
- Purna Kashyap, MBBS, AGAF, Chair
- Melinda Engevik, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina
- Christian Jobin, PhD, University of Florida
- Vanessa Leone, PhD, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Jun Yu, MD, PhD, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
OBESITY, METABOLISM & NUTRITION (OMN)
Berkeley Limketkai, MD, PhD
Vice Chair
University of California Los Angeles
Nominating committee members
- Andres Jose Acosta, MD, PhD, Chair
- Barham Abu Dayyeh, MD, MPH, Mayo Clinic
- Alan Buchman, MD, MSPH, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Octavia Pickett-Blakely, MD, MHS, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Robert Shulman, MD, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine
PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY (PGDB)
Kelli VanDussen, PhD
Vice Chair
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
For more information about these and the 13 sections and for information about how to get involved or submit recommendations, please visit Council & Sections.
