Journal of Gastroenterology and its Complications

Dr. Tian Wei Cheng Brian Anthony is a distinguished general surgeon at Singapore General Hospital, with a robust academic and professional background. He earned his MBBS with Surgery and Neuroscience Distinctions in 2012 and subsequently obtained his MRCS (Ireland) in both Singapore and Penang in 2013. His continued pursuit of excellence led to a Diploma in Dermatology with Distinction (UK) in 2015, followed by a Masters of Medicine (Surgery) in 2016. Dr. Cheng is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) and the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (FAMS), both attained in 2019. His expertise is further complemented by advanced training in robotic surgery, as evidenced by his Intuitive DaVinci Xi Global Equivalency Console Surgeon Certificate (2023). In 2024, he completed the prestigious Executive Education Program at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on acute care surgery.  

Research: Acute Care Surgery

Dr. Mahesh Goel is an Associate Professor of Surgical Oncology and is the chief of hepatobiliary surgery at the Tata Memorial Hospital, a premier cancer hospital in India and Asia pacific region. He has done his under-graduation from Seth G S Medical College and KEM Hospital. He received his specialist Oncology training from the Tata Memorial Hospital for 7 years and later joined Bombay hospital as HPB surgeon specializing in GI Oncology. He was a visiting surgeon at Starzl Institute UPMC, Pittsburg, USA for 3 months.He returned to join Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai in 2006 and along with Professor Mathur was instrumental in establishing a successful liver transplant program there, resulting in the first adult to adult live related liver transplant being performed in Western India. He rejoined his alma-mater, Tata Memorial Center, in June 2010, as a specialist HPB and Liver transplant surgeon in the Department of GI Oncology, to give thrust to the Hepatobiliary surgery and Liver transplant program for oncology in India at the TMC. At present, he is the chief Hepatobiliary surgeon and is heading an HPB and GI Surgical Oncology unit at Tata Memorial Hospital. He has a special interest in resectional surgery for liver tumors and gall bladder cancer and has performed more than 400 resectional surgeries for Liver tumors and more than 500 surgeries for gall bladder cancer in the last 5 years. He has performed the first Robotic radical cholecystectomy and robotic liver resection in India. Currently, he has completed more than 30 robotic hepatobiliary resections using the da Vinci Xi system. He has been invited for lectures in India and abroad and has published papers in indexed national and international peer reviewed journals. In addition, he has contributed to numerous book chapters.

Research: Dr. Mahesh Goel's research interests are Chronic pancreatitis, Pancreatic cancer  

Dr. William B. Silverman is presently working as a Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine in Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, United States. He is also Visiting Professor in many Educational Institutions. He is also working as Director in ERCP Weekly Conference (UPMC; UIHC) and also State Governor in American College of Gastroenterology. He also recently honored with Patient’s Choice Physician. He is also working in Committees like National Affairs Committee, American College of Gastroenterology, World Endoscopy Organization Outreach Committee, World Endoscopy Organization Outreach & Africa Ad hoc Committee. He is also serving as Editorial Board member for many International Journals. He had more than 60 publications and 6 book chapters in his name. He almost has 100 abstracts in his name. 

Research: His research interests are gastroenterology concern mainly interventional pancreaticobiliary issues.

Dr. Richard K. Gilroy is currently working as a Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, United States. He received his training at University of Queensland and Princess Alexandra Hospital in Queensland, Australia. He maintains active membership in the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, United Network for Organ Sharing, International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS), and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD). Among his many honors, he holds the position of United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Medical Director of Liver Transplantation and sits on the US Food and Drug Administration Gastrointestinal Drug Advisory Committee. He has served as a section head on the abstract review committee for ILTS, has been a reviewer for the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and currently serves as a reviewer for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, American Journal of Transplantation, Liver Transplantation, and Journal of Hepatology. He has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters, and presentations. He has also been a principal investigator or sub-investigator for various studies in the areas of short bowel syndrome, liver transplantation, hepatitis C, and other liver diseases. He currently holds a research grant from the National Institutes of Health Liver Failure Studies Group and is a mentor for an AASLD Nurse Practitioner Training Grant.

Research: His principle research focuses on developing and piloting clinical trials of innovative interventions that improve patient’s health outcomes and organ allograft utility. Treatment studies involve Hepatitis C, liver transplantation and short bowel syndrome. In addition, ongoing research endeavors emphasize economic performance and optimizing drug utilization as well as liver donation and allocation policy. The outcomes of experimental subjects in my clinical trials range from improved quality of life to sustained viral response, improved economic practice and utilization review. The goal of these studies is to provide a comprehensive multilevel analysis that might influence clinical and economic performance in a positive manner. My NIH research funding includes a grant from the Liver Failure Studies Group.

Dr. Saleh A. Naser is presently working as a Professor of Medicine and Graduate Coordinator in Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at University of Central Florida, United States. He is also Chair in The Florida Academy of Sciences (FAS) and also member in The Rogers Medical Intelligence Solutions (RMIS). He also has a Professional Membership in many more International Committees. He is also acting as HOC Reviewer in more than 35 International Journals. He has many funding support agencies for his research support. He has more than 35 peer reviewed publications in his name.

Research: His research interests includes role of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in the etiology of Crohn’s disease, a chronic debilitating intestinal disorder.

Dr. Joel E. Richter is currently Professor of Medicine and the Hugh F. Culverhouse Chair for Esophagology at the University of South Florida in Tampa.  Joining the faculty in September 2011, he is also Director, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition and Director, Joy McCann Culverhouse Center for Swallowing Disorders. He received his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas. He completed his internship at the Naval Regional Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He went on to complete his residency in medicine and fellowship in medicine (gastroenterology) at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Among past academic appointments, he was also chairman, Department of Gastroenterology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio, for 10 years and Chairman of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA for 7 years. He was co-editor in chief for the American Journal of Gastroenterology from 2003-2009. He was named to the Best Doctors in America for gastroenterology multiple times. He was co-editor in chief for the American Journal of Gastroenterology from 2003-2009. He was named to the Best Doctors in America for gastroenterology multiple times.

Research: His research interest includes Gastroesophageal reflux disease, Achalasia, eosinophilic esophagitis, esophageal motility disorders and high resolution manometry and pH testing, Barretts esophagus.

Dr. Scot Michael Lewey is presently working as Medical Director in Adult Gastroenterology Program at Castle Rock Adventist Hospital and also works at Peak Gastroenterology Associates, United States. He is a board certified gastroenterologist in clinical practice for over twenty five years. He has participated in clinical research and medical education and holds the academic title of clinical professor of medicine at two Osteopathic medical schools. He is also certified with American Board of Internal Medicine, Subspecialty, Gastroenterology, Certified Physician Executive (CPE), American Board of Pediatrics and National Board of Examiners for Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons. Recently, he has been honored with Fellow, American Gastroenterological Association (AGAF), 2014. He has published several book chapters, scientific articles and abstracts as well written numerous online articles for patient education.

Research: His clinical interests include Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, food allergies and intolerance, eosinophilic disorders of the digestive tract, inflammatory bowel disease, role of microbes in digestive disease and health, and endoscopy.

Dr. David Gabbaizadeh is presently a member in the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition and also President to Huntington OBS Endoscopy center & Senior Vice President at Huntington Medical Group, USA. He is a board certified gastroenterologist with over 20 years of clinical practice. He has participated in clinical and basic research on pancreatitis, IBD, hepatitis C, colon cancer and endoscopic procedures.  He is certified with American Board of Internal Medicine in Gastroenterology and is Fellow of American College of Gastroenterology.  He has authored several book chapters, scientific articles and abstracts, as well as written numerous articles for patient education.

Dr. Anastasios Koulaouzidis is presently working as Associate Specialist Gastroenterologist at The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. He obtained his MD from the Medical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) in 1995. His Doctorate in Medicine (DM) is from the University of Edinburgh (2014); he currently works towards a Doctorate in Philosophy (Lund University, Sweden). He became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (UK) in 2004 and a Fellow of the same College in 2013. He is also a Fellow of the European Board of Gastroenterology (2009) and the Royal Society for Public Health (2013). He is also clinical lead of the capsule endoscopy service, and Honorary Clinical Fellow in the School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh. He has published extensively on capsule endoscopy and has co-authored several relevant book chapters. He serves in the editorial and/or advisory board of many specialty journals. His research interests include the clinical applications, concept development, quality improvement, 3D imaging and other software diagnostics in capsule endoscopy. Other specialty interests include anaemia, microscopic colitis, and conventional/device-assisted enteroscopy.

Dr. Alba A. Trespalacios is presently working as a Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia. She almost has 16 years of experience in teaching. She is also working as Academic Director in Medical Microbiology Specialization, Director of Bacteriology Laboratory and Director in Microorganism Culture Collection (CMPUJ) at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. She had research experience on Genetics, Immunology, Bacteriology, Molecular characterization of Helicobacter pylori, Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases. She is also a Member of Infectious Diseases Research Group at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. She is acting as a reviewer to many international journals. She had published almost 32 articles under her name and 4 book chapters. She has delivered almost 15 Paper Presentations in Conferences, Seminars and Invited Lectures.

Research: Her research interests include Helicobacter pylori and related gastroduodenal diseases, Gastric cancer and the role of Helicobacter pylori infection in its development, H. pylori eradication and resistant mechanisms to antimicrobials agents, Gastrointestinal infections and their relationship with microbiome, Human microbiome, Diagnosis and pathogenesis of bacterial infectious diseases, molecular biology, molecular characterization of Helicobacter pylori, conservation and preservation of microorganisms, Teaching and research in microbiology.

Dr. Massimo Rugge is full professor of Pathology at the Medical School of the Padova University, Italy, where he chairs the Surgical Pathology & Cytopathology Department, being also in charge of the Residency program in Pathology. He is the Dean of the University School of “Sciences of Diagnostic Techniques”. Massimo Rugge received his medical education at the University of Padova and his specialty training in Pathology and in Oncology at the Genova and at the Padova Universities, respectively. He has been visiting professor at the Department of Pathology Universitaire Ziekenhuizen, in Leuven-Belgium; visiting professor at the Department of Pathology of the Louisiana University, New Orleans-USA; visiting professor at Department of Pathology of the Veterans Administration Hospital-Baylor College of Medicine, Houston-USA. Massimo Rugge is non-tenure professor of Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine Houston-TX, USA Massimo Rugge is active fellow/member of the Italian Societies of Pathology, Gastroenterology, Hospital Gastroenterologists, Pediatric Gastroenterologists, and of American Association for Cancer Research, American College of Gastroenterology, Japanese Gastric Cancer Association. He has been Italian Governor of the ACG. Massimo Rugge has authored more than 360 scientific articles, acted as Guest Editor of a number of international scientific journals, co-authored several books, and edited a number of others. He is member of the Editorial Board of international scientific Journal of Gastroenterology, Oncology, Post-graduate teaching activities, and Pathology.

Research: His research interests include Non-neoplastic, pre-neoplastic, neoplastic, and transplant pathology of the gastrointestinal tract and liver are the main fields of his scientific interest. He is also interested in the epistemology of the diagnostic process in histopathology.

Dr. Chi-Hin CHO is presently working as Professor and Associate Director in the School of Biomedical Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China. He received his under- and post-graduate studies in Taiwan, America and Hong Kong and obtained his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 1978. He went through his postdoctoral training in Canada and started his first faculty position in the Yang Ming Medical College and Veterans General Hospital Taipei in 1981. He joined HKU in the Department of Pharmacology from 1984 and became Chair Professor of Pharmacology in 2000. Later he joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2007 as chairman and Professor of Pharmacology until 2009. Professionally he was the President (2006-2010) and is now the Chair of Presidential Council (2012-2014) of the Gastrointestinal Pharmacology Section of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and visiting and honorary professors of Peking University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Beijing Capital University of Medical Science, the Fourth Military Medical University, Virginia Tech, University of Maryland and University of California. He also is an Editorial Board member and associate editor in more than 20 journals in the fields of Gastroenterology and Pharmacology. He has published more than 360 peer-reviewed articles and 58 reviews in journals and is editor of six books in gastrointestinal ulcer and cancer. He also holds 2 patents concerning drug treatment for gastrointestinal disorders in CUHK.

Research: His current research interests focus on drug development for inflammation and cancers in the gastrointestinal tract.

Dr. Zong Jie Cui is presently working as a Professor in the Institute of Cell Biology at Beijing Normal University, China. He is also Founding Director for the Institute of Cell Biology at Beijing Normal University. He is also honored with Young Scientist Merrit Award, NSFC, 1998. He got a Special Stipend from The Chinese State Council, 1999.  He is also an Editorial Board member in Prog Physiol Sci, Acta Biophys Sin, World J Gastroenterol and The Pancreapedia journals. He is also a Council member in association of Chinese Biophysical Society. He is also President in Chinese Commission for Photobiology (a section of The Chinese Biophysical Society). He also published his articles in various International publications.

Research: His research interest includes Cytosolic calcium oscillations, Molecular basis of exocytosis, Singlet oxygen as a signaling molecule, Modulation of synaptic transmission by toosendanin, Contact regulation between neighbouring cell types.

Dr. Yaron Niv is presently working as Clinical Professor in the department of Medicine at Tel-Aviv University, Israel. He is also Director of the Integrated Gastroenterology Service Rabin Medical Center and Clalit Health Services and also Director, Department of Gastroenterology Rabin Medical Center Beilinson Hospital. He has almost 21 years of experience in the field of Gastroenterology. He is also working as Deputy CEO of RMC, Director of Medical Personnel, Risk, Quality and Accreditation. He is also a member in many International Gastroenterology Societies. He is acting as Editorial Board member to many International Journals. He has published more than 200 papers & 150 abstracts.

Research: His research interests include Mucin and the gastrointestinal tract, Gastric acid secretion and alkaline-tide, Colorectal cancer screening and prevention, NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors (COXIBs) and gastropathy, Helicobacter pylori eradication in adults, children and the older population.

Dr. Hongyu Li is presently working as an Associate Professor in Department of Gastroenterology at Shenyang Northern Hospital, China. She is also working as Vice-Director of Department of Gastroenterology at Shenyang Northern Hospital and also Head of Liver Disease Ward and ICU. She is also working in Clinical expertise lay in Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding (UGIB) caused by Liver Cirrhosis, Severe acute pancreatitis, Intestinal Disease, Refractory Ascites and other Digestive system severe diseases. She is experienced at Endoscopy technology. Her Teaching experience includes Principle supervisor of 3 master’s postgraduate students, co-supervisor of more than 20 master, PhD students and Post-doctoral research assistant at Dalian Medical University. She is also a standing committee member in Gastroenterology branch of the Liaoning Province Medical Association.

Research: Her research interests includes Investigated functions of various oncogenes, proteins and cytokines in pancreatic cancer’s proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, metastasis and invasion, proposed that different genes have similar functions in same cancer phenotype while same gene has different functions in different cancer phenotypes.  Investigated the pathways involving the survival, invasion and metastasis of dropped pancreatic cancer nests, tried to explain the character of pancreatic cancer’s malignancy and metastasis. Explored the possible regulatory function of nm23, ME491, MRP-1 and KAI1in pancreatic cancer metastasis, found that KAI1 can inhibit the metastasis in early stage. 

Dr. Grace Lai-Hung Wong is presently working as Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. She is also specialist and worked as Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Prince of Wales Hospital. She is also recently awarded with Distinguished Research Paper Award for Young Investigators, Hong Kong College of Physicians. She almost published 142 publications under her name.

Research: Her main research interest includes non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis, hepatocelluar carcinoma, and chronic hepatitis B. 

Dr. Alfred Sze-Lok Cheng is presently working as an Associate Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), China. He completed his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Joseph Sung in the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at CUHK in 2002 and went on postdoctoral training characterizing the roles of cyclooxygenase-2 in hepatitis B-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. From 2004-2007, he was trained as a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Tim Huang’s lab in the Ohio State University, USA, where he developed an integrated genome-wide and bioinformatics approach to interrogate gene regulatory network in cancer. His research interests are transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms of carcinogenesis. He has received several scientific awards including the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Scholar-in-Training Awards for 3 consecutive years (2004-2006) and Travel Grants/Oral Free Paper Prize from the United European Gastroenterology for the past 3 years (2011-2013). He is also a recipient of the Most Promising Young Investigator Award by the Food and Health Bureau, The Government of Hong Kong SAR at 2014. Dr. Alfred Cheng published in international journals including Molecular Cell, Nature Genetics, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Cancer Cell, Cancer Research, Gastroenterology and Gut. His research focuses on the transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms of gastrointestinal carcinogenesis.

Dr. Fazal Khawaja is presently Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and also Director of GI Endoscopy Unit at Dr. Hamid S. Al-Ahmady Hospital, Saudi Arabia. He is also experienced as Physician with background in clinical and academic gastroenterology, including advanced and therapeutic endoscopy, internal medicine, instruction, administrative management, supervision and previous overseas experiences. He almost has 37 years of experience in the field of Gastroenterology. He is also member in many International and National Societies. He almost had 33 International publications and 63 national publications in his name. He had delivered 40 scientific presentations in International Conferences.    

Dr Sonal Gupta is the Assistant Professor of Pathology and member of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Centre for Pancreatic Cancer Research, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, USA. After obtaining his PhD degree in Immunology from University of Illinois at Chicago, he did his postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University and later joined the Department of Pathology as faculty. He published numerous papers and book chapters in the area of immune regulation and pancreatic cancer.  Recently, he moved to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to continue his translational research on pancreatic cancer. The overall goal of his research is to functionally annotate some of the most recurrent driver mutations in pancreatic cancer using wide variety of biologically relevant in vitro and animal models and exploit the emerging biological insight to develop novel targeted therapeutics. His current focus is to elucidate the molecular basis of how the dysregulation of epigenetic regulators affect pancreatic cancer development, progression and metastasis. Another focus area of his research is to understand how pancreatic cancer cells evade host anti-tumor immune response.

Dr. Laura Iris Cosen-Binker has been Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology & Enzymology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and of Molecular and Cell Biology at Boston University, USA where she was a Voting Member for the Boston University Medical Campus' Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC). She is an active Scientist at CBRHC Research Center. She has been honored with more than 15 International awards. She has more than 34 publications and 3 book chapters under her name. She has delivered many lectures and presentations in many International Conferences. She is also a member in many International Associations.

Research: Her research interest includes areas of inflammation, cell stress, cell motility, exocytosis and secretion, exocrine pancreatic pathology comprises both acute and chronic pancreatitis, destruction of the pancreatic parenchyma, maldigestion, chronic pain, diabetes mellitus and increased risk for pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Nikolaos T. Pyrsopoulos is presently working as Associate Professor and also Chief in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at University of Rutgers, USA. He was also Medical Director of Liver Transplantation and the Hepatology Fellowship Program Director at Florida Hospital where he was one of the founding members of the liver transplant program and the Hepatology Fellowship in Central Florida. He formerly served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami and Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. He completed his medical degrees (MD and PhD) at the University of Athens in Greece, followed by residency and fellowships at Sismanogleio General Hospital in Athens and the University of Miami School of Medicine. He is board certified in the areas of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology. He received his M.B.A. from the University of Miami School of Business. His publications include various scientific journals, including the Journal of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Transplantation and one of the authors of the unique in the field of abdominal transplantation book: Intestinal and multivisceral transplantation. He is also a Fellow of The American College of Physicians, and the American Gastroenterological Association. He is a member of various medical associations such as the American Association of the Study of Liver diseases among others.

Dr. Ming-Jen Chen is presently working as Assistant Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology in the Department of Gastroenterology at Mackay Medical College, Taiwan. He was also trained at World Gastroenterology Organization in Portugal in 2013. He is also a member in many International Societies. He also had one patent in Taiwan under his name. He almost had 80 publications in his name.

Research: His research interest includes Endoscopic resection of GI tract neoplasm (ESD, EMR, polypectomy), Achalasia (Endoscopic balloon dilatation), GI mucosal lesion and inflammation, Esophageal cancer, Gastric cancer, Helicobacter pylori, Apoptosis, Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition, Peritoneal carcinomatosis, Total parenteral nutrition, EBM (Evidence based medicine).

Dr. Aaron P. Thrift is presently working as Assistant Professor in the Duncan Cancer Center Department of medicine at Gastroenterology Section at University of Baylor College of Medicine, USA. His Ph.D is completed from The University of Queensland, Australia. He has been honored with Dean’s Commendation, University of Southern Queensland and Faculty of Science Medal, University of Southern Queensland. He also had membership in American Association for Cancer Research, Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium, Society for Epidemiologic Research, Statistical Society of Australia, The Australian Society for Medical Research and The European Association for Cancer Research. He had published almost 24 publications in his name. 

Research: His research interest includes Barrett’s esophagus, Esophageal adenocarcinoma, Epidemiology and outcomes of digestive disorders, Genetic epidemiology, Risk prediction and Screening and surveillance of GI cancers.