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Receive $300,000 for your research in health disparities

Applications for the research scholar award are due by Nov. 9, 2020.

The American Gastroenterological Association Research Foundation is pleased to announce an important addition to its prestigious awards portfolio. The AGA Research Scholar Award in Digestive Disease Health Disparities supports early-career faculty dedicated to investigating digestive diseases or disorders that disproportionately affect racial or ethnic minority populations in North America.

Applicants must have a full-time faculty (or equivalent) position and may be performing any type of research (clinical, basic, or translational). Awardees will receive a total of $300,000 over 3 years with funding to commence in July 2021. The deadline to apply is Nov. 9, 2020.

This award is just one example of how AGA is helping to improve patient care for those who need it most. Support AGA Giving Day and learn more about the AGA Equity Project – a multiyear effort spanning all aspects of our organization to achieve equity and eradicate disparities in digestive diseases.
 

Save the date for DDW Virtual™

In 2021, Digestive Disease Week® moves online as a fully virtual meeting with slightly new dates: May 21-23, 2021.

For more than 50 years, the digestive disease community has connected over the best science, education, and networking at DDW, and we’re confident this year will be no exception. In fact, we’re excited by opportunities the new format provides to learn, share, and connect with each other.

Watch the DDW website for more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, check out our FAQs about DDW Virtual™. If you have a question we didn’t answer, please submit a ticket to our help desk. 

DDW is jointly sponsored by AGA, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.
 

Virtual 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress® now open for registration

Help forge the roadmap to advance prevention, treatments, and cures for all patients living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Join the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, AGA, and a true community of friends and colleagues at the premier conference on IBD. The fourth annual Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®, taking place virtually Jan. 21-24, 2021, is now open for registration.

The 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress virtual experience will look a little different but will still bring you all the benefits and quality programming you have come to expect. The Congress will offer 4 days of learning, with more than 100 speakers and more than 200 expected abstracts – all from the safety of your home or work. Now at an even more affordable price, access from anywhere, and the ability to hear from the top leaders in the IBD field – this is a unique opportunity to join us as we come together virtually.

By moving our event online, we can now pass on greater savings to you. Registration for the conference provides you with substantial savings over last year and access to all sessions and networking opportunities. This virtual experience will bring our community of IBD professionals together in an engaging, interactive setting which will include breakout rooms, receptions, and much more.

The 2021 congress committee chair David T. Rubin, MD, AGAF, University of Chicago, and cochair Bruce E. Sands, MD, MS, AGAF, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, lead a faculty that includes thought leaders in the fields of GI, research investigation, surgery, pediatrics, advanced practice, IBD nursing, diet and nutrition, mental health, radiology, pathology, and more.

Register and get inspired to improve skills and patient outcomes, learn practical information you can immediately implement, hear what’s on the horizon in potential IBD treatments, discover fresh perspectives from multidisciplinary faculty and attendees.

You don’t want to miss the 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, connecting virtually on Jan. 21-24, 2021.

Register today to save before the early bird deadline of Friday, Nov. 6.

Learn more, submit an abstract, and register by visiting crohnscolitiscongress.org.
 

 

 

AGA releases largest real-world report on safety and effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplantation

About 90% of patients tracked in the AGA FMT National Registry were cured of Clostridioides difficile infection with few serious side effects.

AGA has released the first results from the NIH-funded AGA Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) National Registry, the largest real-world study on the safety and effectiveness of FMT. Published in Gastroenterology, the registry reported that FMT led to a cure of C. difficile infection in 90% of patients across 20 North American FMT practice sites. Few serious side effects were reported.

“While the value of fecal microbiota transplantation for treating recurrent C. difficile infection is clear from research studies, the potential long-term consequences of altering a patient’s gut microbiota are not fully known,” says Colleen R. Kelly, MD, AGAF, associate professor of medicine at Brown University, Providence, R.I. and coprincipal investigator of the AGA FMT National Registry. “Releasing the initial results of the AGA FMT National Registry is an important step toward understanding the true risks and benefits of microbiota therapeutics in a real-world setting.”

This new report details effectiveness and safety outcomes from the first 259 patients enrolled in the registry between December 2017 and September 2019. Almost all participants received FMT using an unknown donor from stool banks. The most common method of FMT delivery was colonoscopy followed by upper endoscopy. Of the 222 participants who returned for the 1-month follow-up, 200 participants (90%) had their C. difficile infection cured with 197 of those requiring only a single FMT. Infections were reported in 11 participants, but only 2 were thought to be possibly related to the procedure. FMT response was deemed durable, with recurrence of C. difficile infection in the 6 months after successful FMT occurring in only 4% of participants. This data includes patients with comorbidities, such as IBD and immunocompromised status, who are typically excluded from FMT clinical trials.

“These initial results show a high success rate of FMT in the real-world setting. We’ll continue to track these patients for 10 years to assess long-term safety, which will be critical to determining the full safety profile of FMT,” added Dr. Kelly.
 

AGA raises concerns about recent executive order

We are speaking out to ensure a brighter and more equitable future.

AGA is concerned by the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping issued on Sept. 22, 2020. This order, while confirming that training of the federal workforce to create an inclusive workspace is beneficial, also leads to a misguided perception of the purpose and outcomes of this type of training. In addition, it may have unintended ramifications for institutions receiving federal research funding.

We believe it is critical and necessary to understand both the positive and negative realities of our nation’s history, so that together we can forge forward into a brighter, and more equitable future.

As highlighted in AGA’s commentary published in Gastroenterology, AGA believes that equity is defined by fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all, acknowledging that there are historically underserved and underrepresented populations. Equity requires identifying and eliminating barriers that have created unbalanced conditions and prevented the full participation of some groups in order to provide equal opportunity for all groups.

By default, teaching and practicing equity, diversity and inclusion aims not to place any group above or below any other group, or to create division. It rather seeks to achieve fairness and understanding, and fully recognize the dignity of all groups, identities, and individuals.

AGA stands with the Association of American Medical Colleges in our commitment to being a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and antiracist organization.

Our commitment to this issue is manifest in the AGA Equity Project.

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Receive $300,000 for your research in health disparities

Applications for the research scholar award are due by Nov. 9, 2020.

The American Gastroenterological Association Research Foundation is pleased to announce an important addition to its prestigious awards portfolio. The AGA Research Scholar Award in Digestive Disease Health Disparities supports early-career faculty dedicated to investigating digestive diseases or disorders that disproportionately affect racial or ethnic minority populations in North America.

Applicants must have a full-time faculty (or equivalent) position and may be performing any type of research (clinical, basic, or translational). Awardees will receive a total of $300,000 over 3 years with funding to commence in July 2021. The deadline to apply is Nov. 9, 2020.

This award is just one example of how AGA is helping to improve patient care for those who need it most. Support AGA Giving Day and learn more about the AGA Equity Project – a multiyear effort spanning all aspects of our organization to achieve equity and eradicate disparities in digestive diseases.
 

Save the date for DDW Virtual™

In 2021, Digestive Disease Week® moves online as a fully virtual meeting with slightly new dates: May 21-23, 2021.

For more than 50 years, the digestive disease community has connected over the best science, education, and networking at DDW, and we’re confident this year will be no exception. In fact, we’re excited by opportunities the new format provides to learn, share, and connect with each other.

Watch the DDW website for more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, check out our FAQs about DDW Virtual™. If you have a question we didn’t answer, please submit a ticket to our help desk. 

DDW is jointly sponsored by AGA, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.
 

Virtual 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress® now open for registration

Help forge the roadmap to advance prevention, treatments, and cures for all patients living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Join the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, AGA, and a true community of friends and colleagues at the premier conference on IBD. The fourth annual Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®, taking place virtually Jan. 21-24, 2021, is now open for registration.

The 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress virtual experience will look a little different but will still bring you all the benefits and quality programming you have come to expect. The Congress will offer 4 days of learning, with more than 100 speakers and more than 200 expected abstracts – all from the safety of your home or work. Now at an even more affordable price, access from anywhere, and the ability to hear from the top leaders in the IBD field – this is a unique opportunity to join us as we come together virtually.

By moving our event online, we can now pass on greater savings to you. Registration for the conference provides you with substantial savings over last year and access to all sessions and networking opportunities. This virtual experience will bring our community of IBD professionals together in an engaging, interactive setting which will include breakout rooms, receptions, and much more.

The 2021 congress committee chair David T. Rubin, MD, AGAF, University of Chicago, and cochair Bruce E. Sands, MD, MS, AGAF, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, lead a faculty that includes thought leaders in the fields of GI, research investigation, surgery, pediatrics, advanced practice, IBD nursing, diet and nutrition, mental health, radiology, pathology, and more.

Register and get inspired to improve skills and patient outcomes, learn practical information you can immediately implement, hear what’s on the horizon in potential IBD treatments, discover fresh perspectives from multidisciplinary faculty and attendees.

You don’t want to miss the 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, connecting virtually on Jan. 21-24, 2021.

Register today to save before the early bird deadline of Friday, Nov. 6.

Learn more, submit an abstract, and register by visiting crohnscolitiscongress.org.
 

 

 

AGA releases largest real-world report on safety and effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplantation

About 90% of patients tracked in the AGA FMT National Registry were cured of Clostridioides difficile infection with few serious side effects.

AGA has released the first results from the NIH-funded AGA Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) National Registry, the largest real-world study on the safety and effectiveness of FMT. Published in Gastroenterology, the registry reported that FMT led to a cure of C. difficile infection in 90% of patients across 20 North American FMT practice sites. Few serious side effects were reported.

“While the value of fecal microbiota transplantation for treating recurrent C. difficile infection is clear from research studies, the potential long-term consequences of altering a patient’s gut microbiota are not fully known,” says Colleen R. Kelly, MD, AGAF, associate professor of medicine at Brown University, Providence, R.I. and coprincipal investigator of the AGA FMT National Registry. “Releasing the initial results of the AGA FMT National Registry is an important step toward understanding the true risks and benefits of microbiota therapeutics in a real-world setting.”

This new report details effectiveness and safety outcomes from the first 259 patients enrolled in the registry between December 2017 and September 2019. Almost all participants received FMT using an unknown donor from stool banks. The most common method of FMT delivery was colonoscopy followed by upper endoscopy. Of the 222 participants who returned for the 1-month follow-up, 200 participants (90%) had their C. difficile infection cured with 197 of those requiring only a single FMT. Infections were reported in 11 participants, but only 2 were thought to be possibly related to the procedure. FMT response was deemed durable, with recurrence of C. difficile infection in the 6 months after successful FMT occurring in only 4% of participants. This data includes patients with comorbidities, such as IBD and immunocompromised status, who are typically excluded from FMT clinical trials.

“These initial results show a high success rate of FMT in the real-world setting. We’ll continue to track these patients for 10 years to assess long-term safety, which will be critical to determining the full safety profile of FMT,” added Dr. Kelly.
 

AGA raises concerns about recent executive order

We are speaking out to ensure a brighter and more equitable future.

AGA is concerned by the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping issued on Sept. 22, 2020. This order, while confirming that training of the federal workforce to create an inclusive workspace is beneficial, also leads to a misguided perception of the purpose and outcomes of this type of training. In addition, it may have unintended ramifications for institutions receiving federal research funding.

We believe it is critical and necessary to understand both the positive and negative realities of our nation’s history, so that together we can forge forward into a brighter, and more equitable future.

As highlighted in AGA’s commentary published in Gastroenterology, AGA believes that equity is defined by fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all, acknowledging that there are historically underserved and underrepresented populations. Equity requires identifying and eliminating barriers that have created unbalanced conditions and prevented the full participation of some groups in order to provide equal opportunity for all groups.

By default, teaching and practicing equity, diversity and inclusion aims not to place any group above or below any other group, or to create division. It rather seeks to achieve fairness and understanding, and fully recognize the dignity of all groups, identities, and individuals.

AGA stands with the Association of American Medical Colleges in our commitment to being a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and antiracist organization.

Our commitment to this issue is manifest in the AGA Equity Project.

 

Receive $300,000 for your research in health disparities

Applications for the research scholar award are due by Nov. 9, 2020.

The American Gastroenterological Association Research Foundation is pleased to announce an important addition to its prestigious awards portfolio. The AGA Research Scholar Award in Digestive Disease Health Disparities supports early-career faculty dedicated to investigating digestive diseases or disorders that disproportionately affect racial or ethnic minority populations in North America.

Applicants must have a full-time faculty (or equivalent) position and may be performing any type of research (clinical, basic, or translational). Awardees will receive a total of $300,000 over 3 years with funding to commence in July 2021. The deadline to apply is Nov. 9, 2020.

This award is just one example of how AGA is helping to improve patient care for those who need it most. Support AGA Giving Day and learn more about the AGA Equity Project – a multiyear effort spanning all aspects of our organization to achieve equity and eradicate disparities in digestive diseases.
 

Save the date for DDW Virtual™

In 2021, Digestive Disease Week® moves online as a fully virtual meeting with slightly new dates: May 21-23, 2021.

For more than 50 years, the digestive disease community has connected over the best science, education, and networking at DDW, and we’re confident this year will be no exception. In fact, we’re excited by opportunities the new format provides to learn, share, and connect with each other.

Watch the DDW website for more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, check out our FAQs about DDW Virtual™. If you have a question we didn’t answer, please submit a ticket to our help desk. 

DDW is jointly sponsored by AGA, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.
 

Virtual 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress® now open for registration

Help forge the roadmap to advance prevention, treatments, and cures for all patients living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Join the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, AGA, and a true community of friends and colleagues at the premier conference on IBD. The fourth annual Crohn’s & Colitis Congress®, taking place virtually Jan. 21-24, 2021, is now open for registration.

The 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress virtual experience will look a little different but will still bring you all the benefits and quality programming you have come to expect. The Congress will offer 4 days of learning, with more than 100 speakers and more than 200 expected abstracts – all from the safety of your home or work. Now at an even more affordable price, access from anywhere, and the ability to hear from the top leaders in the IBD field – this is a unique opportunity to join us as we come together virtually.

By moving our event online, we can now pass on greater savings to you. Registration for the conference provides you with substantial savings over last year and access to all sessions and networking opportunities. This virtual experience will bring our community of IBD professionals together in an engaging, interactive setting which will include breakout rooms, receptions, and much more.

The 2021 congress committee chair David T. Rubin, MD, AGAF, University of Chicago, and cochair Bruce E. Sands, MD, MS, AGAF, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, lead a faculty that includes thought leaders in the fields of GI, research investigation, surgery, pediatrics, advanced practice, IBD nursing, diet and nutrition, mental health, radiology, pathology, and more.

Register and get inspired to improve skills and patient outcomes, learn practical information you can immediately implement, hear what’s on the horizon in potential IBD treatments, discover fresh perspectives from multidisciplinary faculty and attendees.

You don’t want to miss the 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, connecting virtually on Jan. 21-24, 2021.

Register today to save before the early bird deadline of Friday, Nov. 6.

Learn more, submit an abstract, and register by visiting crohnscolitiscongress.org.
 

 

 

AGA releases largest real-world report on safety and effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplantation

About 90% of patients tracked in the AGA FMT National Registry were cured of Clostridioides difficile infection with few serious side effects.

AGA has released the first results from the NIH-funded AGA Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) National Registry, the largest real-world study on the safety and effectiveness of FMT. Published in Gastroenterology, the registry reported that FMT led to a cure of C. difficile infection in 90% of patients across 20 North American FMT practice sites. Few serious side effects were reported.

“While the value of fecal microbiota transplantation for treating recurrent C. difficile infection is clear from research studies, the potential long-term consequences of altering a patient’s gut microbiota are not fully known,” says Colleen R. Kelly, MD, AGAF, associate professor of medicine at Brown University, Providence, R.I. and coprincipal investigator of the AGA FMT National Registry. “Releasing the initial results of the AGA FMT National Registry is an important step toward understanding the true risks and benefits of microbiota therapeutics in a real-world setting.”

This new report details effectiveness and safety outcomes from the first 259 patients enrolled in the registry between December 2017 and September 2019. Almost all participants received FMT using an unknown donor from stool banks. The most common method of FMT delivery was colonoscopy followed by upper endoscopy. Of the 222 participants who returned for the 1-month follow-up, 200 participants (90%) had their C. difficile infection cured with 197 of those requiring only a single FMT. Infections were reported in 11 participants, but only 2 were thought to be possibly related to the procedure. FMT response was deemed durable, with recurrence of C. difficile infection in the 6 months after successful FMT occurring in only 4% of participants. This data includes patients with comorbidities, such as IBD and immunocompromised status, who are typically excluded from FMT clinical trials.

“These initial results show a high success rate of FMT in the real-world setting. We’ll continue to track these patients for 10 years to assess long-term safety, which will be critical to determining the full safety profile of FMT,” added Dr. Kelly.
 

AGA raises concerns about recent executive order

We are speaking out to ensure a brighter and more equitable future.

AGA is concerned by the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping issued on Sept. 22, 2020. This order, while confirming that training of the federal workforce to create an inclusive workspace is beneficial, also leads to a misguided perception of the purpose and outcomes of this type of training. In addition, it may have unintended ramifications for institutions receiving federal research funding.

We believe it is critical and necessary to understand both the positive and negative realities of our nation’s history, so that together we can forge forward into a brighter, and more equitable future.

As highlighted in AGA’s commentary published in Gastroenterology, AGA believes that equity is defined by fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all, acknowledging that there are historically underserved and underrepresented populations. Equity requires identifying and eliminating barriers that have created unbalanced conditions and prevented the full participation of some groups in order to provide equal opportunity for all groups.

By default, teaching and practicing equity, diversity and inclusion aims not to place any group above or below any other group, or to create division. It rather seeks to achieve fairness and understanding, and fully recognize the dignity of all groups, identities, and individuals.

AGA stands with the Association of American Medical Colleges in our commitment to being a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and antiracist organization.

Our commitment to this issue is manifest in the AGA Equity Project.

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