Grant and Award Recipients

Endoscopic Training Awards

Sunil Amin, MD, MPH, FRCPC

Cesar Jaurrieta-Rico, MD

Talal K. Bhatti, MBBS

I am honored and appreciative to receive the 2020 ASGE Endoscopic Training Award. As the scope of advanced endoscopy continues to grow, it is increasingly difficult to "do it all", especially after a one year fellowship. Structured mentoring programs like this allow young faculty to continue to develop new skills and grow as endoscopists early in their careers. I will be travelling to Prague and Czech Republic for 4 weeks to study ESD/Third-space endoscopy with Dr. Jan Martinek at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM), and I look forward to bringing these new skills back home as we continue to grow our advanced endoscopy practice at the University of Miami.

The ASGE Endoscopic Training Award to train with Dr. Vinay Dhir in India will be career defining opportunity for me. As there are socio economical similarities between Mexico and India, this is a unique opportunity from which I will grow as I learn from Dr. Dhir´s successful vision and career as an EUS mentor. I believe that as I incorporate his vision in EUS training, I could ultimately implement this experience in order to expand training possibilities for future physicians in my home country. I am truly grateful to the ASGE International Committee and Governing Board and I feel truly blessed to receive this award.

The ASGE Endoscopic Training Award means a lot to me and it will give me an opportunity to learn those advanced endoscopic procedures whose training is not available in Pakistan. I am grateful to the ASGE President, John J. Vargo and Council for their generous support and their commitment towards global health. I am humbled and really honored to receive this award. This would not have been possible without the overwhelming support from my parents and my mentors Dr. Mashhood Ali, Dr. Umar, and Professor Ghias Un Nabi Tayyab.

Outstanding Manuscript Award

Elyse R. Johnston, MD

We are honored to accept this award and want to thank the ASGE for recognizing our work. To me, as I make the transition from trainee to a young faculty member, this recognition encourages me and I feel more determined than ever to try and find answers to important clinical questions. It is also remarkable that even prior to the current pandemic we find ourselves in, the ASGE recognized the relevance of our work to the daily lives of its members. We wish health to all our colleagues and urge them to protect themselves with PPE for the sake of all.

Basil I. Hirschowitz, MD Endowed Lecture

Nicholas J. Shaheen, MD, MPH, FASGE n shaheen

It is a great honor for me to give this endowed lecture. All of us who practice endoscopy owe an immeasurable debt to Dr. Hirschowitz. His willingness to push the limits of our profession, and literally to see what others have not, stand as an example for everyone who innovates in endoscopy.

Gene and Lyn Overholt Endowed Lecture

Kenneth F. Binmoeller, MD, FASGE K_Binmoeller

As a gastroenterologist inspired daily by the marvels of endoscopy, I feel truly honored to be the recipient of the Gene Overholt Endowed Lecture. Gene is, of course, legendary for his pioneering work in the space of Barrett’s esophagus, but what is perhaps underappreciated is the seminal role he has played to lay the very foundation of our specialty, beginning with his design of the flexible sigmoidoscope. Today we perform routine colonoscopies in ambulatory endoscopy centers around the country and have Gene to thank for both.

Jack A. Vennes, MD and Stephen E. Silvis, MD Endowed Lecture

Bret T. Petersen, MD, FASGE b-petersen

I’m honored to receive the Jack A. Vennes, MD and Stephen E. Silvis, MD Endowed Lecturer Award, in part because of the professional careers of Dr’s Vennes and Silvis as renowned investigators in ERCP and advanced endoscopy in my home state - at the University of Minnesota. I’m also honored, given my familiarity with the many, many deserving investigators doing so much for both our society and our specialty. Thanks to the ASGE and in particular, thanks to President John Vargo for his identification of endoscopy related transmission of infection as an issue of importance to our society and our members.

J. Edward Berk, MD, DSc, FASGE Endowed Lecture

Ferga C. Gleeson, MD, FASGE

I am deeply grateful to the ASGE, Dr. John Vargo and to the memory of J. Edward “Jack” Berk, one of the founding ASGE presidents for this superb award and lectureship. It is a true honor to share this award with my support team, as we endeavor to enhance the impact of molecular and ablative EUS, to guide personalized oncology now, and in the future.

Research Awards

Nauzer Forbes, MD, MSc

Joel H. Rubenstein, MD, MSc, FASGE

I am extremely grateful to have been awarded the prestigious 2020 ASGE Research Award. Receiving this award is an incredibly important step in my career as a young investigator. This award will ensure the timely completion of our study assessing the performance of a novel device that can aid in the reduction of ERCP-related infections.

We are very excited to accept this award, for, to our knowledge, this will be the first study to assess the long-term incidence of Barrett’s esophagus in a national database following a normal index endoscopy, and we will also assess whether acid reducing medications decrease the incidence of new Barrett’s esophagus.

Yutaka Tomizawa, MD, MSc

Catharine Walsh, MD, MEd, PhD, FRCPC

I am extremely honored and grateful to be a recipient of a 2020 ASGE Research Award. The generous support from the ASGE will allow me to establish a cohort of well-characterized patients with gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) in the U.S. and to identify factors including socioeconomic and behavioral that predict neoplastic progression in individuals with GIM. Receipt of an ASGE Research Award has solidified my desire to become an academic endoscopist and will allow me to develop a research program in gastric neoplasia.

I am very honored to have received an ASGE Research Award for our study that aims to examine the effectiveness of an online cognitive simulation training tool to teach optical diagnosis and management decision-making skills for colorectal polyps. The resultant module will hopefully be of great use to ASGE members to complement intra-procedural learning of these essential skills. As an educational scientist and gastroenterologist, this generous support from the ASGE will allow me to continue to develop my program of research in the area of endoscopy skill acquisition and assessment. For this I am truly grateful.