2024
Nov. 8: Dr. Kavish Patidar’s abstract titled, “Epidemiology and outcomes of ambulatory community acquired acute kidney injury: a nationwide US veterans study” was selected as a poster of distinction for American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) the Liver Meeting 2024.
Nov. 3: Dr. Waqar Qureshi, Professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was one of seven individuals awarded the Master of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). This award was given in recognition of his contributions to the Specialty of Gastroenterology and service to the College.
He was honored at ACG’s Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course in Philadelphia, PA. He also served as the Director of the hands-on workshop for hemorrhoid treatment during this meeting.
Nov. 1: Dr. George Cholankeril was selected as the first recipient of the Eugene B. Casey Scholarship. As the Eugene B. Casey Scholar, Dr. Cholankeril will be joining a prestigious group of individuals whose work continues to shape and inspire the future in hepatology. The Casey Endowment is part of the BCM portfolio, designed to support research and professional growth while fostering the institution’s mission.
Sept. 29: Dr. Fasiha Kanwal, has been appointed the director of ICTR and the associate dean for clinical and translational research at Baylor.
In these roles, she will bring together the ICTR and CTSA programs under the Office of Research at Baylor to maximize the effectiveness of clinical and translational research. The ICTR is also supported by a strong team that will continue to provide outstanding leadership. Dr. Kanwal is a tenured professor in Medicine and holds the Nancy Chang Endowed Professorship. She is a highly regarded authority in health services research of viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular cancer. Her work has informed clinical practice guidelines and clinical quality measures. She is currently the PI and co-chair of the NCI funded Liver Translational Consortium, an MPI on the NCI-Clinical Validation Center, and the chief of the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Baylor since 2017. Dr. Kanwal will share leadership responsibilities for the CTSA Consortium for Translational and Precision Health with Dr. Bettina Beech (University of Houston).
Dr. Jason Mills and Dr. Indira Mysorekar received notice of an R56 award from NIH National Institute of Aging that will fund their project entitled, “Cellular and molecular mechanisms governing bladder aging.” (Funding amount: $400,000; Funding Period: 1 years)
Aug. 16: Dr. Fasiha Kanwal, Chief, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was awarded the Nancy Chang, Ph.D. Endowed Professorship II.
Dr. Kanwal is a talented physician-scientist who has made significant research contributions to the field of hepatology. Dr. Kanwal has published over 300 manuscripts in Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, American Journal of Gastroenterology, JAMA Surgery, Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA Internal Medicine, and Nature Reviews in Gastroenterology and Hepatology. She has consistently shown that she can elevate her teams to success and is an exemplary leader in creating positive change. Dr. Kanwal has a track record of academic leadership, business-focused proficiency, strategic effectiveness, organizational awareness, and stewardship in academic medicine.
Aug. 3: Dr. Shifa Umar is invited as faculty the participate in the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) First Year Fellow’s Course in Chicago, IL on August 4-5 for a lecture presentation. Her presentation is titled, “Upper GI Bleeding”
Dr. Umar will also do a hands-on endoscopic training at the ASGE Institute for Training and Technology.
July 1: Dr. Waqar Qureshi, Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was one of seven elected nationwide as the Master of the American College of Gastroenterology. This election is based on Dr. Qureshi’s recognized stature and achievement in clinical gastroenterology and his contribution to the College in service, leadership, and education.
June 7: Dr. David Y. Graham received Research.com 2024 Best Scientist Award. Dr. Graham ranked 227 in United States and 357 in the world. Research.com is one of the major websites for Medicine research offering credible data on scientific contributions since 2014. Their ranking is based on the H-index data from Microsoft Academic Graph. You can visit Research.com to learn more about Dr. Graham.
May 24: Dr. Natalia Khalaf was one of 11 individuals selected for the 2024-2025 National Academy of Medicine Scholars in Diagnostic Excellence Program. Funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, this one-year program in partnership with the Council of Medical Specialty Societies is designed to develop national leaders and enhance skills and knowledge related to diagnostic safety, quality, and equity. Her program proposal is titled “Implementing Digital Quality Measures Into Learning Health Systems for Diagnostic Excellence in Cancer Care”.
April 26: Dr. Fares Ayoub was appointed for a 3-year term for the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy DDW Video Plenary and World Cup Committee.
April 22: Dr. Howard T. Lee, Assistant Professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was named Fellow of the American Society of Transplant. AST honors superior professional achievements in academic practice and in basic or clinical research with fellowship in the organization. Fellowships are awarded to members whose accomplishments and contributions demonstrate personal commitment to the field of transplant.
April 19: Dr. Nabil Mansour has been appointed to serve a 3 year term with the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy ASGE Technology Committee.
March 22: Dr. Ruben Hernaez has been selected as co-director of the 2025 Postgraduate Course for American Gastroenterological Association.
March 22: Dr. Shifa Umar has been selected to participate in the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy LEAD 2024 Class. The LEAD program she will be joining in is for diverse women in gastroenterology.
Feb. 16: Dr. Fasiha Kanwal was invited to present at the American Association for the study of Liver Disease TASL Hepatology Connect on February 16 – 17, 2024.
She was invited to present multiple talks including:
“Steatotic liver disease: New name and new knowledge”
“TLM Debrief: HCV”
“The hopes and realities of viral hepatitis elimination: The US perspective”
She also judged the debate: “Immunotolerant patients: I do treat or not treat."
Feb. 16: Dr. Ruben Hernaez was named an American Gastroenterological Associate Fellow effective on Feb. 1, 2024. AGA honors superior professional achievement in academic practice and in basic or clinical research with fellowship in the organization. Fellowships are awarded to members whose accomplishments and contributions demonstrate personal commitment to the field of gastroenterology.
The transplant hepatology fellowship received continued accreditation from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Thanks to Dr. Avegail Flores, Dr. Rise Stribling, Dr. Prasun Jalal, and Dr. Howard Lee on this accomplishment.
Dr. Jared Sninsky received the American Gastroenterological Association Research Foundation’s 2024 AGA-Pfizer Pilot Research Award in Inflammatory Bowel Disease for his project entitled, “Development and Validation of a Novel Machine Learning-Based Serum Protein Electrophoresis Biomarker Model: A Practical Treat-to-Target Tool for Ulcerative Colitis.” (Funding amount: $30,000 Funding period: 1 year).
Jan. 11: Dr. Charles Cho received the Digestive Disease Center 2024 Pilot Feasibility Awards for his project.
Dr. Charles Cho received his award for a project entitled, “Ribosomes in pancreatic metaplasia and tumorigenesis.”
2023
Dec. 8: Dr. David Graham is ranked 424 in United States among World’s Top Scientists in 2023 according to Research.com. He was also ranked 658 in the world and received the 2023 Best Scientist Award. The ranking is based on the H-index data obtained from various bibliometric sources.
You can see the full world ranking here.
Dec. 8: Dr. Natalia Khalaf’s article was selected to be briefed by Health Services Research & Development Veteran Affairs leadership.
Below is the article that was selected:
Khalaf N, Xu A, Wenker T, Kramer J, Liu Y, Singh H, El-Serag HB, Kanwal F. The Impact of Race on Pancreatic Cancer Treatment and Survival in the Nationwide Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Pancreas. November 13, 2023; online ahead of print.
Dec. 8: Dr. Rehman Sheikh received the Baylor College of Medicine Early Career Faculty Award for Excellence in Patient Care. He will be recognized for this award at Baylor’s Awards Day celebration on May 22, 2024.
Dec. 6: Dr. Fasiha Kanwal presented at the American Gastroenterological Association Corporate Roundtable. Her presentation is titled, “AGA’s Commitment to Women in GI.”
Nov. 15: Dr. Shifa Umar received poster of distinction and the young investigator grant her for abstract entitled, “Association of elevated serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) levels with risk of pancreatic and non-pancreatic malignancies in patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN)”, which was presented at the American Pancreatic Association Annual Meeting.
Nov. 15: Houston hosted the 2023 American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable Annual Meeting. Dr. Scott Larson was an invited speaker for the Texas Innovations in Colorectal Cancer Screening’ panel.
Nov. 12: Several members of the Ben Taub GI team including Drs. Gould-Suarez, Kumar and Sealock, along with their families, participated in the 12th annual Get Your Rear in Gear 5k run benefiting the Colon Cancer Coalition on Nov. 12. Dr. Disha Kumar and Dr. Tiffani Sealock both won first place in their division. A special thanks to Dr. Gould-Suarez for organizing a team for many years!
Oct. 6-7: Dr. Wasif Abidi, assistant professor, gastroenterology and hepatology, was invited to represent Baylor Medicine in the inaugural ASGE STAR Advanced Bariatric Sutuering course.
Oct. 9: Dr. Jason Hou, associate professor, gastroenterology and hepatology has been named the Director of Clinical Trials for the Department of Medicine. In this role, he will increase the participation and success of DoM Faculty in industry-sponsored clinical trials (ISCT). The model of the DoM Clinical Trials Unit is to prepare, train, and support faculty in the DoM to develop their own ISCT research teams. Please reach out to him to obtain guidance on clinical trials.
Dr. Ayse Leyla Mindikoglu, associate professor, gastroenterology and hepatology, received the US National Academy of Medicine Healthy Longevity Global Competition Catalyst Award for the project entitled, "Dawn-to-Dusk Dry Fasting for Rapid Reversal of Aging." (Funding amount: $50,000)
Sept. 29: Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center will incorporate Computer-Aided detection (CADe/AI) to the endoscopy unit. Five units will be placed in the general GI Rooms for screening and surveillance colonoscopies. Three different FDA-approved CADe devices will be trialed for 60 days.
Special thanks to Dr. Nabil Mansour for working on making this possible.
Sept. 22: Jason K. Hou, M.D., MS, AGAF, FACG will assume the role of Director of Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Crohn’s and Colitis Program (CCP). In this role, he will ensure BCM CCP serves as the home for innovative research, compassionate patient care, and community and professional education in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
Dr. Hou has served as Medical Director of IBD at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, former Program Director of the BCM GI and Hepatology Fellowship Program and is supported by federal funding for IBD research including current support from PCORI, VA HSRD, and NIDDK.
Sept. 15: Dr. Ayse Mindikoglu received the Norton Rose Fulbright Award for Teaching and Evaluation. This award recognizes faculty for their exemplary educational contributions.
Sept. 15: Dr. David Graham received the Number 3 lifetime ranking among all scholars worldwide in Gastroenterology. Review his ScholarGPS profile.
Sept. 15: Dr. Saira Khaderi and Dr. George Cholankeril were awarded the POP award by Dr. Stacey Rose at GIGrand Rounds on Thursday, Sept. 14. The Pop Award is given to members of the Baylor College of Medicine community who demonstrate the characteristics of professionalism.
Aug. 18: Dr. Wasif Abidi and Dr. R.J. Sealock were invited to participate in the ASGE First Year Fellow's Course in Chicago, IL on August 4-5th. They both lectured and provided hands-on endoscopic training to over 75 fellows from around the country at the ASGE Institute for Training and Technology
Aug. 4: Dr. Salmaan Jawaid received funding from the 2023 – 2024 Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy (TSGE) Grant for his study entitled, “Comparison of the performance of a Novel Bipolar RFA Knife to the Traditional Monopolar Knife in POEM (Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy). The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of a novel bipolar current knife (BCK) to traditional monopolar knives (MCK) in Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM). Specifically, the study will evaluate the efficacy of using a novel low-voltage BCK as a means of avoiding high voltage effects of traditional monopolar knives (Funding Amount: $10,000; Funding Period: 1 year).
Aug. 4: Professor Antone Opekun, Jr’s patent for “Development of amyloglucosidase as a medicinal food or dietary supplement” has been published.
The article can be read here: Development of amyloglucosidase as a medicinal food or dietary supplement
Aug. 4: Dr. Howard Lee is invited to be a faculty at the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) Senior GI fellow Program on August 19-20 in Chicago. The program addresses a variety of non-clinical issues that critically important for you to understand but are not always covered during your local fellowship training.
Aug. 4: Dr. George Cholankeril was offered acceptance into the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Early Career Leadership Program. The Early Career Leadership Program develops future leaders in clinical gastroenterology by providing leadership and policy training to early-career physicians.
July 28: Dr. Howard Lee was invited to join the Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Access to Life (IDEAL) Committee of the American Society of Transplant (AST) for a three-year term beginning June 30, 2023.
July 28: Dr. Nabil Mansour’s proposal entitled, “Development of an NLP Algorithm for Automated Calculation of Colonoscopy Quality Metrics using ChatGPT” was selected as one of the winners for funding at a 5% level from BCM Department of Medicine. Dr. Mansour’s protected time for research will begin on Aug. 1, 2023. His proposal was selected for aligning with Baylor’s commitment to promote faculty development in areas of clinical research, quality improvement, team science, teaching and/or education.
July 21: Dr. Salmaan Jawaid’s recent ACG abstract was chosen as a presidential plenary session presentation. Dr. Jawaid designed and a conducted a randomized trial comparing the cost effectiveness of two closures devices for post endoscopic resection closure. The study is unique and innovative and will add practical knowledge to the field of endoscopy.
July 7: Dr. Tara Keihanian was selected for an oral presentation at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) week for her abstract entitled, “Patterns of Fatty Infiltration in Pancreas on Endoscopic Ultrasound: A Novel Classification System.” The abstract also received travel funding for her to present at the conference in October 2023.
July 7: Dr. Ruben Hernaez was selected as 2023 Houstonia Top Doctor. Dr. Hernaez also is the mentor-sponsor of Dr. Julton Tomanguillo a PGY-3 in West Virginia via the AASLD Mentorship program.
July 5: Dr. Wasif Abidi and Dr. Rehman Sheikh were awarded on Thursday, June 29 at the Service Excellence Award Ceremony. Their patients recognized them during their post-discharge survey
June 30: Dr. Howard Lee, Assistant Professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was appointed to the Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Access to Life Committee of the American Society of Transplant for a three year term beginning June 30, 2023.
June 28: Dr. Howard Lee was both the moderator and speaker at the AASLD Webinar on June 28 titled "Hepatology care for transgender and gender non-binary people." Dr. Lee was also invited to give a presentation to the AASLD emerging liver scholars titled, "Hepatology care provision for trans patients" on June 29.
June 23: Wasseem Skef was selected to join the clinical practice and endoscopic foregut surgery committees for the American foregut society. His start date for both committees was on May 23, 2023.
June 21: It is my pleasure to announce that Dr. John M. Vierling is the recipient of the 2023 University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Distinguished Alumnus Award, the medical school’s highest honor! The award is presented to an alumnus or alumna with outstanding and widely recognized achievements, especially if that person exemplifies the standards and objectives of the School of Medicine and Dentistry through personal conduct, professional accomplishments, and community service. Distinct preference is given to a physician and/or bench investigator whose achievements have had a significant impact to the medical field on a national and global scale.
June 21: Dr. Fasiha Kanwal has been selected to participate in the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) fellowship for women in academic medicine. This program is a year-long part-time fellowship designed for women faculty in senior leadership roles at schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy nationwide. The program is dedicated to developing the professional and personal skills required to lead and managed in today’s complex health care environment, with special attention to the unique challenges facing women in leadership positions. Selection into ELAM includes nomination of up to two women leaders from each institution. Dr. Kanwal was nominated by Baylor College of Medicine for this fellowship this year.
Dr. Howard Lee was invited to speak at the transplant grand round at Duke titled "Be a Rainbow in Someone Else's Cloud Solid: Solid Organ Transplant for Sexual and Gender Minorities" on June 20. His presentation had over 80 participants online, which broke the record per Duke faculty.
Dr. Lee was also interviewed by Haleio Gastro in June regarding Rainbows in Gastro as one of the co-founders.
June 19: Dr. Theresa Nguyen is invited to serve as a member of the BCM School of Medicine (SOM) Admissions Interviewing Subcommittee (AIS). She will begin her term July 1, 2023.
June 2: Dr. Ru Chen was appointed as a member of the Graduate Faculty of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) for the Cancer and Cell Biology program. Dr. Chen will serve as a major advisor to graduate students (PhD or MS) at Baylor College of Medicine.
May 25: Drs. Patidar and Hernaez named to the National Liver Review Board starting June 2023 for 1 year. Reviewers are drawn from a nationwide pool of liver transplant physicians and surgeons, who will review exception requests on an anonymous basis for candidates not listed at the transplant program of any of the reviewers.
May 16: Dr. Tara Keihanian achieved a new milestone on Tuesday, May 16. She did her first solo colonic ESD of a 3cm transverse colon polyp. The polyp was previously manipulated by an endoscopist at Methodist and after failed attempts at removal, the patient was referred to Baylor for ESD.
May 16: Dr. Avegail Flores had a successful presentation on "Evaluation of Abnormal Liver Chemistries" at the Pri-Med Southwest Annual Conference at the George R. Brown Convention Center in March 2023. Learner satisfaction ratings were between 97-100%. Of the over 430 participants, 87% planned to change their clinical practice after this learning activity.
May 12: Dr. David Y. Graham has been ranked #336 in the world and #215 in United States by Research.com in the 2023 Edition of Best Scientists in the field of Medicine. The ranking is based on D-index (Discipline H-index) metric, which only includes papers and citation values for an examined discipline. The ranking includes only leading scientists with D-index of at least 70 for academic publications made in the area of Medicine.
May 12: Dr. George Cholankeril and Dr. Saira Khaderi have been nominated to receive the Power of Professionalism (POP) Award. The POP Award was created by the Center for Professionalism to recognize members of the Baylor community who demonstrate a commitment to professionalism in their daily practice.
May 10: Dr. Richa Shukla and Dr. Nabil Mansour were recognized at the Baylor College of Medicine Awards Day celebration on Wednesday, May 10. Dr. Richa Shukla received the Norton Rose Fulbright Award. Dr. Nabil Mansour received the Early Career Faculty Award for Excellence in Patient Care.
April 28: Dr. Jason Mills was invited on Friday, April 28 by the Medical University of South Carolina Digestive Disease Research Center to provide the keynote address at their 4th Annual Research Symposium & Retreat. The title of his talk was, "Paligenosis: the cellular program that allows differentiated cells to fuel repair and metaplasia."
April 28: Dr. Fasiha Kanwal has been ranked in the top 5 percent for citations by Doximity.
April 26: Dr. Richa Shukla received the Norton Rose Fulbright Award. This award recognizes faculty for their exemplary educational contributions. Her accomplishment will be recognized at the Baylor College of Medicine Awards Day celebration on May 10, 2023.
April 21: Dr. Howard Lee was elected to serve as a member-at-large in Liver and Intestinal Transplant Community of Practice (LICOP) in American Society of Transplant (AST). He will serve as the executive board member for the next 2 years starting June 2023. This is in addition to his current role as Social Medica Subcommittee co-chair for AST-LICOP.
April 17: Hashem El-Serag, M.D., M.P.H., Professor and Chair of the Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine, have been appointed Vice President for the Learning Health System (LHS) Initiative at Baylor. In this additional leadership role, he will lead development of the strategic vision to build Baylor’s LHS. The initial focus will be on working with mission area leaders and forming a multidisciplinary Learning Health System team that will develop goals and tactics to achieve the goals. Dr. El-Serag, who holds the Margaret M. Alkek Distinguished Chair in Medicine, has a tremendous understanding of how to bring together the traditional components of a Learning Health System that includes science and discovery, translational medicine, precision medicine and population health and to establish Baylor as a national leader in this area.
March 30: Dr. Robert Jay Sealock received a promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor (tenured) in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Sealock will also serve as the Medical Director for the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Ben Taub Hospital. Dr. Sealock joined Baylor College of Medicine as faculty in 2015 for the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Ben Taub Hospital.
March 3: Dr. Richa Shukla has been selected to join the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Academy of Educators Advisory Board. She will be a voting member at Digestive Disease Week 2023 and will serve a 3-year term. Dr. Shukla is also invited to serve as a member of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute Education and Training Committee for a 2-year term. This is an opportunity to enhance and use leadership skills, advance her career and make a difference for the field and patients.
March 3: Dr. Ruben Hernaez has been invited to serve an additional year as a member of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute Clinical Guidelines Committee.
March 1: Dr. Theresa Nguyen received the ACG 2023 Junior Faculty Development Award for her project titled, “A Health Informatics Approach to Reduce Missed Opportunities for Barrett's Esophagus Screening.” (Funding amount: $450,000; Funding period: 3 year).
Feb. 28: Dr. Ayse L. Mindikoglu received the Baylor College of Medicine Star Faculty Award for Excellence in Patient Care. She will be recognized for this award at Baylor’s Awards Day celebration on May 10, 2023.
Feb. 27: Dr. Waqar Qureshi has been nominated and chosen to receive a Power of Professionalism (POP) Award. Dr. Klotman recognized Dr. Qureshi on his commitment to professionalism.
Feb. 11: Dr. Kal Patel has been appointed as Medical Director of Baylor Medicine in the Department of Medicine (DoM). In this role, he will oversee and coordinate the clinical operations across all 13 DoM Baylor Medicine practices and collaborate with Baylor Medicine, BCM, and BSLMC leadership.
In addition to his new role, Dr. Patel will continue as the Medical Director for Gastroenterology-Baylor Medicine. He will continue his clinical practice focused on applications of Advanced Endoscopy in digestive disorders.
Feb. 10: Dr. Milena Gould Suarez was recognized by the Internal Medicine Residency Program at BCM for her leadership as a Subspecialty Education Coordinator (SEC). Dr. Gould has devoted her time to redesign and improve the ambulatory clinical experiences for the trainees.
Feb. 1: Dr. Prasun Jalal was elected to the fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians. Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians is a prestigious accolade held by some of the most innovative and exceptional physicians in the world.
Jan. 30: Dr. Fasiha Kanwal has been selected as Chair of the American Gastroenterological Women’s Leadership Council, a subcommittee of the AGA Women’s Committee. The group focuses on opportunities and pathways to leadership for women within AGA and Gastroenterology.
Jan 27: Dr. Avegail Flores is the winner of the fourth Department of Medicine Colleague of the Quarter Award. Below is what was said about Dr. Flores:
“Dr. Flores is always available to help me care for my GI clinic patients with liver pathology. She will help me answer any question, review any patient record, and see any patient in her clinic without question. I have never worked with a colleague more available, affable, and skilled than Dr. Flores. She is an invaluable asset to our department and her patients.”
Read more about Dr. Flores' nomination.
Jan. 24: Dr. Shaleen Vasavada (GI Fellow) has been selected for the 2023 American Gastroentological Association Innovation Fellows Program. The program includes complimentary registration, travel, and lodging for the 2023 AGA Tech Summit; An exclusive behind-the-scenes “Immersion Day” program at the Medtronic Innovation HQ in Santa Clara; and many other events throughout the year.
Jan. 17: Dr. Saira Khaderi was invited to serve as a member of the Women’s Initiative Committee for American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. The purpose of the committee is to promote gender diversity, equality and professional development of clinicians, scientists and others in the fields of hepatology, gastroenterology, liver transplant surgery and the membership of committee as well as provide female mentorship of all trainees and junior faculty.
2022
Dec. 27: Dr. Nabil Mansour received the Baylor College of Medicine Early Career Faculty Award for Excellence in Patient Care. The Annual Early Career Faculty Awards for Excellence in Patient Care honors outstanding contributions to the College’s clinical mission by up and coming Baylor faculty members.
Dec. 6: Dr. Suneal Agarwal, Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy, Dr. Reena Chokshi, Dr. Hashem El-Serag, Dr. Jason Hou, and Dr. Waqar Qureshi were all named to the Texas Monthly Super Doc list.
Nov. 10: Dr. David Y. Graham received Research.com's 2022 Best Scientist Award. Dr. Graham ranked 441 in United States and 680 in the world. Research.com is one of the major websites for Medicine research offering credible data on scientific contributions since 2014. Their ranking is based on the H-index data from Microsoft Academic Graph.
Oct 17: Dr. Prasun Jalal was selected by the Governing Board of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) to serve as a member of the Continuing Medical Education Committee. Dr. Jalal was accepted by the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) Executive Committee to be a member of the ILTS Education and Scholarship Committee for a term of three years starting in May 2022, following the ILTS Annual Congress. Dr. Jalal was newly appointed to the 2022-2023 (American College of Gastroenterology) ACG Committee.
Oct. 3: Dr. George Cholankeril was selected by the Governing Board of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) to serve in the Clinical Research Committee. The selected committee have expertise in all major fields of hepatologic research (such as alcoholic liver disease, viral hepatitis, pediatric liver disease, portal hypertension, autoimmune liver disease, biliary disease, cancer, and hepatic transplantation).
Oct. 3: Dr. Howard Lee was selected by the Governing Board of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) to the AASLD Communications and Technology Committee. The Communications and Technology Committee exists to inform the work of the association that relates to all aspects of technology, from the way through which technology is used to conduct association business to the use of technology/social platforms to communicate on behalf of the association.
Sept. 23: Dr. Ruben Hernaez, assistant professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was appointed as core faculty in the Internal Medicine Residency Program.
Sept. 2: Hall of Fame for Best Lectures:
- Best Esophagus: Kalpesh Patel, M.D.
- Best Small Bowel: Maria E. Jarbrink-Sehgal, M.D., Ph.D.
- Best Colorectal: Atif Iqbal, M.D., FACS, FACRS *Honorary mention: Reena Chokshi, M.D.
- Best Endoscopy: Hands-on Session 1
- Best Stomach: Tie between Salmaan A. Jawaid, M.D. and Mimi Tan, M.D.
- Best IBD: Richa Shukla
- Best Pancreas/Biliary: Hands-on session 2 *Honorary mention: Kalpesh Patel, M.D.
- Best Liver: George Cholankeril, M.D. *Honorary mention Saira Khaderi, M.D., MPH
- Best Miscellaneous: Natalia Khalaf, M.D., MPH
Aug. 15: Dr. Waqar Qureshi, professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was appointed to the editorial board as associate editor of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy journal.
Aug. 8: Dr. Wasif Abidi and Dr. Richa Shukla were both recognized by Dr. Douglas Fishman, co-director for the ASGE First Year Fellows Course. The course was held on Saturday, Aug. 5 and Sunday, Aug. 6. Dr. Abidi gave the "Electrocautery" talk and Dr. Richa gave a talk on PEGs.
Aug. 1: Dr. Hashem El-Serag, professor and chair, Department of Medicine, was recognized as a winner of the 2022 Texas Super Doctors Award.
Aug. 1: Dr. Kalpesh Patel and Dr. Avegail Flores were named Top Doctors 2022 by Houstonia magazine. Houstonia compiled a list of top vote recipients in each specialty, making certain that all physicians were currently certified by their respective medical licensing boards.
July 25: Dr. Clark Hair received a #VAGratitude Message. The message indicates his hard work and going the extra mile each and every day. He is an invaluable member of the team. The Veteran Affairs Gastroenterology Department and the fellows appreciate his support and guidance.
July 25: Dr. Mohamed Othman and Dr. Suneal Agarwal were named Top Doctors 2022 by Houstonia magazine. Houstonia compiled a list of top vote recipients in each specialty, making certain that all physicians were currently certified by their respective medical licensing boards.
July 25: Dr. Mimi Tan completed a medical mission trip to Kijabe, Kenya. She gave lectures to residents in Internal Medicine and General Surgery and taught endoscopy to surgical residents. With the support of Dr. Kalpesh Patel, Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy - Baylor Global Health, Boston Scientific, and Americares Medical Outreach, she was able to bring over $10,000 worth of medicines and supplies.
July 5: Dr. Yongji Zeng received the Dean’s Award from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in acknowledgment of his recent National Cancer Center postdoctoral fellowship.
June 30: Dr. Salmaan Jawaid successfully competed for the Department of Medicine Scholarly Time award for his application "Effectiveness of a clinical education pathway on the management of complex colorectal polyps amongst gastroenterology trainees and faculty”. Only five individuals in the department received the Scholarly Time award for 2022.
June 30: Dr. Lukasz Kwapisz successfully competed for the Department of Medicine Scholarly Time award for his application "Development and expansion of clinical trials at Baylor College of Medicine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic. Only five individuals in the department received the Scholarly Time Award for 2022.
June 27: Dr. Avi Ketwaroo and Jose Aguilar completed a medical mission to Jamaica, teaching and performing the first ERCPs in Western Jamaica. With assistance from Clark Hair, Rhonda Cole, Kal Patel and Sharmila Anandasabapathy/Baylor Global Health, the team anticipates that this will be an ongoing initiative to improve the quality of digestive care in the Caribbean.
June 22: The 1st edition of top scientists ranking for Medicine was published by Research.com, one of the major websites for Medicine research offering credible data on scientific contributions since 2014. The ranking contains h-index, publications and citations values collected on Dec. 6, 2021. For the discipline of Medicine, over 65,743 profiles were examined. The inclusion criteria for scholars to be considered into the ranking of top scientists are based on the discipline h-index, proportion of the contributions made within the given discipline in addition to the awards and achievements of the scientists. The discipline h-index threshold for listing top scientists is set as an increment of 10 depending on the total number of researchers estimated for each discipline whilst ensuring that the top 1% of leading scientists are considered into the ranking.
June 10: Dr. Clark Hair was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award by the graduating fellows at GI Grand Rounds on June 9. He was noted to be a true role model and inspiration by the fellows.
June 6: Dr. Ruben Hernaez, assistant professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was selected to become a member of the Admissions Interviewing Subcommittee to contribute to the selection of future Baylor medical students.
June 6: Dr. Ruben Hernaez is the recipient of the resident-selected faculty award entitled, “Best Research Mentor.” This award is for Dr. Hernaez’s contribution to facilitate the education of our residents. Dr. Hernaez was honored June 6 at the Internal Medicine Residency program graduation ceremony.
May 23: Dr. George Cholankeril received the Professional Education Appreciation and Recognition (PEAR) Award. The PEAR awards were recently founded by BCM students. The nominations are created by a BCM student submitting a story of a time that someone personally influenced or inspired them.
May 22: Dr. Jason Mills, Herman Brown Endowed professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was selected as a recipient of the Outstanding Mentor Award from the American Gastroenterology Association at the Digestive Disease Week annual meeting.
March 30: Dr. Milena Gould Suarez is a recipient of the 2021-2022 Baylor College of Medicine Women of Excellence Award. This award celebrates individuals who exemplify Baylor’s Values, and who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to issues that affect women at Baylor College of Medicine or in the larger community.
March 30: Dr. Ayse Leyla Mindikoglu is a recipient of the 2021-2022 Baylor College of Medicine Women of Excellence Award. This award celebrates individuals who exemplify Baylor’s Values, and who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to issues that affect women at Baylor College of Medicine or in the larger community.
March 21: Dr. Ayse Leyla Mindikoglu was elected to serve as a member of the Maintenance of Certification Committee of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
March 15: Dr. Jason Mills has been inducted in the American Physicians Association. The AAP is an honorary medical society founded in 1885 by Sir William Osler and six other distinguished physicians of his era for “the advancement of scientific and practical medicine.”
Jan. 21: Drs. Graham and El-Serag are two of the top three most cited researchers at Baylor. Drs. Kanwal, Vierling, Thrift, and Malaty are also included in the top 2% most frequently cited scientists worldwide. Read more.
Jan. 17: Dr. Jason Mills has been invited by gastroenterology for a new three-year term on their editorial board. As a member he will review manuscripts, provide input on a variety of policies and issues, and will be requested to serve as a guest associate editor on certain occasions.
Jan. 17: Dr. Maya Balakrishnan was rated as the top 0.26% by Expertscape’s PubMed-based algorithm. She is labeled an “Expert” for her writing about Fatty Liver Disease. A tweet will be made live on Expertscape on Jan. 21 to announce Dr. Balakrishnan's accomplishment.
Jan. 17: Dr. Natalia Khalaf will serve as the lead for the GI and Hepatology Research Conference for the BCM Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology,.
2021
Dec. 21: Dr. Wasif Abidi received the Baylor College of Medicine Early Career Faculty Award for Excellence in Patient Care. The Annual Early Career Faculty Awards for Excellence in Patient Care honors outstanding contributions to the College’s clinical mission by up and coming Baylor faculty members.
Dec. 21: Dr. Richa Shukla received the Baylor College of Medicine Early Career Faculty Award for Excellence in Patient Care. The Annual Early Career Faculty Awards for Excellence in Patient Care honors outstanding contributions to the College’s clinical mission by up and coming Baylor faculty members.
Nov. 30: Dr. Ruben Hernaez, assistant professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology - Teaching and Evaluation, was presented the Norton Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award.
Nov. 30: Dr. George Cholankeril, assistant professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was selected by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Foundation Board of Trustees to receive the Early Career Investigator Award in Clinical/Translational Science for the abstract, ”Association between Longitudinal changes in markers of liver fibrosis and risk for hepatocellular carcinoma in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.” The abstract will be presented at the AASLD Virtual Liver Meeting 2021.
Nov. 19: Dr. Andrea Bradford has been named the incoming editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. Dr. Bradford will formally assume the role in 2023 after a transition period over the next calendar year.
Nov. 19: Dr. Mimi Tan was selected as the Harris Health's Physician Champion of the Quarter (Third Quarter 2021).
Nov. 12: The Distinguished Service Award is given to an individual in honor of his or her sustained service to American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases or the liver disease community in general. The award recognizes service provided to the community of hepatology researchers and clinicians over an extended period; service that is well above and beyond that provided by many members who serve on the Governing Board and Committees of AASLD.
Nov. 8: Dr. David Graham was rated as the top 0.1% by Expertscape’s PubMed-based algorithm. He is labeled a “World Expert” for his scholar writing about Stomach Neoplasms over the past 10 years.
Oct. 18: Dr. Hashem El-Serag, Dr. David Graham, and Dr. Noah Shroyer have been highlighted in Expertscape as being in the top 1% - considered World Experts – in their fields for the period 2011-2021.
Dr. Hashem El-Serag, professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Ranked 0.1% for Gastrointestinal Tract
- Ranked 0.15% for Upper Gastrointestinal Tract
Dr. David Graham, professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Ranked 0.059% for Gastrointestinal Tract
- Ranked 0.045% for Upper Gastrointestinal Tract
Dr. Mohamed Othman, professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Ranked 0.82% for Gastrointestinal Tract
Dr. Noah Shroyer, associate professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Ranked 0.098% for Gastrointestinal Tract
- Ranked 0.2% for Intestinal Mucosa
- Ranked 0.38% for Small Intestine
Aug. 13: Dr. Mimi Tan was awarded the NIH Loan Repayment Program Award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The LRP award is designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers by repaying a portion of their qualified educational debt.
July 12: Dr. Reena Chokshi successfully competed for the Department of Medicine Scholarly Time award for her application “Development of a Novel Smart Phone Application for Gastrointestinal Motility Education”. Only six individuals in the department received the Scholarly Time award for 2021.
June 25: Dr. George Cholankeril and Dr. Kanwal’s poster entitled, “Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on liver transplantation and alcohol-associate liver disease in the United States,” has been accepted as a poster presentation at EASL’s International Liver Congress 2021. From this Dr. Cholankeril received the young investigator award and will be interviewed by Medscape regarding his findings.
June 25: Dr. Mimi Tan has been selected as a member of the BCM Admissions Interviewing Subcommittee and will contribute to the selection of future Baylor medical students.
June 25: Dr. Fred Sutton has been elected as the BCM Office of Admissions faculty co-chair. He will oversee admissions committee policy, practices, and admissions decisions.
June 11: Dr. Ruben Hernaez is the top reviewer for Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Reviewers are the cornerstone of the peer-review process, helping to ensure that the science published is rigorous and of the utmost quality.
June 11: Dr. Kalpesh Patel is the top reviewer for Techniques and Innovations in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Reviewers are the cornerstone of the peer-review process, helping to ensure that the science published is rigorous and of the utmost quality.
June 11: Dr. Patel was also nominated for a position as a TSGE councilor, a voting member of the Governing Board. This will be a two-year term, beginning September 2021.
June 7: Dr. RJ Sealock, assistant professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was selected to serve as a mentor in the ASGE Mentorship Program.
June 1: Dr. John Vierling, professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, is the recipient of the 2021 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Distinguished Service Award, given in honor of sustained serviced to AASLD and the liver disease community.
May 28: Dr. Hashem El-Serag, professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and chair, Department of Medicine, has been appointed to the St. Luke’s Health System Board of Directors.
May 21: Dr. David Graham has been selected to receive the 2021 William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology. This prize recognizes an individual who has made a unique, outstanding contribution of major importance to the field of gastroenterology. Dr. Graham's fundamental discoveries and contributions to the field of GI infections and injury have had a world-wide impact on the care of patients with digestive disease.
May 10: Dr. Suneal Agarwal was selected to be the recipient of the ‘That’s The Way Visit’ Award. He received the award based on the below comment from one of his patients:
“Although I felt I needed input from a pulmonologist and hematologist prior to scheduling procedures with Dr. Agarwal, (e.g., nose catheter tests and endoscopy/colonoscopy), Dr. Agarwal provided comprehensive and clear information about the GI procedures once the other two specialists cleared me to proceed. Dr. Agarwal is a very good communicator, and because I am 'slower' in my current condition, Dr. Agarwal even slowed his speech so I could write down the information he asked me to covey to the other two specialists. He showed no judgment or frustration with the limitations imposed by my condition.”
May 10: Dr. Hemant Roy was named associate dean of academic affairs at Ben Taub Hospital. In this role, he will serve as a resource for faculty and learners at Ben Taub Hospital and Ambulatory Clinics at Harris Health, with a focus on developing education, research, and faculty affairs activities/infrastructure. Dr. Roy is chief of the medicine service at Ben Taub and a senior faculty member in the Department of Medicine.
May 7: Dr. Fasiha Kanwal, Dr. Yamini Natarajan, and Dr. Hashem El-Serag “Preparing for the NASH Epidemic: A Call to Action” has been accepted for publication in Gastroenterology.
May 7: “The highest yield (steepest learning curve) clinics I was assigned to be the Hepatology Transplant Clinic with Dr. Stribling and the Pancreaticobiliary clinic with Dr. Sealock. Those two clinics hit on a lot of topics we see frequently but don't get formal training on. I enjoyed having time with the McNair outpatient clinic as well, both Dr. Sheikh and Dr. Shukla were fantastic teachers.”
May 7: To Dr. Suarez - “Thank you for a wonderful year in PPS. I cannot tell you just how much I appreciated your patience as we learned new skills, kindness in listening to our stories and struggles, and generosity in teaching us everything from OLDCARTS to how to do a physical exam. Much of this year has felt just hard and anonymous, and I always looked forward to our class as a refreshing change from that.”
May 7: Dr. Nisreen Husain is selected for the Baylor College of Medicine Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award in the category of Teaching and Evaluation.
April 16: Dr. Hashem El-Serag, professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and chair, Department of Medicine, has been appointed an adjunct professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston’s School of Public Health.
April 5: The following faculty have been recognized as Castle Connolly Top Doctors for 2021.
Dr. Manreet Kaur, Dr. John Vierling, Dr. Jim Schwartz, Dr. David Graham, Dr. Jason Hou, Dr. Waqar Qureshi, Dr. Kalpesh Patel, Dr. Hashem El-Serag, Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy, Dr. Mohamed Othman
April 15: Dr. Ruben Hernaez, assistant professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has accepted a position to serve a two-year term as a member of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute Clinical Guidelines Committee. He also agreed to serve an additional year on their Research Awards Panel.
March 1: Dr. Maya Balakrishnan received the Baylor College of Medicine Star Patient Care Award. She will be recognized for this award at Baylor’s Awards Day celebration May 2021.
March 1: Dr. Kalpesh Patel received the Baylor College of Medicine Star Patient Care Award. He will be recognized for this award at Baylor’s Awards Day celebration May 2021.
Feb. 4: Dr. Richa Shukla will step into the role of the associate program director for the Baylor GI fellowship at Ben Taub Hospital. Dr. Shukla’s responsibilities will include overseeing clinical operation for the fellows at Ben Taub, participating in fellowship recruitment and curriculum development.
Feb. 4: Dr. Mimi Tan joins the fellowship leadership in a new role of T32 associate program director. In this role, Dr. Tan will provide mentoring and support of the T32 fellows, oversee the T32 lecture series and participate in T32 fellow recruitment.
Feb. 4: Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy, professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and director of Baylor Global Health is training Smart Pod providers through case-based telementoring sessions focused on COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment and vaccination.
Feb. 5: Dr. Waqar Qureshi, professor, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has been selected to the Education Committee of the Texas Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Jan. 24: Dr. Mohamed Othman was recently inducted into the American Gastroenterology Association Fellowship. AGA honors superior professional achievement in clinical private or academic practice and in basic or clinical research with fellowship in the organization. Fellowships are awarded to members whose accomplishments and contributions demonstrate personal commitment to the field of gastroenterology.
Jan. 7: Dr. Milena Gould Suarez, associate professor of medicine, will step into the role of the program director for GI Fellowship. To allow seamless transition, Drs. Hou and Suarez will serve as co-directors for the current academic year. Dr. Suarez has made substantial contributions to the education mission of the Section and the College. She served as the course director for second-year medical student Gastroenterology and Hepatology module since 2014, associate program director for the Fellowship since 2015, and learning community squad director at the medical school since 2019.
Jan. 7: Dr. Jason Hou, associate professor of medicine, will serve as the interim section chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Dr. Hou has served as the program director of the GI Fellowship for the last five years. He is a clinician scientist with grant funding from the NIH and the Veterans Administration. He brings a wealth of administrative, research and clinical experience to his new role. Dr. Rhonda Cole will continue to serve as the associate chief of the VA GI section.
