Gastroenterology and Hepatology Chief's Message

We thank you for your interest in our section and our clinical, scientific and educational missions.

Our mission is to improve digestive health through excellence in clinical care, teaching, discovery, and leadership.  We ranked among the top 10 Gastroenterology and Hepatology divisions nationally in 2022 according to U.S News & World Report – Best Universities for Gastroenterology and Hepatology. We are #1 in Texas. These rankings are based on performance across a set of widely accepted indicators measuring excellence in research, publications and scientific reputation overall.

The Section includes 60 outstanding, nationally and internationally recognized faculty members who continue to bring innovation to clinical practices covering the full spectrum of digestive health from general gastroenterology to specialized care in inflammatory bowel disease, neurogastroenterology, pancreatic conditions, GI cancers and transplant hepatology. Members of the Section have published national guidelines in nearly every therapeutic area.

We provide outstanding care to patients and their families, using state-of-the-art services to enhance their digestive and liver health. Our affiliate hospitals include McNair Hospital, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Ben Taub Hospital and Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center. We continue to expand clinical footprint locally and regionally, including new services at the Texas Children’s Hospital and St. Luke’s Health Sugarland Hospital.

We also train and educate the next generation of gastroenterologists and hepatologists who will assume leadership roles as clinician scientists, clinicians and educators within and outside the United States. The Section includes a comprehensive, highly sought-after fellowship training program that offers a clinical and a NIH T-32-funded research training track. Ours is the only adult GI research-training program that is supported by a National Institutes of Health training grant in Texas as well as neighboring states.  We also support ACGME accredited transplant hepatology fellowship and a competitive advanced endoscopy fellowship.

With over $15 million in research grant funding, the Section remains as one of leaders in research in gastroenterology and hepatology. These achievements are a testament to the caliber of intellectual work and study that our Section members produced.  I am grateful to all our faculty, fellows and our world-class staff who support the Section across all mission areas.

Key Achievements:

• We had another great year.  We ranked among the top 10 Gastroenterology and Hepatology divisions nationally in 2022 according to U.S News & World Report – Best Universities for Gastroenterology and Hepatology. We are #1 in Texas. These rankings are based on performance across a set of widely accepted indicators measuring excellence in research, publications and scientific reputation overall. This recognition is a testimonial to the quality of scientific research and scholarly contributions from our Section members.
• The Section remains a leader in research in gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Our members published over 201 papers in scientific journals.  We had over $15 million in research funding ($7 million from NIH).
• The Section continues to be the clinical home for the NIH funded Digestive Disease Center, one of 17 federally funded centers focusing on research in GI diseases. We also serve as the coordinating center for the Texas Collaborative Center for Hepatocellular Cancer, which serves as a platform to promote collaboration among scientists, clinicians, community leaders and policymakers to reduce liver cancer mortality in Texas. We also house an NCI-funded Translational Research Center and a Program Project focused on improving mortality from liver cancer.
• Our top-notch faculty provide high-quality, compassionate healthcare at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, Ben Taub General Hospital and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. 
• We have continued to expand our footprint outside of the Texas Medical Center by growing general GI practice at St. Luke’s Hospital, Sugarland. We introduced several innovations in our practices, including cutting edge advanced endoscopic procedures and multidisciplinary treatment of complex GI disorders. We play an important role in training future clinicians and researchers. 
• Several new faculty members joined the Section last year. Section members also received special accolades for their contributions, including a best scientist award, top cited physicians, a lifetime achievement award, outstanding mentor award, 2 excellence in clinical care, 2 teaching awards, 4 career development awards and several NIH, VA, and PCORI funded grants.
• We hosted two successful Baylor College of Medicine GI and Hepatology Courses in September 2022 and March 2023.

I invite you to visit our 2023 Annual Report for more details about our section and us. 

Fasiha Kanwal, M.D., MSHS
Professor of Medicine
Chief, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Section