From the Chiefs

Research has been a mainstay of our division since it was established in 1953, and we have grown to become a world leader in contributing new digestive diseases-related knowledge through scientific studies. Our division’s investigators are among the best funded anywhere when it comes to support from public sources such as the National Institutes of Health, as well as from private philanthropy. Our faculty publish extensively and play prominent roles in national meetings, advancing the state of the science and ushering in cutting-edge treatments that improve and save lives. We also benefit from a strong infrastructure, which is supported by a significant endowment — most recently bolstered by the landmark philanthropic gift from Vatche and Tamar Manoukian.

With this strong underpinning and the vast potential for our division to conduct groundbreaking studies in the years ahead, we felt it was only appropriate to establish a mechanism for guiding our research effort, ensuring that we make strategic decisions on issues such as recruitment, training, utilization of space and investment of resources. And so we have established a research council to serve as our closest advisers in directing the future of our scientific efforts. Chaired by Dr. Catia Sternini the research council meets quarterly and includes a mix of senior and junior faculty.

Because we have such a large group of talented scientists, as well as ample space, we are uniquely positioned to foster internal as well as external collaborations. We can enhance our training programs to maximize our ability to train top new scientists. But we can only do this well if we undertake it in an organized fashion, and with significant input from the men and women closest to the work — the scientists on the front lines. We established the research council for that very purpose. This shared governance approach will allow us to receive regular input from our own internal scientific community as well as from external advisers so that we can continue to grow our research in ways that are best suited to our strengths and the needs of digestive disease patients.

Sincerely,