This year we are pleased to again bring together outstanding international leaders in gastric and esophageal disease as faculty. The faculty brings broad experience in benign and malignant disease and this year includes a mixture of gastroenterologists, surgeons, and pathologists to ensure a comprehensive, state-of-the-art, yet balanced approach to the diagnosis and management of patients with esophageal and foregut disorders.

The course was started by Drs Tom DeMeester and Don Castell. Tom DeMeester was Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Southern California. He is world-renowned for his numerous contributions to the field of esophageal disease, including the development of the DeMeester score to assess esophageal acid exposure during pH testing.  Don Castell was Professor of Medicine and Director of Esophageal Function Laboratory at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston SC. He was internationally renowned for his contributions to esophageal function testing as well as diagnosis and therapy for gastroesophageal reflux disease. Sadly, Don passed away in 2021, but he will be long remembered for his detailed lectures on esophageal physiology, quick mind, and gregarious spirit while debating Tom and the other surgeons at the annual course. His legacy lives on with the spirited discussions that are a tradition at this course.

Currently, the course is co-directed by Steve DeMeester, MD and Philip Katz, MD. Steve DeMeester is a Thoracic Surgeon specializing in foregut disease and until recently was at The Oregon Clinic in Portland, OR. Prior to moving to Portland, he was Professor of Surgery and Clinical Scholar at the University of Southern California. He retired from clinical practice in 2023.  Philip Katz is a Gastroenterologist specializing in esophageal diagnostics and therapy and is a Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, NYC. Prior to moving to Cornell, Phil was Chief of Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the Albert Einstein Medical Center, Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA. He is a past president of the American College of Gastroenterology. 

Emeritus director Jeff Peters MD, and core faculty Stu Spechler MD, Felice Schnoll-Sussman MD, Daniela Molena MD, and Para Chandrasoma MD remain integral to the outstanding content and discussions for the course. Jeff Peters was Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at The University of Rochester, and then his most recent position was Chief Operating Officer for University Hospitals Healthcare System in Cleveland, OH. Stu Spechler is Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Co-Director, Center for Esophageal Diseases at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and Co-Director, Center for Esophageal Research at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute. He is a recognized leader and has published extensively on topics in esophageal disease including GERD and Barrett’s esophagus. Felice Schnoll-Sussman is Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health and Director of Endoscopy, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Weill Cornell Medicine. She is known for her skills in advanced esophageal endoscopy including management of complex strictures and Barrett’s esophagus. Daniela Molena is Director of the Esophageal Surgery Program and Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Associate Attending, Thoracic Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. Para Chandrasoma is one of the world’s leading experts in esophageal pathology and has proposed groundbreaking concepts related to the histology of the normal and the reflux-damaged gastroesophageal junction.

In addition to our core faculty, each year there are special guest faculty to highlight the specific topics that are being focused on at each year’s meeting. These topics include esophageal diagnostics, endoscopic imaging and interventions, the pathology of GERD and Barrett’s esophagus, esophageal motility abnormalities and diverticula, hiatal hernia, laryngopharyngeal reflux, medical, surgical, and endoscopic therapies for GERD and motility disorders, esophageal perforation and caustic injury, eosinophilic esophagitis, benign tumors of the esophagus and stomach, and the diagnosis, staging, and therapy for esophageal and gastric cancer. Check out the agenda for topics and areas of focus at the upcoming 2026 course!

Special guest faculty at the 2026 course:

FEATURED ON THE MEDICINE SIDE

Evan S. Dellon, MD, MPH

Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at UNC-Chapel Hill, Dr. Dellon directs UNC’s Eosinophilic Esophagitis Clinic and is principal investigator of multiple NIH- and industry-funded EoE trials. His work established validated histologic and symptom scores now used worldwide and informed FDA approvals of biologic therapies. He also serves on the editorial boards of Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology and co-authored the 2023 AGREE consensus on EoE management.

David A. Katzka, MD

Dr. Katzka is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Co-Director of the Esophageal Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. A leading clinician-researcher in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), refractory GERD, and Barrett’s esophagus, he previously directed the Esophageal Clinic at Mayo Clinic. His prolific scholarship includes landmark trials that shaped current EoE treatment algorithms and updates to ACG practice guidelines.

James R. Goldenring, MD, PhD

Dr. Goldenring holds the Paul W. Sanger Professorship of Surgery and of Cell & Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt and is Vice-Chair for Surgical Research. His laboratory discovered spasmolytic-polypeptide-expressing metaplasia (SPEM) and has defined the cellular origins of gastric cancer. A past president of the American Gastroenterological Association’s Gastric Biology Section, he bridges basic science and translational trials aimed at intercepting gastric and foregut malignancies.

John E. Pandolfino, MD

Dr. Pandolfino is the Hans Popper Professor of Medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Internationally recognized for pioneering high-resolution manometry, FLIP topography, and impedance-pH testing, he directs Northwestern’s Esophageal Center and has authored more than 450 peer-reviewed papers on motility disorders and GERD. He is a past president of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and a frequent contributor to consensus guidelines that shape modern esophageal practice. 

FEATURED ON THE SURGICAL SIDE

Brant K. Oelschlager, MD, FACS

Professor of Surgery and Chief of the UW Division of GI Surgery, Dr. Oelschlager leads one of the nation’s busiest foregut programs in Seattle. His clinical focus spans laparoscopic and robotic anti-reflux surgery, paraesophageal hernia repair, achalasia, and bariatric revisional procedures. A former president of the American Foregut Society, he has helped define quality benchmarks and training pathways for foregut surgeons and co-founded the SAGES Foregut Task Force.  

Stephanie G. Worrell, MD, FACS

Dr. Worrell is Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery and Section Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine–Tucson. A dual-board-certified thoracic and general surgeon, she directs minimally invasive and robotic programs focused on benign and malignant esophageal disease. Nationally, she chairs the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ esophageal-cancer guidelines group and serves on the editorial board of Foregut. Her research centers on outcomes after esophageal and lung cancer surgery and on mentorship initiatives for women in thoracic surgery.