Faculty Information

This year we are pleased to bring together an incredible national and international collection of expert clinicians and researchers focused on the etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and outcome of a broad range of diseases that impact the esophagus and stomach.  The faculty, a mix of surgeons, gastroenterologists and pathologists, will give unique perspectives on these diseases, explore fundamental concepts and new theories in detail, and provide each participant with a deep understanding of current practice and areas of residual uncertainty.

The course was started in 1986 by Drs. Tom DeMeester and John Hamilton.  In 1989 Dr. Don Castell joined the course faculty and subsequently joined Tom DeMeester as co-director.  Together, these giants in surgery and gastroenterology established a format for learning about diseases of the esophagus and foregut that included in-depth lectures with extended time for questions, debate and comments.  That format continues with the course now running annually for over forty years.  Integral to the success of the course is the presentation of data and exploration of the boundaries of knowledge about each topic, leading to frequent, spirited discussions that shape future research projects and expand our understanding of these diseases.

The course is now led by co-directors Steve DeMeester and Stu Spechler with support from emeritus director Phil Katz.  Steve DeMeester, MD is a Thoracic Surgeon specializing in foregut disease.  He was Professor of Surgery and Clinical Scholar at the University of Southern California until 2016 when he moved to Portland, Oregon. He joined the Oregon Clinic Thoracic and Foregut Surgery group and practiced in Portland until he retired in 2023.  Stu Spechler, MD 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 thought leader on esophageal disease and has published extensively on topics including GERD and Barrett’s esophagus. Recently he was awarded the prestigious William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology from the AGA.  

Philip Katz, MD is Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a renowned gastroenterologist specializing in esophageal diagnostics and therapy. He is a past president of the American College of Gastroenterology.  

Gastroenterology core faculty for the course include Felice Schnoll-Sussman MD, David Katzka MD, and John Pandolfino MD.  Surgical core faculty include Daniela Molena MD and Guilherme M. Campos, M.D., Ph.D., and from pathology Para Chandrasoma MD continues to challenge conventional thinking.  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.  David A. Katzka is Professor of Medicine and Head of the Esophageal Center at Columbia University.  He is an Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester.  He has had a career-long interest in esophageal disease and has published numerous high-impact papers on a range of esophageal disorders that have aided our ability to diagnose and treat these conditions. John E. Pandolfino is the Hans Popper Professor of Medicine, Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Executive Director of the Digestive Health Institute at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. His career has focused primarily on studying the biomechanics of gastrointestinal motility, and he is internationally recognized for his pioneering investigations on high-resolution manometry and FLIP.  He is a past president of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society.  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.   Guilherme M. Campos is the Paul J. Nutter Professor and Chair of the Division of Bariatric and Gastrointestinal Surgery of Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia; where he is also the Co-director of the Foregut, Advanced GI/MIS, and Bariatric Fellowship program.  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.  He spent his career at the University of Southern California and Los Angeles County Hospital.

We also want to recognize and thank our Emeritus Surgical Director, Jeff Peters, MD, for his many years leading the course after Tom DeMeester stepped down.  His thought-provoking and stimulating lectures were an unforgettable part of the history of this course.  He remains on the board of directors and continues to share his passion for foregut disease with the audience when he is able to attend the course.

In addition to our core faculty, each year we bring special guest faculty with particular expertise in the topics being emphasized.  These topics vary each year, but 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 cancers.  Check out the agenda for topics and areas of focus at the upcoming 2027 course!

Special medical guest faculty at the 2027 course:

Hashem B. El-Serag, M.D., M.P.H. is Vice President – Learning Health System and the Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Professor and Chair Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.  He is a renowned epidemiologist and gastroenterologist focused on esophageal disorders including Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma.  His research has generated over 700 publications and he has obtained nearly one-hundred research grants from the NIH, VA and Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).  He is a recipient of the prestigious William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology from the AGA and a past President of the AGA.

Rebecca Fitzgerald MD is Professor of Cancer Prevention, Founding Director of the Li Ka Shing Early Cancer Institute, Head of University Dept of Oncology at the University of Cambridge and Hon. Consultant in Gastroenterology at Addenbrooke's Hospital. After training in medicine in Cambridge, Rebecca did doctoral research in Stanford and VA Palo Alto working with George Triadafilopoulos and Bishr Omary. She moved to St Barts and The Royal London Hospitals for specialist Gastroenterology training and postdoctoral research before leading her own research group at the University of Cambridge focused on the origins and molecular progression of Barrett’s esophagus. A particular focus of interest is screening for Barrett’s and this led her to develop a non-endoscopic capsule sponge. This work has gone from concept through to implementation and has paved the way for non-endoscopic technologies and biomarkers for esophageal diseases. She is the recipient of the prestigious Westminster Medal and the Don Listwin Early Detection Prize and in 2022 Rebecca was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to cancer research.

Srinadh Komanduri, MD is the Associate Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Director of System Integration for the Northwestern Digestive Health Institute.

His clinical interest and research focuses on Barrett’s esophagus and he is the course director for one of the largest endoscopy courses in the country, Chicago Live.  He has published over 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts.  He is past chair for the American Gastroenterological Association's Center for GI Innovation and Technology.

Roos Pouw, MD, PhD is a gastroenterologist at the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands. Dr. Pouw was trained at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers in the Netherlands. In 2011 Roos obtained her PhD-degree Cum Laude with her thesis entitled “Endoscopic Eradication of Barrett’s Esophagus with early neoplasia.” 

Her clinical and research efforts continue to focus on the management of Barrett’s esophagus and early esophageal adenocarcinoma, and for this work she received the UEG Rising Star award in 2021. She is member of the Scientific Committee for ESGE and Secretary General for United European Gastroenterology.

Nicholas J. Shaheen, MD, MPH is the Bozymski-Heizer Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and the Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the UNC School of Medicine. He is the PI of UNC’s Clinical and Translational Science Award, and Director of NC TraCS, UNC’s clinical research center and the PI on multiple NIH grants.  Dr. Shaheen’s research interests include gastroesophageal reflux disease, and pre-cancerous and cancerous conditions of the esophagus, including endoscopic treatment of Barrett’s esophagus.  He has authored greater than 400 publications in these areas.  He is the current vice-president of the American College of Gastroenterology. 

Rhonda F. Souza, M.D. is Co-Director of the Center for Esophageal Diseases at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, Co-Director of the Center for Esophageal Research at the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, and Professor of Medicine at Texas A&M School of Medicine. 

Dr. Souza’s laboratory has focused primarily on disorders of the esophagus, especially GERD and its complications including Barrett’s esophagus. Her truly translational approach to research has allowed her to contribute to numerous publications on the clinical science of Barrett’s esophagus and has led to NIH funding including a role as PI on several ongoing studies.  She has published extensively and in 2010 was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Souza is the 2025 recipient of the John S. Fordtran Gastrointestinal and Liver Section Distinguished Research Award by the American Physiology Society, and the Morton I. Grossman Awardee for outstanding research by the AGA. In 2026, she was elected to the Association of American Physicians and she is currently serving on the AGA Governing Board as Councilor-at-Large.  

Special surgical guest faculty at the 2027 course:

Oliver J. Old, MD FRCS is a Consultant Upper GI Surgeon at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust treating Barrett's esophagus, early esophageal cancer, and obesity. He completed his surgical training in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, including specialist Fellowships at internationally renowned centers in Melbourne and Auckland.

His research focuses on obesity, Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer.  He was Chief Investigator on the recently published randomized controlled trial of Barrett's esophagus surveillance (BOSS).   He has been awarded funding from Cancer Research UK, The Royal College of Surgeons, and the Clinical Research.

Richard van Hillegersberg, MD is Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands.   He trained in surgery in Rotterdam and completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at the Academic Medical Center and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Cancer Center in Amsterdam.

His research focuses on robotics in surgery, surgical imaging and genetic profiling. He has published extensively in these areas in peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters.  He is an honorary member of the German Society of Surgery the British Society of Endoscopic Surgery and the Chilian Society of Surgery.  He is the upcoming president of the European Society for Diseases of the Esophagus and the founder and chairman of the Upper GI International Robotic Association (UGIRA).