THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICINE
DIGESTIVE
DISEASES CENTER
2015–2016
1
The Digestive Diseases Center
at the University of Chicago
Medicine is a collaborative,
multidisciplinary network of
physicians, researchers, and
allied health professionals who
share a legacy of innovation
and a common purpose:
to improve the lives of patients
who suffer from digestive
diseases.
2
2
16 Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
20 Celiac Disease Center
22 Center for Small Bowel Disease and Nutrition
24 Center for Colon and Rectal Diseases
26 Center for Esophageal Diseases
28 Center for Endoscopic Research and Therapeutics (CERT)
32 Center for Liver Diseases
34 Pancreatic Disease Center
36 Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic
38 Basic and Translational Research
40 Center for Gastrointestinal Oncology
44 Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity
46 Clinical Research
33
“Our care is based on a foundation of advanced, research-driven medicine. The same experts
who are treating patients today are guiding research into tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs.”
NEIL H. HYMAN, MD
Co-Director, Digestive Diseases Center
Professor of Surgery
H ISTORY
1927
First full-time academic
section in gastroenterology
founded by Walter Palmer
1934
First hospital to use a
gastroscope to view organs
of the digestive system
1943
1940s
Developed first animal
models of Inflammatory
Bowel Disease
Discovered that patients
with active colitis lost high
levels of protein
1960s
Developed vagotomy, still in use
today, for treatment of ulcers
Developed surgeries to avoid
the need for an ileostomy when
removing the colon
1944
1985
Discovered the relationship
between a shortage of dietary
protein and decreased immune
function and surgical infection
1947
Developed the “rat depletion
model,” used to determine the
minimum daily requirements
for the essential amino acids,
calories, and potassium
4
First segmental liver transplant
in the U.S.
1988
First split-liver transplant
in the United States
1989
First successful living donor
transplant in the world
other firsts
Identified roles of intestinal
heat shock protein (Hsp70) in
immunomodulation of intestinal
lymphoid cells and host defense
against invasive pathogens
First to demonstrate that pain
associated with peptic ulcers is
related to acid, not stomach
contractions
First to demonstrate that ulcers
can be caused by excess secretion
of normal gastric juice
One of the first to show increased
risk of colon cancer in patients
with ulcerative colitis
One of the first centers in
the United States to use deep
endoscopy into the small bowel
to control bleeding and provide
diagnosis and therapy
“ We are immensely proud of our rich heritage, and from it find
inspiration for our ongoing and future breakthroughs.”
DAVID T. RUBIN, MD
Co-Director, Digestive Diseases Center
Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine
MODERN I N NOVATIONS
First to demonstrate that histologic
normalization is possible in IBD
Discovered the first Crohn’s disease
gene (NOD2), which was a
paradigm shifting both in promoting
further scientific discovery and
in how it translates into patient care
Served a major role in spawning the
era of Gut Microbiome research— now believed to be central to the
development of many GI and nonGI diseases, including IBD, colon
cancer and metabolic diseases
Launched NIH-funded Digestive
Disease Research Core Center and
Digestive Disease Training Center
Leading the world in multiple-organ
transplants, such as combined
liver-heart-kidney transplantation
Only Celiac Disease Center
in the region
One of only a few gnotobiotic
germ-free facilities in the world
Elucidated the genetic and immunological basis of celiac disease
Increasing understanding
of vitamin D receptor biology
and pathobiology
Conducting research leading to the
approval of numerous conventional,
immunomodulatory, and recent
biologic therapies for ulcerative
colitis and Crohn’s disease
Pioneered endoscopic ultrasound
and mucosal resections for
identification and treatment of
extraluminal and mucosal tumors
of the digestive tract
Perform total pancreatectomy
with islet cell transplantation,
one of the few hospitals
in the United States offering
the procedure
Created a mouse model of celiac
disease, one of the first labs in the
world to do so
Discovered connection in pathophysiology between celiac disease
and other autoimmune conditions
Uncovered previously undescribed
role for IL 15 and retinoic acid
in promoting intestinal mucosal
inflammation
Defining the role of environmental
and dietary factors in triggering
“Western” disorders, including IBD, Exploring the relationship between
colorectal cancer, complex imidiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
mune disorders, and metabolic
(IPF) and gastroesophageal reflux
diseases
disease (GERD)— prospective,
multicenter,
randomized trial
Elucidating the role of epigenetic
funded by NIH
changes in IBD and inflammation
Testing novel agents in GI
malignancy
First truly multidisciplinary
bariatric surgery program in
Chicago
First in Chicago to perform totally
laparoscopic gastric bypass
First in Midwest to perform totally
laparoscopic duodenal switch
First in region to perform totally
laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy
First to study comparative
outcomes of laparoscopic gastric
bypass and duodenal switch
in super-obese patients
Participated in first study to
validate next generation sequencing
panels for Lynch syndrome patients
Validated numerous Lynch
syndrome prediction models
Collecting the largest cohort of
African American Lynch syndrome
patients in the world
Demonstrated the relationship
between inflammation and cancer
risk in ulcerative colitis
5
WE PUT PATIENTS AT
THE CENTER OF
EVERYTHING WE DO.
The commitment of the Digestive Diseases Center is to advance both patient
care and knowledge. Our philosophy is simple. We believe that if all of us, clinicians
and scientists alike, start with the patient and focus on serving that patient to the
best of our ability, everything else will follow.
All that we do—from diagnosis and treatment to science and technology to
scholarship and teaching—is shaped by that conviction. And all that we know we
can achieve in the years ahead, in science and in outstanding patient care,
depends on it.
6
WE WORK AS A TEAM.
The reality of modern medicine is that most
patients and most problems they face require
specialists across different areas. Nowhere is that
more true than in the treatment of digestive diseases.
Diagnosis can be difficult. Treatment is often
multimodal and can have profound implications
for systems beyond those of the GI tract. You can
not often separate questions of medication or
surgery from questions of nutrition or psychology,
and concurrent health issues are common.
The Digestive Diseases Center does more than
give patients access to all the specialists they may
need to see. It removes the walls from between those
specialties and brings everyone together around the
patient in a single, multifunctional team.
For patients, the benefit of this approach is care
in the University of Chicago Medicine tradition—
care that is patient-centric and based on multiple
perspectives and cross-disciplinary comprehensive
problem solving. It is care that is more effective,
more efficient, and frequently less complicated
and stressful for them, their families, and their
referring physicians.
There are benefits for us as well: new
perspectives on familiar problems, increased
innovation and experimentation, and more nuanced
understandings of the complexities at the heart
of our field—the necessary components of
advances and achievement in medicine.
7
WE BRING SCIENCE TO THE BEDSIDE.
As you might expect from an academic medical
center with a history of breaking new ground, our
clinicians are also investigators. Diagnosis and treatment here are continuously informed by the most
current and compelling evidence, and our patients
routinely benefit from novel therapies and techniques
available through one of the extraordinary number
of clinical trials the Digestive Diseases Center
initiates or participates in.
What you might not expect is that our research
scientists, too, are active partners in care, working
with clinicians in parallel to solve the complex
problems that patients face.
Here, the dialogue flows from treatment room to
laboratory and back again: “Here’s something that
doesn’t make sense. How can we understand it
better?” “Here’s an interesting finding. How might
we translate this into something that benefits
your patients?”
When clinicians and scientists collaborate in this
way, patients receive the best, most advanced care
possible. As important, research agendas follow not
just the individual investigator’s interests but
emerging trends and changes in disease as well as
critical issues in care.
All our patients benefit from research, and all
participate in it, whether that participation is as
simple as becoming part of a registry and allowing
us to follow them clinically or providing the tissue,
serum, or stool that bring us one step closer to
understanding and cure.
8
It is a process in which clinical practice and basic
and translational research form a seamless, virtuous
circle, one that leads to better diagnosis, better treatment, and better outcomes for our patients and for
patients and physicians everywhere.
WE SHARE WHAT WE KNOW.
Quality patient care and the best long-term patient outcomes depend on quality communication
among all those who have a stake in the results:
patients and their families as well as physicians and
health professionals, those directly involved in a
particular treatment and those who refer, provide
follow-up care, or consult.
We are committed to improving all aspects of
communication, from increasing access to our
physicians to increasing the quality of information
available to patients and physicians about digestive
disease and its treatment.
WE ALIGN EVERYTHING—FROM PROCESSES TO
ENTIRE FACILITIES—AROUND PATIENT NEEDS.
Seen from the perspective of the individual patient,
not much in the traditional structure of a hospital
or medical center makes sense. We are working to
change that.
We have established the Transitional Care Clinic—
the only one of its kind in the Midwest—to help
patients with digestive diseases make the transition
from pediatric to adult care.
We have initiated something we call IBD 360, to
improve the total experience of a patient in our Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, including arranging parallel visits with colleagues in rheumatology,
dermatology, gynecology, psychology, and social work
so that our patients are getting all the care they need
for these complex illnesses.
We have supplemented our traditional support
groups for patients with IBD, hepatitis C, and other
chronic digestive diseases with online forums and
information sessions that extend support to patients
who can’t easily travel to one of our locations.
THE CENTER FOR CARE AND DISCOVERY
Our newest hospital complex, completed in 2013,
was designed to facilitate modern, collaborative
medicine and patient-centered care. Treatment suites
accommodate concurrent procedures involving
multiple specialties and modalities; biomedical
research laboratories are on site, steps away from the
procedure rooms and patients they serve. Operating
rooms are equipped with sophisticated technologies,
from robotics and high-definition surgical imaging
systems to precision laminar airflow for advanced
infection control.
Within the hospital, the facilities of our Center
for Endoscopic Research and Therapeutics (CERT)
include the most advanced endoscopic and microscopic
technologies in the region. CERT’s state-of-the-art
equipment enables us to perform minimally invasive
procedures that spare patients from major surgery,
provide precision disease staging with onsite
cytopathologists, and allow diagnosis and treatment
in a single visit. Information technology systems
throughout facilitate real-time global communication,
collaboration, and observation.
Because wellness and healing also depend on
patients’ daily comfort and peace of mind, the Center
for Care and Discovery sets the standard for comfort,
as well. Patient rooms, all of which are private and
many of which feature separate alcoves where patients
and family can gather to watch a movie or simply get
a change of view, provide ample storage and the space
to display items that can make a patient feel most
at home. Panoramic views of parklands and skyline
open up the space and connect patients to the city;
soothing lighting and room-darkening shades shut
out distractions and allow them to rest. Two exercise
facilities, comfortable public spaces for people watching, as well as shops, cafes, and a fresh-food market
help “normalize” patients’ stay; mobile wireless
technology and a customized audiovisual interface
keeps them connected to their dedicated nursing
and medical team.
9
10
“ We push the envelope—with science, discovery, and innovation. As an academic
medical center, that’s our job, to continually push ourselves to find the next ‘best
treatment option’ for our patients. I believe that the University of Chicago Medicine’s
rich legacy and collaborative model will lead us to advances in our field and successes
here that we have only imagined.”
DAVID T. RUBIN, MD
Co-Director, Digestive Diseases Center
Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine
12
“ The University of Chicago Medicine has an amazing legacy with respect
to innovation and discovery in digestive diseases. Key moments and landmark
discoveries occurred at this institution, and our role is to continue in that tradition
of innovation and discovery while ensuring patients receive the thoughtful
and attentive care they deserve.”
NEIL H. HYMAN, MD
Co-Director, Digestive Diseases Center
Professor of Surgery
13
14
The Digestive Diseases
Center comprises thirteen
areas of clinical and research
strength at the University
of Chicago Medicine.
I N FLAM MATORY
BOWEL DISEASE
CENTER
The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center is committed to providing the highest
caliber of care to patients who suffer from Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and related
conditions. Our experts also perform medical research that advances the science
and understanding of these conditions, as well as deliver unique and highly relevant
educational programs for patients and professionals.
Outstanding patient care is at the center of everything we do, from providing
state-of-the-art medical therapies and nutritional counseling to using minimally invasive
approaches for complex surgeries to decrease pain, scarring, and recovery times.
Whether patients come to us directly or are referred by a physician, they benefit
from treatment which is grounded in creative thinking, compassionate understanding,
and the very latest research advances. For example, our unique Transitional IBD Clinic
for Teenagers and Young Adults, helps to bridge the gap between pediatric care and
responsible self management of chronic disease. We also have clinics that provide expert
guidance related to pregnancy and fertility issues, precancerous and cancerous lesions
of the bowel, and experimental clinical trials with innovative therapies to treat disease
and minimize the impact on one’s quality of life. The IBD Center includes a dedicated
inpatient wing that is located in the Center for Care and Discovery, the University
of Chicago Medicine’s newest and most technologically advanced hospital. Patients
receive their care directly from the IBD specialists, and, if surgery is necessary, recover
in the same room. Our dedicated inpatient IBD nurse practitioner guarantees ongoing
communication and updates to our referring colleagues.
As one of only a limited number of research centers in the country testing new
IBD treatments, we can offer a variety of clinical trial therapies—the most advanced
treatments available—at the earliest possible time in patients’ care. Every patient
benefits from the expertise of our world-renowned clinicians and researchers, whose
multidisciplinary, collaborative approach extends from patient care to advancing
the science of medicine.
16
RUSSELL D. COHEN, MD
DAVID T. RUBIN, MD
ROGER HURST, MD
BARBARA D. KIRSCHNER, MD
MICHELE RUBIN, APN
Director, Inflammatory
Bowel Disease Center
Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine
Associate Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
Associate Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
Associate Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
Physicians
Adult gastroenterology
Russell D. Cohen, MD
Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center Professor of Medicine
Sushila Dalal, MD
Director, Program for Fertility, Pregnancy and Sexual Function in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Assistant Professor of Medicine
Ira Hanan, MD
Professor of Medicine
Joel Pekow, MD Instructor of Medicine
David T. Rubin, MD
Co-Director, Digestive Diseases Center Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine
Atsushi Sakuraba, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Pediatric gastroenterology
Ranjana Gokhale, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Stacy A. Kahn, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Director, Transitional IBD Clinic for Teenagers and Young Adults
Barbara S. Kirschner, MD
Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine
Surgery
Lisa Marie Cannon, MD
Clinical Associate of Surgery
Roger D. Hurst, MD
Professor of Surgery
Neil H. Hyman, MD
Professor of Surgery
Konstantin Umanskiy, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Research
Dionysios Antonopoulos, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Eugene B. Chang, MD
Martin Boyer Professor of Medicine
Associate Section Chief for Research
Alexander Chervonsky, MD, PhD
Professor of Pathology
Bana Jabri, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Pathology
Jerrold R. Turner, MD, PhD
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Pathology
Advance Practice Nurses
Gastroenterology Care
Ashley Bochenek, APN
Jennifer Labas, APN
Alana Wichmann, APN
Ostomy Clinic
Janice Colwell, APN
Michele Kaplon-Jones, APN
Malou de Ocampo, APN
Nutrition
Elizabeth Wall, MS, RD
Lori Welstead, MS, RD, LDN
Surgical Care
Michele Rubin, APN
Noelle Kakuk, APN
Services
Secondary or tertiary care for the
most complex and difficult IBD cases
Advanced mucosal imaging techniques for surveillance and
detection of cancer and precancerous changes in the bowel mucosa
(chromoendoscopy)
CT/MRI enterography
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
Interventional endoscopy
Enteroscopy, traditional and deep (balloon-assisted)
Flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy
Positron emission technology (PET) scans
Radionucleotide scanning
Upper GI endoscopy, colonoscopy
Ileoscopy
Pouchoscopy
Wireless capsule endoscopy (the “Pill Camera”)
Ostomy care
Surgical Services
Bowel resections (traditional, minimally invasive, robotic)
Strictureplasties
“J” pouch formations
Ileostomy, Colostomy
Specialized surgeries
Contact
To learn more about the Inflammatory
Bowel Disease Center, please visit:
Ibdcenter.uchicago.edu
For referrals and consultations
please call: 1 (844) UCGIDOC (824–4362)
An IBD Center Patient Support
group meets regularly. Please visit
ibdcenter.uchicago.edu for more
information.
Dedicated small bowel radiography
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
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STUDYING COMPLETE
HISTOLOGICAL
NORMALIZATION
A groundbreaking study at the University of Chicago Medicine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
has concluded that complete histological normalization (CHN) is possible in patients who have been
diagnosed and treated for ulcerative colitis. Until now, little has been known about the predicting
factors and outcomes for patients with IBD who achieve complete normalization of bowel histology.
Investigators reviewed the records of 646 patients with a definitive diagnosis of ulcerative colitis
who had had a baseline colonoscopy with biopsies in each segment of the colon (rectum, left-side
and right-side) and then a follow-up colonoscopy more than one year later. Of these patients,
65 (10.1 percent) had CHN in all three segments of the colon, while 208 patients (32.2 percent)
had at least one normalized segment.
“This study refutes the common perception that once a patient has IBD, structural histological
changes are permanent,” said Britt Christensen, BSc, MBBS, FRACP, MPH, one of the investigators.
CHN has now been associated with superior clinical relapse-free survival compared to histological
activity and quiescence in ulcerative colitis patients, and is more predictive than endoscopic mucosal healing.
Relapse-free survival was compared between patients using Kaplan-Meier analysis, log rank test
and Cox proportional hazard model with significance set at p ≤ 0.05. Results showed that patients
with histological quiescence were 3.88 times more likely to suffer a relapse than those with CHN.
Those with histological activity were 6.11 times more likely to relapse than those with CHN.
The next study will look at whether de-escalation of treatment is possible for patients with CHN.
“Having such an immense population of inflammatory bowel disease enables
us to ask critical questions and push the frontiers of our understanding. New therapies
and better technology have enabled us to define a new level of remission, which could
very well change how we use medical therapies in the future.”
DAVID T. RUBIN, MD
Chief, Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition
Co-Director, Digestive Diseases Center
Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine
18
“This study refutes the common perception that once a patient has IBD,
structural histological changes are permanent. The next step is to study
longer term outcomes of these patients.”
BRITT CHRISTENSEN, BSc, MBBS, FRACP, MPH
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CELIAC
DISEASE CENTER
The University of Chicago Medicine’s Celiac Disease Center is an internationally
recognized center of excellence providing comprehensive patient and professional
education, expert diagnosis and treatment for both children and adults, groundbreaking
bench and clinical research, and active leadership in advocacy efforts.
Our mission is to cure celiac disease. As we focus on research toward a cure,
we also strive to raise awareness and diagnosis rates through education and advocacy.
“ Besides the gluten-free diet, which is the only treatment at present,
we are involved in clinical studies to advance therapy for celiac disease.”
CAROL SEMRAD, MD
Director, Adult Clinical Research
Professor of Medicine
20
STEFANO GUANDALINI, MD
BANA JABRI, MD, PHD
CAROL SEMRAD, MD
SONIA S. KUPFER, MD
HILARY JERICHO, MD
Founder and Medical Director, Celiac Disease
Center
Vice Chair, Research
(Basic)
Director, Adult Clinical Research
Director, Clinical Genetic Research
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Physicians
Stefano Guandalini, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
Bana Jabri, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Carol Semrad, MD
Professor of Medicine
Sonia S. Kupfer, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Edwin K. McDonald IV, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Hilary Jericho, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Nutritionists
Elizabeth Wall, MS, RD
Lori Welstead, MS, RD, LDN
Administration
Carol M. Shilson
Executive Director
Ronit Rose
Program Director
Services
Expert diagnostic practices and
evidence-based, patient-focused,
and family-oriented care of adult and pediatric celiac disease patients
Activities
Patient education and resources,
including an online Answer Bank and gluten-free “care packages” for newly diagnosed patients—
regardless of where they were diagnosed—as well as free annual
blood screening for their relatives and others at risk for celiac disease.
Number of patients treated
in last 12 months
Approximately 1,200 children and adults
Contact
To learn more about the Celiac
Disease Center or explore our
physician and patient resources,
please visit: cureceliacdisease.org
To refer patients to one of our celiac specialists, please call: 1 (773) 702–6140 for adults; for children call: 1 (773) 702–6169.
Professional education, including
the annual Preceptorship Program,
an unparalleled two-day intensive
course on celiac disease for doctors
and other medical professionals.
Research resources, including a database of all celiac patients at
the University of Chicago Medicine,
to facilitate the study of trends and patterns as well as publishing
regarding celiac disease.
Diane McKiernan
Research Study Coordinator
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
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CENTER FOR
SMALL BOWEL
DISEASE AND
NUTRITION
The University of Chicago Medicine’s program for the treatment of Small Bowel
Disease and Nutrition includes comprehensive management of small bowel bleeding,
short bowel syndrome/intestinal failure and celiac disease.
The University of Chicago was one of the first centers in the United States to
perform Double Balloon Enteroscopy for the treatment of small bowel bleeding. The
center utilizes expert radiologists in small bowel imaging/interventions and minimally
invasive small bowel surgery.
The University of Chicago Medicine is also uniquely staffed by a multidisciplinary
Nutrition Support Team to diagnose and manage short bowel syndrome/intestinal
failure, diarrhea/malabsorption syndromes and patients with feeding difficulties.
The team, established in 1980, provides expert administration of parenteral and enteral
nutrition in the inpatient and outpatient setting. Clinical research is aimed at novel
therapies in the treatment of short bowel syndrome and other intestinal disorders.
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CAROL E. SEMRAD, MD
EDWIN K. MCDONALD, IV, MD
ELIZABETH WALL, MS, RD,
Director, Center for Small Bowel Disease
and Nutrition
Associate Director, Adult Clinical Nutrition
CNSC, LDN
Physicians
Gastroenterologists
Carol E. Semrad, MD
Professor of Medicine
Edwin K. McDonald IV, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Associate Director of Adult Clinical Nutrition
Registered Dietitian
Nutrition Support Team
Elizabeth Wall, MS, RD, CNSC, LDN
Annie Widlicka, MS, RD, CNSC, LDN
Jean Herlitz, RN
Physician Resource Nurse
Hilary Jericho, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Scott Lozano, PharmD, BCNSP
Clinical Pharmacist
Surgeons
John C. Alverdy, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Services
Video Capsule Endoscopy
Vivek Prachand, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Double Balloon Enteroscopy
Laparoscopic resection of small bowel lesions
Mustafa Hussain, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
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CENTER FOR COLON
AND RECTAL DISEASES
Our experts in the Center for Colon and Rectal Diseases are fully prepared to
comprehensively treat a wide range of challenging colon, rectal and anal diseases,
including pelvic floor disorders and perianal disease.
Our surgeons are recognized experts in the surgical treatment of these diseases and,
when appropriate, use some of today’s most advanced, leading-edge surgical techniques.
In fact, more than half of colorectal surgeries performed at the University of Chicago
Medicine are done using minimally invasive techniques, and our program ranks among
the top five percent of academic medical centers in the country for volume of laparoscopic
colorectal procedures performed.
Although our surgeons’ clinical expertise go far and wide, the outcomes of our
patients largely depend on a team approach that includes physician assistants, medical
assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners, as well as highly experienced enterostomal
and wound care nurses. The combined expertise of these professionals ensures that each
patient receives the care he or she needs to thrive after surgery.
24
NEIL H. HYMAN, MD
LISA MARIE CANNON, MD
ROGER HURST, MD
KONSTANTIN UMANSKIY, MD
Chief, Colon and Rectal Surgery
Clinical Associate of Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Physicians
Lisa Marie Cannon, MD
Clinical Associate of Surgery
Roger Hurst, MD
Professor of Surgery
Neil Hyman, MD
Chief, Colon & Rectal Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Konstantin Umanskiy, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Dynamic and MRI defecography
and transit studies
Prolapse repair
Treatment of constipation
Polyposis
Laparoscopic colon cancer surgery
Robotic rectal cancer surgery
Fecal incontinence
Trans-anal endoscopic microsurgery (TEMS)
Colon and rectal disease
Complicated diverticular disease
Diagnostic and surveillance colonoscopy
Pre-sacral tumor excision
Endorectal ultrasound and pelvic MRI
Treatment of colonic volvulus
Advance Practice Nurses
Noelle Kakuk, APN
Nurse Practitioner
Endometriosis
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Crohn’s disease
Lower GI carcinoid
Ulcerative colitis
Michele Rubin, APN, CNS, CGRN
IBD Nurse Specialist
Perianal disease
Hemorrhoids
Perianal fistulizing disease
Anal fissure
Laparoscopic surgery for inflammatory bowel disease
Management of abscess and fistula
Re-operative disease
Deborah Walsh, APN
Nurse Practitioner
Wound Ostomy and Skin
Care Nurses
Janice C. Colwell, RN, MS,
CWOCN, FAAN
Stoma Nurse
Michele Kaplon-Jones, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, CWOCN Stoma Nurse
Maria Lourdes De Ocampo, RN, CWOCN, APN
Stoma Nurse
Recto-vaginal fistula treatment
Sexually transmitted diseases
Pruritis ani
Pilonidal disease
Paget’s disease of the anus
Oncology
Colon cancer
Rectal cancer
Services
Pelvic floor disorders
Endoanal ultrasound
Anal cancer
Anorectal manometry, electromyography, and pudendal nerve testing
Management of hereditary
colorectal cancer
Second opinion services
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
J-pouch procedure
Advance enterostomal nursing care
State-of-the-art diagnostic imaging
Contact
To learn more about the Center
for Colon and Rectal Diseases,
please visit: uchospitals.edu/
specialties/colorectal/
To schedule an admission, make a referral, or request a consultation, please call UCM Physician Connect at: 1 (800) 824–2282.
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CENTER FOR
ESOPHAGEAL
DISEASES
One of the few centers in the U.S. dedicated solely to the diagnosis and treatment
of esophageal disease, the Center brings together nationally and internationally
recognized clinicians and researchers in a variety of related disciplines to provide
patients with advanced options, resources, and a level of experience and innovation
available at only a handful of leading medical centers in the world. Our approach
is both personalized and multidisciplinary; our outcomes are considered a model
for outstanding patient care.
26
MARCO G. PATTI, MD
ROBERT T. KAVITT, MD, MPH
VANI KONDA, MD
Director, Center for Esophageal Diseases
Medical Director, Center for Esophageal Diseases
Director of Endoscopic Research and Educational Programs, Center for Endoscopic Research and Therapeutics
Physicians
Surgery
John C. Alverdy, MD, FACS
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Surgery
Imre Noth, MD
Professor of Medicine
Director, Bronchoscopy and Interstitial Lung Disease Program
Mark K. Ferguson, MD
Professor of Surgery
Ear, Nose & Throat
Elisabeth Blair, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Mustafa Hussain, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Louis de Guzman Portugal, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Marco G. Patti, MD
Professor of Surgery
Medical oncology
Victoria M. Villaflor, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Mitchell C. Posner, MD
Thomas D. Jones Professor of Surgery
Vivek N. Prachand, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Gastroenterology
Robert T. Kavitt, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Vani Konda, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine
Uzma Siddiqui, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Irving Waxman, MD
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Pathology
John Hart, MD
Professor of Pathology
Nurses
Kim Harris, RN Donna Kahn, RN
Leslie Mote, LPN
Donna Nozicka, RN, BSN
Julia O’Malley, RN
Mariana Winslow, RN
Services
Endoscopy
Evaluation and treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis
Endoscopic dilatation
Pulmonology
Edward Garrity, MD
Professor of Medicine
Endoscopic ultrasound
D. Kyle Hogarth, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director, Bronchoscopy and Minimally Invasive Diagnostics
Co-Director, Upper Aerodigestive
Cancer Risk Clinic
Medical Director, Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program
Endoscopic mucosal resection
Wireless pH testing
Radiology
ENT evaluation of vocal cord problems related to GERD
Evaluation of respiratory disorders such as cough or asthma of unknown origin, IPF
Minimally invasive myotomy for achalasia
Minimally invasive antireflux surgery
Minimally invasive treatment of paraesophageal hernia
Multimodal therapy for esophageal cancer
Minimally invasive resection for esophageal
cancer
Cryotherapy
Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy
Optical Coherence Tomography
Number of patients in
last 12 months
More than 1,000
Contact
To learn more about the Center for Esophageal Diseases, please visit: uchospitals.edu/specialties/esophageal/
To make a referral or request a consultation,
please call: 1 (844) UCGIDOC (824–4362).
Radiofrequency ablation
High-resolution esophageal manometry
Catheter-based pH/impedance testing
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
27
CENTER FOR
ENDOSCOPIC RESEARCH
AND THERAPEUTICS
(CERT)
CERT offers patients and their referring physicians the benefits of endoscopic
expertise as well as a comprehensive approach to patient care. Our Center’s resources,
from cutting-edge technology to physicians, advance practice nurses, and scheduling
staff, are exclusively dedicated to serving CERT patients and the physicians
who refer them.
CERT’s state-of-the-art endoscopy suite is located in the University of Chicago
Medicine’s newest hospital, the Center for Care and Discovery, completed in 2013.
The suite offers the most advanced complement of technologies in the region.
Our team uses these technologies to diagnose and/or treat a wide variety of complex
gastrointestinal disorders—from esophageal to pancreatic cancers; large colon polyps;
pancreatic and bile duct stones; pancreatitis; and Barrett’s esophagus.
Our top-ranked team of physicians, directed by one of the world’s leading authorities
on endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
(ERCP), Dr. Irving Waxman, includes experts in surgery, oncology, pathology,
radiology, and radiation oncology. Our team can provide rapid evaluations that provide
accurate diagnoses and staging of cancers with appropriate surgical and oncological
follow-up care scheduled. Furthermore, in many cases we perform complex endoscopic
procedures that can spare patients from major surgery.
Our volume—and the experience it represents—contributes to both our excellent
patient outcomes and our low rate of complications. CERT’s interventional endoscopy
program is one of the region’s largest, placing us in the ranks of the nation’s leaders
in progressive techniques. Similarly, our continuing medical education programs
in interventional endoscopy are ranked by the American Society of Gastrointestinal
Endoscopy as among the nation’s best.
28
IRVING WAXMAN, MD UZMA SIDDIQUI, MD
Associate Director Director of Center for Endoscopic Research of Center for Endoscopic Research
and Therapeutics
and Therapeutics
VANI KONDA, MD
ANDRES GELRUD, MD
Director of Endoscopic
Research and Educational Programs
Director of the Pancreatic
Disease Center
Physicians
Irving Waxman, MD
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Director of Center for Endoscopic
Research and Therapeutics
Ablation of cholangiocarcinoma with photodynamic therapy (PDT)
and radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
Number of patients seen
in last 12 months
More than 2,000
Lithotripsy of large biliary and pancreatic duct stones
Uzma Siddiqui, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Associate Director of Center for Endoscopic Research and Therapeutics
Ampullectomy
Contact To learn more about the Center for Endoscopic Research and Therapeutics, please visit: uchospitals.edu/cert
Vani Konda, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director of Endoscopic Research and Educational Programs
Andres Gelrud, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director of the Pancreatic Disease Center
Services
Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS)
Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA)
Celiac Plexus Nerve Block
Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
Cholangioscopy
Endoscopic Mucosal Resection
(EMR)
Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection
(ESD)
Complex polypectomy
Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
of Barrett’s esophagus, radiation
proctitis, and gastric antral vascular
ectasia (GAVE)
To schedule an admission, make a referral, or request a consultation, please call UCM Physician Connect at: 1 (800) 824–2282 or contact the Center directly at: 1 (773) 702–1459.
Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy
(CLE)
Pancreatic pseudocyst drainage and necrosectomy
Endoscopic suturing
Palliative stenting of GI tract and
pancreaticobiliary malignancies
Extra-corporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) for pancreatic stones
Per-oral endoscopic myotomy
(POEM)
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
29
30
“ We start where diagnostic endoscopy ends—we’re what comes next.
We specialize in minimally invasive endoscopic therapies, novel imaging
techniques that allow us to identify precancerous problems before they
can even be noticed with an endoscope, and highly sophisticated cancer
staging. I think the other thing that makes us unique is the fact that from
our nurse coordinators and advanced practice nurses to our specialists,
this is all we do, focus on these particular problems.”
IRVING WAXMAN, MD
Director, Center for Endoscopic
Research and Therapeutics
31
CENTER FOR
LIVER DISEASES
At the Center for Liver Diseases, decades of experience, a culture of innovation,
and a robust program of clinical research combine to yield outstanding clinical outcomes
in two major areas: hepatitis C and liver transplantation.
For more than 20 years, we have helped set the standard of care for the management
of chronic hepatitis C, being actively involved in the ongoing development of both
treatment strategies and new therapies for the disease. The evolution of hepatitis C therapy
has recently been accelerated, and we are approaching the pinnacle where almost
all cases can potentially be cured with therapy. Our experienced team of hepatologists,
midlevel providers, and specialty nurses have the expertise in working with patients
to effectively manage both the disease and their particular therapy, achieving cure rates
well above 90 percent in those who are treated.
Our liver transplant program is known nationally and worldwide. Since its inception, we have performed more than 1,600 liver transplants. Our program has the highest liver transplant rate in Illinois, that is, patients on our waiting list having a statistically higher chance of receiving a liver transplant than patients on other waiting lists.
We have excellent graft and patient survival rates that are either at or above expectations
for our patient population.
Our Center also ranks at the top nationally in multi-organ transplant procedures.
In terms of both volume and experience, we have performed the most number
of combined liver, heart, and kidney transplants, and are fourth in combined liver
and heart transplants in the country.
The knowledge, skills and experience of our top-ranked hepatologists and surgeons
are part of our patients’ success, but a multidisciplinary approach is essential to effectively
address the complexity of the clinical cases we treat. With the teamwork of physicians,
specialty nurses, midlevel providers, a nutritionist, a social worker, and a psychologist
within our center, and the collaborative work of outstanding specialty teams in pathology,
radiology, and oncology, our patients benefit greatly from a comprehensive and integrated
management that is tailored to their individual needs.
32
J. MICHAEL MILLIS, MD
HELEN S. TE, MD
JOHN RENZ, MD, PhD
NANCY S. REAU, MD
K. GAUTHAM REDDY, MD
ANDREW ARONSOHN, MD
Surgical Director, Liver Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery
Medical Director, Adult Liver Transplant
Program
Professor of Surgery
Associate Professor of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Physicians
Hepatologists Andrew Aronsohn, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Nancy S. Reau, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
K. Gautham Reddy, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Helen S. Te, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Ruba K. Azzam, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Medical Director, Pediatric Liver
Transplant Program
Surgeons
J. Michael Millis, MD
Professor of Surgery
John Renz, MD, PhD
Professor of Surgery
Advanced Practice Nurses/
Physician Assistants
Elizabeth Boyle, APN
Hepatology Nurse Practitioner
Melanie Samardzija, APN, PhD
Hepatology Nurse Practitioner
Services
Multidisciplinary evaluation and
management of hepatitis, fatty
liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer,
benign liver masses, hepatic vascular
disorders, and other liver diseases
Liver biopsy
Liver transplantation, multi-organ transplantation
Clinical trials for novel therapies of liver diseases and the complications
of cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma,
and for novel immunosuppressive
agents
Innovative management strategies
for difficult cases, such as liver
transplantation for more advanced
hepatocellular carcinoma and for
obese patients
Locations
Hyde Park Campus
Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine 5758 S. Maryland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637 Phone 1 (773) 702–6140 Fax 1 (773) 834–1288
Bourbonnais Clinic
1615 N. Convent St. Bourbonnais, IL 60914 Phone 1 (815) 937–5200 Fax 1 (815) 937–2063
New Lenox Clinic
Silver Cross Hospital 1890 Silver Cross Blvd., Suite 215 New Lenox, IL 60451 Phone 1 (815) 602–8251
Schererville Clinic
222 Indianapolis Blvd. Schererville, IN 46375
Phone: 1 (773) 702–6140 Fax 1 (773) 834–1288
Contact
To learn more about the Center for Liver Diseases, please visit:
uchospitals.edu/specialties/gi/liver/
For referrals for liver transplantation,
please call UCM Liver Transplant
Intake Center at: 1 (773) 702–4500.
For other referrals and consultations,
please call UCM Physician Connect at: 1 (800) 824–2282.
A Hepatitis C Patient Support
Group meets regularly. Please visit:
uchospitals.edu/specialties/gi/liver/
Huron Clinic
150 E. Huron St., Suite 900
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone 1 (773) 702–6140
Fax 1 (773) 834–1288
Matteson Clinic (Surgery only)
4749 Lincoln Mall Drive, Suite 500
Matteson, IL 60443
Phone 1 (773) 702–4500
Fax 1 (773) 702–4788
Hepatobiliary surgery
Laparoscopic liver surgery
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
33
PANCREATIC
DISEASE CENTER
Diseases of the pancreas require comprehensive care from a multidisciplinary
and integrated team of experts. At the University of Chicago Medicine, our pancreatic
disease team includes recognized leaders in specialties from gastroenterology
to interventional radiology and pain management and extends to include highly
trained nutritionists, nurses, and genetic counselors.
Together, we offer unparalleled expertise in diagnosing and treating all types
of pancreatic conditions, including severe acute pancreatitis; chronic pancreatitis;
complications from pancreatitis; pancreatic pseudocyst and walled-off necrosis;
treatment of large pancreatic duct stones using extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy
(ESWL); pancreatic cystic lesions; genetic conditions that affect the pancreas including
CFTR, PRSS1, CTRC, SPINK; and autoimmune pancreatitis, among others.
In conjunction with the Center for Endoscopic Research and Therapeutics, we are
leaders in the use of minimally invasive, per oral techniques for complex conditions
that might otherwise require major surgery, as well as in early detection in patients
who are at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Our physician scientists are involved in several multicenter research trials examining
novel genetic links to pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, new medications that improve
outcomes after total pancreatectomy and islet autocell transplantation, and treatment
outcomes after transmural treatment of walled-off necrosis (a complication from
severe pancreatitis). Our work with the research of the North American Pancreatic
Study Group has already improved patient care at the University of Chicago Medicine
and across the country by changing the way we, as physicians, practice pancreatology.
Whether the goal is providing a cure or ameliorating the condition and improving
a patient’s quality of life, we provide extraordinary and effective care, offering
patients diagnostic and treatment options that are available at only a handful
of hospitals nationwide.
34
ANDRES GELRUD, MD, MMSc
JEFFREY B. MATTHEWS, MD
HEDY KINDLER, MD
BLASE POLITE, MD
JESSICA STOLL, CGC
Director of Pancreatic Disease Center
Chair, Department of Surgery
Medical Director, Gastrointestinal Oncology
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Cancer Genetics Counselor
Physicians
Gastroenterology &
Interventional Gastrointestinal
Endoscopy
Andres Gelrud, MD, MMSc
Associate Professor of Medicine
Sonia Kupfer, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Uzma Siddiqui, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Irving Waxman, MD
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Genetics
Jessica Stoll, CGC
Medical Oncology
Daniel Catenacci, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Hedy Kindler, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Medical Director, Gastrointestinal
Oncology
Mark F. Kozloff, MD
Clinical Associate of Medicine
Blase Polite, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Manish R. Sharma, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Nutritionists
Andreas Mykoniatis, MD
Clinical Associate of Medicine
Lori Welstead, MS, RD, LDN
Pain Management David Dickerson, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesia & Critical Care
Magdalena Anitescu, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Anesthesia & Critical Care
Jeffrey B. Matthews, MD
Dallas B. Phemister Professor of Surgery
Pancreas Transplant Surgery
Piotr Witkowski, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Director, Pancreatic and Islet Transplant Program
Mitchell C. Posner, MD
Thomas D. Jones Professor of Surgery
Pathology
John Hart, MD
Professor of Pathology
Radiation Oncology
Stanley Liauw, MD
Associate Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology
Ralph R. Weichselbaum, MD
D.K. Ludwig Professor of Radiation
and Cellular Oncology
Radiology
Abraham H. Dachman, MD
Professor of Radiology
Brian Funaki, MD
Professor of Radiology
Section Chief, Vascular and Interventional Radiology
Aytekin Oto, MD
Professor of Radiology and Surgery
Section Chief, Abdominal Imaging
Jeffrey A. Leef, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology
Surgery
John C. Alverdy, MD, FACS
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Surgery
Mustafa Hussain, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
Vivek N. Prachand, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Kevin Roggin, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Services
Minimally invasive pancreatic
procedures and surgeries
Extracorporeal shock wave
lithotripsy for patients with chronic
calcific pancreatitis
Minimally invasive pancreatic
surgeries such as laparoscopic
and video-assisted retroperitoneal
debridement (VARD)
Total pancreatectomy with islet
autocell transplantation (autologous
islet cell transplantation)
Pylorus-preserving pancreatic
resection (Whipple procedure) for benign and malignant disease
Vascular reconstruction for major
cancer operations
Duodenum-sparing pancreatic
operations for chronic pancreatitis
Contact
To learn more about the pancreatic
diseases group, please visit: uchospitals.edu/specialties/
pancreas
To make a referral or request a consultation, please call:
1 (877) DOM–2730.
35
GASTROINTESTINAL
CANCER RISK AND
PREVENTION CLINIC
The Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic offers personalized
and precision medicine for patients at increased risk for or survivors of gastrointestinal
malignancies. As gastroenterologists, genetic counselors, oncologists, and surgeons,
we work together in a multidisciplinary collaborative team to provide state-of-the-art
cancer risk assessment, genetic testing, management of hereditary syndromes,
and cancer prevention strategies such as control of inflammation in colitis.
Physicians
Sonia S. Kupfer, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Andres Gelrud, MD, MMSc
Associate Professor of Medicine
Neil H. Hyman, MD
Professor of Surgery
Blase Polite, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
David T. Rubin, MD
Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine
Uzma Siddiqui, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Affiliated Faculty
Jane E. Churpek, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
General Cancer Risk Program Assistant Director, Section of HONC
Susan Hong, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Breast Cancer Survivorship
Program
36
Olofunmilayo Olopade, MD
Walter L. Palmer Distinguished
Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics
Director, Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
General Cancer Risk Program Director, Section of HONC
Cancer Genetic Counselors
Jessica Stoll, MS
Services
GI cancer risk assessment and genetic testing
Cancer prevention counseling
Colorectal cancer screening and surveillance
Pancreatic cancer screening for high-risk patients
Gastrointestinal surgical procedures
Colitis prevention
Number of patients in last
24 months
250
Contact
Appointments: 1 (773) 702-6140
SONIA S. KUPFER, MD
Director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk
and Prevention Clinic
37
BASIC AND
TRANSLATIONAL
RESEARCH
At the heart of the Digestive Diseases Center lies basic and translational research,
the latter defined as the application of basic knowledge to clinical practice. In this regard,
our program is uniquely and intimately connected with the clinicians and clinical
research programs at the University of Chicago research. Within the Digestive Diseases
Research Core Center (DDRCC)—first funded by the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) nearly two decades ago and one of only seventeen such centers in the U.S.
today—researchers focus on building a better understanding of gastrointestinal diseases
in order to improve diagnosis, treatment, and patient outcomes. Our research programs
are also supported by investigator-initiated grants of nearly $10 million per year
from the NIH, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Gastro-Intestinal Research
Foundation of Chicago, Broad Medication Research Program, and other sources
of extramural and philanthropic funds.
The DDRCC promotes collaborative, multidisciplinary development of research
and technology. The Core Center’s support of GI research has led to the discovery
of the first IBD gene (NOD2), new understanding of the causes and management
of celiac disease, insights into the role of gut microbes in complex immune disorders,
and elucidation of the genetic and dietary mechanisms causing colon cancer.
We are internationally renowned for our work on the gut microbiome, mucosal
immunology, host-microbe interactions, and cancer. Strong interactions and collaborations
with Argonne National Laboratory and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods
Hole (both affiliate research institutions of the University of Chicago) complement
and extend our reach, as does our participation in SHARE, a consortium of seven
research institutions whose pooled patient databases and other resources permit studies
that otherwise could not be conducted by a single institution.
In all that we do, our purpose is to advance the practice of personalized medicine
for those who suffer from gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases.
38
EUGENE B. CHANG, MD
BANA JABRI, MD
Director, Digestive Disease
Research Core Center Director, Host-Microbe
Core
Co-director, Digestive
Sara and Harold Lincoln Diseases Research Thompson Professor Core Center
of Surgery
Director, Integrated Trans-
lational Research Core
Principal Investigators John C. Alverdy, MD, FACS
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Surgery
Dionysios Antonopoulos, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Joint appointment with Argonne
National Laboratory Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology
B. Marc Bissonnette, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Eugene B. Chang, MD
Martin Boyer Professor of Medicine
JOHN C. ALVERDY, MD, FACS
JOEL PEKOW, MD
Instructor of Medicine
Bana Jabri, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Pathology
Neil H. Hyman, MD0
Professor of Surgery
Vani Konda, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Kristi Milam, RN
Clinical Project Director, SHARE
Research Program and Genesys
Translational Research Core
Sonia Kupfer, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Lici Shen
Study Coordinator
Cathy Nagler, MD
Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics
Contact
To learn more about the University of Chicago Digestive Diseases
Research Core Center, please visit:
uchicagoddrcc.org.
Alexander Chervonsky, MD, PhD
Professor of Pathology
Chair, Committee on Immunology,
Department of Pathology
Folker Meyer, PhD
Computational Biologist, Argonne National Laboratory
Professor of Medicine, The University
of Chicago
Yan Chun Li, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Joel Pekow, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Erika Claud, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Mitchell L. Sogin, PhD
Marine Biological Laboratory Senior Scientist
Sushila Dalal, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Research Associates
George Gulotta
Database Manager
Jerry Turner, MD
Professor of Pathology
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
39
CENTER FOR
GASTROINTESTINAL
ONCOLOGY
The Center for Gastrointestinal Oncology brings together experts from two
of the University of Chicago Medicine’s nationally recognized programs, cancer
and gastroenterology. Both are consistently ranked among the top in the nation;
both include physicians who are internationally recognized for their expertise.
The Center’s approach to diagnosis and treatment is multidisciplinary and consensus
based, so that patients, including those with rare or complex disease, benefit from
collaborative problem solving among specialists in medical, surgical, and radiation
oncology, general surgery, and gastroenterology.
Whenever possible, we offer minimally invasive, including robotic, procedures
for GI tumor biopsy and resection. Our team includes some of the leading interventional
GI specialists in the world, physicians who are pioneers in the use and development
of endoscopy, including the use of probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE).
Patients receive extensive access to clinical trials, offering the next generation
of treatment to those suffering from gastrointenstinal cancer. Through innovative
surgical and radiation techniques, investigational and established medicines, and novel
molecular targeted therapies, our physicians can offer patients the highest chances
of success against a wide variety of cancers.
40
HEDY LEE KINDLER, MD
MITCHELL C. POSNER, MD, FACS IRVING WAXMAN, MD
Medical Director, Medical Chief, Surgical Oncology
Director, Center Medical Director, Clinical for Endoscopic Research
Oncology
Care Programs
and Therapeutics
Physician-in-Chief, Comprehensive Cancer Center
Leadership
Medical Oncology
Hedy Lee Kindler, MD
Medical Director, Medical Oncology
Associate Professor of Medicine
Surgical Oncology
Mitchell C. Posner, MD, FACS
Thomas D. Jones Professor of Surgery
Chief, Surgical Oncology
Medical Director, Clinical Cancer
Programs
Physician-in-Chief, Comprehensive
Cancer Center
Interventional Gastroenterology
Irving Waxman, MD
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Radiation Oncology
Stanley Liauw, MD
Associate Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology
Principal Physicians
Colon and Rectal Surgery
Neil H. Hyman, MD
Professor of Surgery
Section Chief, Colon and Rectal Surgery
Konstantin Umanskiy, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Lisa Marie Cannon, MD
Clinical Associate of Surgery
NEIL H. HYMAN, MD
Professor of Surgery
Surgical Oncology
Eugene Choi, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Mustafa Hussain, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Jeffrey B. Matthews, MD, FACS
Dallas B. Phemister Professor of Surgery
Marco G. Patti, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Vivek Prachand, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Kevin Roggin, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Interventional Gastroenterology
Andres Gelrud, MD, MMSc
Associate Professor of Medicine
Uzma Siddiqui, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Advance Practice Nurses/
Physician Assistants
Medical Oncology
Christine Racette, APN
Surgical Oncology
Barb Gordon, MSN, APN
Alaine Kamm, RN, APN
Alicia Wilson, APN
Number of patients
in last 12 months
Medical Oncology, 800 new patients
Surgical Oncology, 1,850 new patients
Services Minimally invasive esophagectomy,
gastrectomy, pancreatectomy,
hepatic resection, and colorectal
resection
Diagnostic and therapeutic
endoscopy for pancreatic,
hepatobiliary, and esophageal
cancers
Laser confocal microscopy, using
advanced technology that allows
physicians to view live images of internal human tissues at the
cellular level so they can identify and remove cancerous tissue sooner
Gene therapy for upper GI cancers
Combined chemoradiation therapies
Intensity-modulated radiation
therapy (IMRT), which targets
tumors better than conventional
radiation
Organ preservation for patients with rectal cancer
Small bowel resection
Colon & Rectal Surgery
Noelle Kakuk, APN
Michele Rubin, APN
Segmental colectomy
Total proctocolectomy
Mark F. Kozloff, MD
Clinical Associate of Medicine
Ostomy Jan Colwell, APN
Michele Kaplon-Jones, APN
Malou de Ocampo, APN
Blase Polite, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Bariatric Surgery
Angela Willis, APN
Medical Oncology
Daniel Catenacci, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Total abdominal colectomy
Stoma creation
Manish R. Sharma, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
41
CENTER FOR GASTROINTESTINAL
ONCOLOGY CONTINUED
Dedicated wound and ostomy care
Staging laparoscopy
Transanal endoscopic microsurgery
Duodenum-sparing pancreatic head resection
Contact
To learn more about the Center for
Gastrointestinal Oncology, please visit:
uchospitals.edu/specialties/cancer/gi
For admissions, referrals, and consultations,
please call UCM Physician Connect at: 1 (800) 824-2282.
Beger procedure
Frey procedure
Bern modification
Spleen-preserving pancreatic tail resection
Endoscopic placement of pancreatic stents
Pancreatic duodenectomy (Whipple procedure)
Robotic surgery
“ Just like the best science is team science, the best care for patients is team care,
and that’s particularly true in the case of GI malignancies. Our center offers
comprehensive care, in that we partner with our colleagues in both the Digestive
Diseases Center and oncology to formulate the best and most appropriate treatment
plans, plans that are individualized to each and every patient. Really personalized
care—the eventual ability to molecularly define every patient’s tumor and tailor therapy
to that specific tumor, for that specific patient—that’s the future of the Digestive
Diseases Center, at least as it relates to malignancies. It’s the focus of our research
and the goal of our practice.”
MITCHELL C. POSNER, MD, FACS
Thomas D. Jones Professor of Surgery
Chief, Surgical Oncology
Chief, Section of General Surgery
Physician-in-Chief, University of Chicago Medicine
Comprehensive Cancer Center
42
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
43
CENTER FOR THE
SURGICAL TREATMENT
OF OBESITY
The Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity provides exceptional, compassionate, and truly
multidisciplinary care to help those with severe obesity achieve the best health outcomes possible.
Our program epitomizes individualized, patient-centric care. We realize that obesity is a
multifaceted disease with many causes and treatments. We make our recommendations based on
the individual circumstances of our patients so that they may be successful in attaining their
desired or needed health goals. Our physicians work side-by-side with our dieticians and
psychologists in the clinic, both pre- and post-operatively, and we are committed to lifelong
follow-up of the patients who undergo surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine.
We are the only center in the region that individualizes recommendations and performs all
four surgical options for the treatment of obesity. Our expertise in the treatment of super
obesity (BMI >50) has garnered numerous invitations to present and demonstrate our approach
and outcomes at local, regional, national, and international conferences. We are the regionallyrecognized referral center for complications and other suboptimal outcomes following
procedures performed at other institutions, and we routinely serve as educational hosts
for visiting surgeons, dieticians, and program managers as they initiate the incorporation
of more advanced procedures and techniques into their practices.
As we continue to grow the Center for Surgical Treatment of Obesity, it will soon become
part of a larger initiative – currently called the University of Chicago Center for the Treatment of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders. Led by Endocrinologist Silvana Pannain, MD,
Gastroenterologist Edwin K. McDonald IV, MD and Bariatric Surgeon Mustafa Hussain,
MD, this new initiative will interface with multiple specialties and departments with the
goal of reinforcing and formalizing an integrated, innovative leadership role in obesity and
provide a platform for experts to collaborate regarding transplants, obstetrics, endocrinology,
bariatrics, gastroenterology, hepatology, pain management and orthopaedics. It will offer
a customized approach to weight management, the prevention of weight gain, minimize
the short-term and long-term obesity related complications from surgical procedures
and will ultimately encompass all University of Chicago obesity-related clinical and research
activities. In addition to endocrinologists, gastroenterologists and surgeons, the center
will include dietitians, psychologists, exercise physiologists and sleep specialists.
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MUSTAFA HUSSAIN, MD
VIVEK N. PRACHAND, MD, FACS
JOHN C. ALVERDY, MD, FACS
Medical Director, Bariatric Surgery
Chairman, Surgical Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Sara and Harold Lincoln
Thompson Professor of Surgery
Physicians
John C. Alverdy, MD, FACS
Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson
Professor of Surgery
Services
Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
Mustafa Hussain, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Duodenal Switch
Vivek N. Prachand, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Edwin K. McDonald IV, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Associate Director of Adult Clinical Nutrition
Silvana Pannain, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Advanced Practice Nurses/
Physician Assistants
Angela Willis, APN
Bariatric Program Manager
Laura Kujawa, BA
Intake Coordinator
Dietitians
Kristyn Clark, RD Jessica Schultz, RD
Psychologists Andrea Goldschmidt, PhD
Kristen Anderson, LCSW
Sara Desai, LCSW
Rou-en-Y gastric bypass
Laparoscopic Adjustable gastric
banding
Revision of previous bariatric surgery
Comprehensive management of complications of bariatric surgery
Monthly support group sessions led by psychology team; open to all
Weekly live patient information sessions
Patient webinar: uchospitals.edu/
programs/bariatric-surgery.html
Number of patients in the
last 12 months
Over 200 complex laparoscopic
bariatric procedures
Contact
To learn more about the Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity,
please visit: uchospitals.edu/
specialties/general-surgery/obesity
To schedule an admission, make a referral, or request a consultation,
please call UCM Physician Connect
at: 1 (800) 824-2282.
FOR REFERRALS AND CONSULTATIONS CALL: 1 (844) UCGIDOC
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: UCHOSPITALS.EDU/SPECIALTIES/GI
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CLINICAL
RESEARCH
At the University of Chicago Medicine, clinicians, patients, and researchers participate
in and benefit from a rigorously research-based approach to patient care. Year after
year, we conduct or participate in more clinical trials than any other hospital in Illinois,
offering patients and the physicians who refer them access to the most promising
treatments and new standards of care.
New ideas and new information shape the daily practice of medicine here. They
deepen our understanding of health and disease and amplify our ability to develop
better treatments for all medical conditions, from the simplest to the most complex.
Within the Digestive Diseases Center, a database of material pertaining to more
than 5,000 patients is the vital infrastructure for clinical trials of conventional
and novel medical therapies intended to diagnose and treat a wide range of digestive
diseases. In hepatology, for example, research is currently underway in the areas
of liver transplantation, viral hepatitis, and other inflammatory liver disorders; research
in nutrition is studying the impact of lactose intolerance in minority health outcomes
as well as obesity and celiac disease.
Other studies are examining the optimization of colorectal cancer screening for
average and high-risk patients, the effects of genetic counseling, and the possibilities
of chemoprevention. More than 200 research studies on human subjects with digestive
diseases are currently active here. This includes 20 IBD-related clinical trials including
an NIH-supported human microbiome study that seeks to understand the role of
intestinal microbes in the development of IBD.
Whether working independently or as part of multicenter research teams, Center
physicians are asking—and answering—the questions that will lead to more effective
treatments, better practice, and better patient outcomes for healthcare professionals
across the country and around the world.
To learn more about our clinical trials, call 1 (773) 702-5382.
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Clinical trials in
Digestive Diseases:
Novel therapies for Crohn’s disease
and ulcerative colitis
Medical therapies for celiac disease
Interventional trials related
to advanced endoscopy
The utility of chromoendoscopy
in ulcerative colitis surveillance
The role of the microbiome in IBD
pathogenesis
Disparities in digestive diseases
delivery of care
Phase 3 clinical trials for Hepatitis C
Assessment of robotic and minimally
invasive surgical outcomes
Anastomotic leak prevention
Innovative treatment trials
in esophageal, hepatic, pancreatic,
gastric and colorectal cancer
Prospective study of siblings
of IBD patients
2
The primary research and treatment
facilities of the Digestive Diseases
Center at the University of Chicago
Medicine are in the Chicago
neighborhood of Hyde Park, about
six miles south of the downtown
business district. We also have a
general clinic at Huron Street, off
Michigan Avenue in Chicago’s Gold
Coast shopping and cultural district.
Hyde Park
5841 South Maryland Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Downtown Chicago
150 East Huron Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Orland Park (coming soon)
Contact us
GI Physician Connect
1 (844) UCGIDOC
1 (844) 824-4362
referral assistance, patient
appointments or consultations
It is our policy to see doctor-referred patients
as soon as possible, within 7 days for cancer diagnoses,
and within 14 days for all other digestive diseases.
To learn more about the resources available to you
and your patients at the Digestive Diseases Center,
please contact us at 1 (877) DOM-2730.
You can use the number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
to request a consultation, arrange for patient admission
or transfer, or get information about grand rounds,
clinical trials, or continuing medical education.
You can also contact any of the twelve centers
that comprise the Digestive Diseases Center directly.
We look forward to speaking with you.
Connect with us on Facebook at:
facebook.com/UChicagoMed
To sign up for our quarterly e-newsletters,
http://learning.uchospitals.edu/
email-newsletters-for-medical-professionals.
To see the most recent version, visit
http://learning.uchospitals.edu/news.
For news on the latest research and other advances,
visit our blog at http://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/
UCM Physician Connect
1 (800) 824-2282
referrals
UCM Transfer Connect
1 (855) 834-4782
urgent patient transfers
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