March of the Penguins at the NASPGHAN (Double) 50th Anniversary Celebration

It was the first in person annual meeting of North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in 3 years and quite a number of us were meeting face-to-face for the first time rather than as talking Zoom heads.  NASPGHAN is the national professional organization that represents all 2,700 pediatric gastroenterologists, hepatologists and nutritionists in the US and Canada recently affiliated with our Mexican colleagues.  Typically some 1,700+ meet annually for a Single Topic Symposium on Wednesday, the annual Post-Graduate Course Thursday and then the annual meeting on Friday and Saturday.  Also attending in tandem are the Association of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Nurses and Council of Pediatric Nutrition Professionals who work with us in multidisciplinary gastroenterology clinics (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, eosinophilic esophagitis and cyclic vomiting syndrome). The interminable sitting in a dark room watching innumerable slides erupts with a Saturday nite shindig with buffet dinner, a DJ and becchanal dancing.  

This year was special for two reasons.  A double 50th.  It was the 50^th Anniversary of the founding of NASPGHAN in 1972.  It would also be our 50th wedding anniversary.  This year, the former presidents (13 of the 29) were to parade during the plenary session.  One suggested we wear a tuxedo but I rejoindered that I would not be dressed as a penguin so close to Halloween.  In the pictures you will note that all of the former presidents are white – I was the first minority and the first Asian American to be elected.  Times they are a changin’, four of the most recent eight presidents have been female and our just elected is president-elect is an Asian-Canadian Vicky Ng.

Jenifer Lightdale current and Ben Gold immediate past presidents on the red carpet 

The still-able-to-stand past presidents 

At the annual meeting, it is my honor to congratulate the annual winner (10^th year) of the Teri Li Award in education awarded to a young faculty who has made an extraordinary national contribution to gastroenterology education.  It warms my heart to hear her name announced every year - and wish she was here to see her impact as it is also our 50th anniversary!  I also congratulate the winner of the ‘Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Award in honor of B Li’ given to the best poster abstract on nausea, vomiting and cyclic vomiting syndrome.  Given that I’ve been around so many years, I also get to congratulate many other award winners.  This year, especially because of the 50^th anniversary, many of my ex-trainees, mentees, former colleagues, committee appointees including chairs under me thanked me for mentoring and opening doors for them.  Oh, what a feeling.

This gives a sense of how much meaningful interaction is interwoven in early morning committee meetings, the breaks, the lunches, the dinners, the late evenings … apart from the meeting itself.  And as I am a pediatrician, it is a delight to watch these trainees grow and develop, build families and even become your boss!  . 

 

Here are some bios of a few of the characters that I wanted to highlight.  Their snapshots are below.  

 

This year’s Teri Li Award went to Brian McFerron, a young faculty member from Riley Chhildren’s and the Univ. of Indiana in Indianapolis.  Based upon rigorous criteria, he was selected by our national committee of educators for his novel work in training GI fellows.  Besides the engraved glass and monetary award, I send a bouquet of tropical flowers from Hawaii (Teri’s favorite) and a letter describing Teri’s passion for teaching young children.  It is hoped that this award early in one’s career will provide an incentive to keep active in the educator pathway.  He wrote back 'Thank you so much for the stunning flowers!  They are beautiful and look better every day.  My wife and I so enjoyed reading about Teri and your family.  I am deeply moved and honored to receive the award in her honor.  I hope I continue to make her proud!'

Brian McFerron 2022 Teri Li Award recipient

This year’s CVSA Award in honor of B Li was awarded to a pediatric resident Ben Jack from the Uniform Health Services Hospital in Bethesda.  His study highlighted children with cyclic vomiting syndrome who require hospitalization.  He would like to subspecialize in pediatric gastroenterology.

Brian Jacks 2022 CVSA/B Li Poster Award 

Carlo DiLorenzo, chief of pediatric gastroenterology at Nationwide Children’s & Ohio State Univ and a native Italian, received the 2022 Shwachman Award.  This is our top academic career achievement award in NASPGHAN.  Due to his famously humorously presentations, he is bar none the most popular speaker in our society and the face of our organization.  Carlo is a fellow Ohio State Buckeye fanatic with whom I celebrate and commiserate and has become a good friend as I continue to return to Columbus for one game a year.  In fact, I attended last weekend’s Indiana game held in the 30^o weather replete with snow, sleet and wind.

Carlo DiLorenzo 2022 Shwachman Awardee

Glenn Furuta, gastroenterologist from Colorado Children’s and U. Colorado in Denver received the 2021 Shwachman Award but was only able to hold a belated in person celebration this year.  He is the world’s leading researcher on eosinophilic esophagitis, a food-related immune reaction that inflames and scars the esophagus in both children and adults.  I helped him launch the very first Single Topic Symposium on this topic and routinely have lunch or dinner with him in Denver.  He is an ardent Univ. of Texas football fan.  Asian trio - Paul on the right is a crazy dancer.

Glenn Furuta 2021 Shwachman Awardee

Norberto Rodriguez is a transplant hepatologist at Dallas Children’s & UT-Southwestern in Dallas who originally hails from Puerto Rico.  He was awarded the Master Educator Award, a career achievement award in education - I just happened to be the inaugural winner 4 years ago.  Norberto is an especially creative teacher who developed a friendly GI Jeopardy Quiz competition between faculty and fellows now held annually at our national meeting.  After I appointed him as Chair of the International Committee, he developed a Spanish language program for our Latin American attendees that has become a permanent fixture at our annual meeting.  He was just elected Secretary-Treasurer of our organization.

Norberto Rodriguez 2022 Master Educator Awardee

Vicky Ng is a transplant hepatologist from Toronto Sick Kids and U. Toronto in Toronto and was just elected President-elect of NASPGHAN.  She is the 5^th woman and first Asian-Canadian woman to head our organization.  I’ve known her since she was a junior faculty and we have discussed a number of challenges that Asian professionals have and of course shared dim sum together in Vancouver. 

Vicky Ng, President-elect NASPGHAN

Diana Lerner is an interventional (removes, stretches, injects) endoscopist who was a fellow mentee and fellow faculty at Children’s Wisconsin & Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.  She was born in the Ukraine was just awarded a year-long fellowship to do extra training in interventional procedures (e.g. ERCP).  Diana has also made instructional cartoon videos to teach children about endoscopy they are about to undergo.  In Milwaukee, we have have dinner together with her two children and husband Isaak (in IT) and we will get together as the family temporarily relocates to Denver for the coming year.    

Diana Lerner 2022 Advanced Fellowship Awardee

Cara Mack, a transplant hepatologist and basic researcher on biliary atresia, is the new chief of pediatric gastroenterology at Children’s Wisconsin & Medical College of Wisconsin.  She is a native Wisconsinite and is returning to her home state where eight siblings live.  In fact, she was my first fellow at Lurie Children’s Hospital in 2001 but was already in her last year when I began as training director.  She is a trainee who has become my boss yet in so doing ‘promoted’ me to Emeritus Professor.  She is organizing a mini-symposium in my honor this December. 

Cara Mack, former fellow, now division chief & 'boss'

 

Katja Kovacic is the former fellow, mentee, research collaborator, NIH-funded neurogastroenterologist (gut-brain) and superstar in our field.  I highlighted her in the previous blog.  She is Finnish but from an island that is Swedish-speaking.  She was a Division 1 scholarship tennis player, represented USA at the senior World Tennis Championships and recently beat two of us playing against her solo!  Her children speak Swedish, Croatian and English.  I’ve become a fan of her 14 y/o daughter who is one of the top point guards in Wisconsin and have attended a number of her travel games over the last two years.  

 

Katja Kovacic + Cara & I had lunch but lost the pic

One picture shows  former co-fellows Khalil El-Chammas, a neurogastroenterologist (gastroparesis) at Cincinnati Children’s and U. Cincinnati, and Vi Go, a nutritionist at Children’s Hospital of Philadellphia and U. Pennsylvania.  They have three and two children respectively and now work at two of the top three pediatric gastroenterology divisions in the US.  We all caught up!

Former co-fellows Khalil El-Chammas and Vi Go

 

I have known Christine Waasdorp-Hurtado since she was an itsy-bitsy fellow at the U. Colorado at Colorado Springs after leaving military medicine.  She is now a mid-level faculty focusing on undergraduate medical education.  When she was the Fellows Committee Chair, she came to me with the grandiose idea of editing a Board Review Book for Fellows.  I helped raise the money and it became an 800-page reality.  It lead to us bonding over editing the second edition together and to having an mandatory lunch at the annual meeting.  She now has college-aged kids!

Christine Waasdorp-Hurtado long-time collaborator

 

There was one very sad note.  Jim Heubi, a hepatologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Dean of Clinical Research at U. Cincinnati and Past-President of NASPGHAN, passed away unexpectedly at in August 2021.  We were both long-term NASPGHAN Committee Chairs rising to President and would always commiserate and jog together at the executive retreats.  He was low-key, soft-spoken, thoughtful listener and tirelessly helpful – almost like an Asian brother.  Teri and I went out to dinner with he and Margo.  When Ben interviewed for medical school at Cincinnati, Jim spontaneously offered to take him to dinner.  Margo, and daughters Chrissie and Liz, attended the Past-Presidents 'procession' in his stead - tears flowed.  An incredible human being who will be missed.

Jim Heubi, in memoriam

In highlighting these former trainees and colleagues from around the country, you can see the close professional relationships that emerge in our society that make attending the annual meeting a warm annual reunion and collegial renewal.  It is heartening to watch career growth of each of these individuals as well as growth and dynamism (advocacy) in our society, and especially the growing diversity with more and more women and minority leaders and award winners.  And of course I’m especially tickled when other Asian Americans and Asian Canadians do so well …

 

Until next year …

Young friends and passing of a friend

As I mentioned in the previous blog, I’ve developed some young friends – who are they?  I thought I would provide a few snapshots.

 

Katja is Finnish(Swedish-speaking)-American, a protégé, a mother of three (4-14), an ex-Division I tennis player, and now an NIH-funded clinical scientist who is not only carrying on my Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Program yet independently pursuing novel vagal neuromodulation therapy.  She is Superwoman – she walked across the Atlantic ­– uphill both ways!  Her children speak Swedish, Croatian and English, and her eldest a girl is a top point guard whom I’ve watched hit 3-pointer after 3-pointer.   She is such a highly motivated, organized researcher, efficient writer and critical thinker from which we accrue bidirectional benefits, and clearly has shown she can outdo her mentor.  Special.

 

Fanny is Cantonese-Canadian acrylic and mixed media artist, and fellow Tai Chi student.  Her early years were spent on a Pacific Island, then Hong Kong for elementary school, then Canada for high school and college, and then the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing for a Master’s.  She’s trying to make it as an independent artist while teaching private art students.  She did a hand-painted replica of an exquisite ‘blue moon’ Boddhisatva that I saw on a trip to the Silk Road in 2016 and I have since collected/commissioned several other pieces.  Last year, she drew me into the Vancouver International Film Festival where she saw 40+ films and I first saw the later-named NY Times top 10 film ‘Drive my car’ from Japan.

 

Donna is Vietnamese-American woman who is the current President of APAMSA (Asian American medical student organization I began in 1995) and is like a daughter who sends me unexpected greetings, asks me to do things for APAMSA, and requests umpteen letters of recommendation.  She shared her family story – also in a TEDx talk – that inspired her intentions to focus on public mental health in Asian Americans combining an MPH and psychiatry residency.  Yesterday she asked for help on a presentation on APAMSA for the Health Equity Subcommittee of the White House AANHPI Commission.  Today she wrote “My helpful mantra is ‘What Would Dr. B Li Do?’”  Awwww.

 

Quintin is Shanghainese-South African who grew up as the only Asian (no sibs) in his South African town – not unlike my upbringing in Iowa City.  After his undergraduate degree there, he moved to Norway for nine years to set up a company to develop a new interactive, non-violent video game.  Feeling a bit out of place socially, he screened the world for a landing spot and without foreknowledge, moved to downtown Vancouver.  He is a thinker with global perspective and game designer who is also a cinephile and we’ve shared a number of repasts and watched a number of movies together.  And his girlfriend is from Ukraine and finally on her way.  Just where in the world is Carmen San Quintin?

 

A moment of silence for Jeff Perry

 

Jeff Perry (spouse of Becky) passed away this past Saturday.  He is aptly self-described as an ‘independent, working-class scholar’ who was educated at Princeton several years ahead of me followed by a PhD in history from Columbia.  Yet for 50+ years he was active working-class postal worker eventually serving as the union shop steward.  Meanwhile, he was continuously involved in social justice issues ranging from affirmative action, worker’s, women’s, tenants’, Black, Latino and Asian rights, anti-war and anti-imperialist work. 

 

Yet on top of his job, family and proactivity and, outside of academia, he became an independent respected scholar focusing on ‘the role of white supremacy as retardant to progressive social change and on the centrality of the struggle against them to progressive social change efforts.’  As part of this passion, he completed a two-volume biography (second nominated for the Pulitzer prize) on Hubert Harrison (1917), the Father of Harlem Radicalism and founder of the militant ‘New Negro Movement’.  And he felt Mr. Harrison’s analysis laid the groundwork for that of Jeff’s mentor Theodore Allen’s two-volume “The Invention of the White Race” 1994, 1997.   

 

What a remarkable, impactful life for this proactive autodidact who dedicated his inexhaustible efforts to social justice in life and in academics – an old-school life that ran on all 8 cylinders!

https://www.jeffreybperry.net

Vancouver life: a self-assessment

I’m taking a moment to reflect over the past 11 years as tomorrow is the Teri’s anniversary.  A montage of memories of her insurmountable 19 month illness with innumerable complications confronted with grace and equanimity;  followed by care for my declining father for 3½ years 22/7 while working and learning new life skills with no time for grief;  another 3 years to organize his memorials, academic and collection legacy, and, with the help of family, friends and counseling to come to peace with the hand dealt and finally emerging into refreshed air.  It has been a full journey to the depths and back.

 A glimpse of my Vancouver life as an indicator of progress.  My life remains peripatetic with more than 50% time on the flight path but here is the single spot where I stay firmly entrenched during summers, focusing on one thing, Chen Tai Chi, in a self-imposed boot camp.  This year, I’ve crouched up to 17 hours per week and my knees have been accommodating and my balance, proprioception and strength have noticeably improved.  Post-COVID, the Sifu Paul and disciple Mary are back to basics (even warmups) retooling hand placement, knee positioning and hip movement with a fine microscope.  Any inch off is called out and redone until revamped.  Although my Boulder biking has consequently declined to a single weekly long ride, I’m swimming twice weekly.  My intermittent fasting, portfolio diet + chia, hemp, flax seeds and CoQ10 have reshaped and rejuvenated me.

 

Art has become a major endeavor that began by listening to my father’s stories about artists and his career as this was the main way that I could get him to relate to me.  Chinese contemporary ink painting began to become my passion while organizing his papers and collection.  Now, I have expanded his collection in a thematic way, made a gallery using his chosen name and commissioned calligraphy, and plan to have private showings for friends to curators.  I have focused my attention on Margaret a near nonagenarian artist who in the 1960-90s was an avant-garde ink painter who was close to my parents and now my close friend.  After interviewing her weekly during COVID, I gave my first art history lecture on her career.  Although my relationship with my father was limited or one-sided, I strangely find myself following in his extra-large footsteps … and appreciating his remarkable prescient, open-minded eye for abstract ink and my own subsequent visual high.  

 

Close friends and family are widespread representing lived places from Iowa City/Lawrence, NYC, San Francisco, Madison, Columbus, Chicago, Milwaukee, Vancouver and now Boulder and a geographical challenge to maintain.  They are a diverse lot from friends, former neighbors, fellow residents and faculty mentors, gourmet club, colleagues (Geezer’s Club or Grumpy old Gastroenterologists), artists, and biking and Tai Chi buddies.  Of course, the 46-year relationship with three generations of Chuns who treated us like family (‘Teri was like a second daughter’) continues as does the 45-year history with Steve (best bud) and Mary and their three generations – our most secure life-long anchors.  What is interesting is that my continued physical moves, academic involvement, APAMSA board activity, and art interests are forging new relationships with old and young’uns the latter are helping me to better understand and appreciate gen Z’s from which hope springs for better, beyond our current quagmire.

 

So, my self-assessment in Vancouver tells me that my life is refreshing and meaningful, still on a slightly upward, exploratory, adventurous incline despite the world as it is and aging as it will be.

 

Best  

 

 

From cannery town Ladner, just north of the Tsawwassen Ferry

To downtown Van from 40th floor

Overlooking the convention center, cruise docks

And the view at sunset

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new adventure

My single stopover in Kansas was to visit friends one of whom is a full-time caretaker of a spouse sliding deeply into dementia - a humbling reminder of the fragility of the aging mind and its ... consequences.  I had a long and detailed talk with my parents in Pioneer Cemetery on the hilltop overlooking KU's West Campus and acknowledged my recovery, reconciliation and growth that I've experienced from Teri's illness and my father's demise.  And then, the Rockies.  The movers failed to show up twice for loading and and only one showed up to unload yet managed to get a sofa bed upstairs by himself.  In 2 1/2 days unpackers unboxed, put away, organized and labeled each cabinet, and carted 80 empty boxes away - incroyable!

I immediately purchased a hybrid bike and into thin air I huffed up and down Coal Creek Trail with the omnipresent Rockies visible to my west.  I passed 6 neighborhoods incinerated by the wildfires with a few remaining fireplaces and charred vehicles as reminders.  Fanned by 100 mph winds, the wildfires left 1,000 families homeless and occurred the day after I closed.  If these had happened in reverse order, I never could have moved here as there are now more than 20 offers per property.  It has been a major switch for me from road biking the country hills of Madison to trying to stay upright on trails of rock, gravel, dirt and pavement. I suffered my first spill in a flooded underpass laden with mud. I've seen hundreds of prairie dogs, one coyote and one rattler on my rides.  And, the redoubtable goats head thorn known to slay inner tubes - I just patched my fourth puncture today after going >12 years without a flat on my road bike. 

In the midst of the move, a twice (COVID-related) rescheduled sojourn to Peru and Machu Picchu with my best friend Steve.  The incredible Incan ingenuity is evident in the impeccable interlocking stonework (up to 123 tons/stone) and aqueducts that have survived centuries of earthquakes - we experienced a 7.2 in Cusco (11,000 ft).  But their welcoming and ingenuous nature led to the defeat of their empire spanning 6 South American countries by 168 gold-crazed disingenuous Spaniards.  My favorite interaction was in a home-hosted scrumptious meal with roasted guinea pig (like our holiday turkey) in which the grandfather wore a Buckeye hat where I explained that it was a very famous university ... for American football.  I was then asked to teach the grandson how to use chopsticks and he eagerly caught on! 100,000 Chinese laborers came to build railroads in the 1840s leaving more than 2,000,000 descendants with their own schools etc.  In fact, the second most popular national dish (#1 is ceviche) is lomo saltado which is stir-fried beef with tomatoes and onions in oyster sauce that can be found in every corner cafe.  As a result of such culinary fusion, Peru has become the #1 food destination in South American 9 of the last 11 years.  We could learn something from that confusion.

And then, back to high altitude home in Boulder County, where I took a break from biking to hike up to Calypso Cascade in Rocky Mountain National Park where the runoff was raging and even overflowing some of our trail.  

I have been welcomed by old friends and family and now that the basement renovation is almost complete and the artwork is up, this new adventure is ...! 

Short Chinese New Year's note 2022 (Tiger - Teri's birth year)

I visited Rachel, John, Jack (11) and Naomi (9), and Meimei multiple times this year and took care of the youngest three for a December week while the elders scuba’ed their anniversary away in Turks and Caicos.  You get to know all their little … idiosyncracies.  I saw Ben, Theresa, Flora 3½ and feisty Juna (1½) at Christmas while staying with niece Jennifer and husband Matt in east of Boulder.  Spending extended time in Madison with Steve and Mary’s extended family with new #3 grandcutie Maddie and Mémée’s brood with 5/6 grandchildren in college or beyond has been a normalizing influence during all the barometric and political weirdness.

 

The big news is that I’m moving to the Lafayette, CO this April.  I experienced amazingly good juju to win a 3-way bidding war before the wildfires destroyed 1000 homes and skyrocketed demand and prices – it would be impossible to buy now as each property has > 20 offers.  It was meant to be.  The basement will become part Tai Chi studio and part art gallery in honor of my father.

 

I stay active with several academic projects (upgraded to Emeritus Professor), my incessant reading (62 tomes), my avid collecting of contemporary Chinese ink art and first art history talk (familial?) plus virtual and live Tai Chi in Vancouver (aching quads), extensive road biking (aching quads 2), and traveling (Yosemite…).

 

I invite family and friends who want clean, but thin air, abundant sunshine (more than San Diego) and mountain treks to visit.

 

B

bliemd8@gmail.com