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 …