Newswise — Philadelphia, PA (October 8, 2018) – Sunanda V. Kane, MD, MSPH, FACG, a gastroenterologist and Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, was elected by the membership as the 2018-2019 President of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), a national medical organization representing more than 14,000 clinical gastroenterologists and other specialists in digestive diseases. Dr. Kane officially takes her position as President during the College’s Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course, held this week in Philadelphia. In this position, Dr. Kane will direct ACG’s programs, which include continuing medical education in the clinical, scientific and patient-related skills of gastroenterology, activities involving national and state medical affairs, health policy issues, and clinical investigation.

Dr. Kane is the Chair of Quality within the Mayo Clinic’s Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, where she is responsible for oversight of all quality improvement projects within the Division, tracking endoscopic quality metrics for the practice, leading annual credentialing reviews, and is an adjunct faculty member to the Mayo Quality Academy.

Dr. Kane received her BS in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine and MS in Public Health in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from the University of Illinois. After earning her medical degree from Rush Medical College, Dr. Kane completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, and then her fellowship in Gastroenterology at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Kane has a busy clinical practice seeing patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and considers herself a clinician first and foremost. She conducts research in the areas of new therapies, gender-specific issues, and medication adherence. Dr. Kane is also actively engaged in teaching, including the second-year medical students in the Mayo Medical School, the medicine residents on the GI inpatient consult service, and gastroenterology fellows in clinic, on hospital service and in the outpatient endoscopy suite.

A member of the ACG Board of Trustees since 2008, Dr. Kane has served as an officer of the College since 2014. In 2017, she was selected by the ACG President to deliver the David Y. Graham Lecture, “On Becoming a Successful Leader: An Amazing Journey or the Road the Nowhere? Since 2011, Dr. Kane has served on the Board of Directors for the ACG Institute for Clinical Research & Education.  Dr. Kane was Director of the College’s Quality Council from 2012 to 2015. 

Her numerous contributions to the work of the College include service as a member of the ACG Educational Affairs Committee (2000-2007), the Women in Gastroenterology Committee (2000-2005, Chair, 2005-2008), and the Finance & Budget Committee (2013-2014.) She pioneered ACG’s Fellows Mentoring Program in 2010 and continues to participate as a mentor. Dr. Kane has a longstanding commitment to career development for GI fellows-in-training, first serving as Faculty for the North American Conference of GI Fellows in 2003, then serving as Chair from 2005 to 2017. In 2007, Dr Kane organized and hosted the first Networking and Negotiation Skills Workshop to fill a need in this area. In 2017, along with Dr. David Rubin, she developed and serves as course Co-Director for ACG’s IBD School.

She has co-edited a pocket guide on management of IBD for practitioners and written a book for patients on self-management. She is the Past Chair of the National Patient Education Committee for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. She served as the first female Associate Editor for Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics and continues to serve editorial roles for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. Dr. Kane sits on the GI Specialty Council of the American Board of Internal Medicine. She has contributed over 135 papers of original research, 50 reviews, and 25 book chapters to the medical literature. Her hobbies include writing haiku, being commissioner for a fantasy football league, and standup comedy.

“As President, my goal is to build upon the core strengths of ACG’s advocacy, education and research endeavors and to maintain our dedication to serving the needs of clinicians,” said Dr. Kane. “The ACG has an amazing variety of resources for the busy clinician as well as the trainee. Trainees are the future of gastroenterology, and there is no greater satisfaction then seeing a fellow get excited about a project, an idea or even just the future of the field. There are lots of opportunities for fellows-in-training to get involved within the College,” commented Dr. Kane.

Photographs of Dr. Kane are available by contacting Anne-Louise Oliphant, (301) 263-9000.

 

About the American College of Gastroenterology

Founded in 1932, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) is an organization with an international membership of over 14,000 individuals from 86 countries. The College's vision is to be the pre-eminent professional organization that champions the evolving needs of clinicians in the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based and compassionate health care to gastroenterology patients. The mission of the College is to advance world-class care for patients with gastrointestinal disorders through excellence, innovation and advocacy in the areas of scientific investigation, education, prevention and treatment. www.gi.org

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