Melissa Adams VanHouten is a former university political science instructor and corporate trainer who holds a B.S. in Political Science from St. Joseph’s College and an M.A. in Political Science from Indiana State University. After being diagnosed with gastroparesis in February of 2014, she became a passionate advocate for those in her community who feel voiceless and ignored.

Dr. Williams is an Associate Professor within the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone, where she serves as Associate Chair for Health Equity. Within Gastroenterology her interests include health disparities in colorectal cancer screening and medical education.

Molly Atwater, aka Molly Olly Ostomy, was diagnosed with chronic constipation when she was just a baby and as she grew up her condition became progressively worse. In her 20’s doctors finally figured out the root of the problem – a combination of anatomical abnormalities in her colon and dysfunctional muscles in her rectum.

Erica Dermer, also known as the “Celiac and the Beast” is the creator of the Celiac and the Beast website: Celiacandthebeast.com. Erica is a well-known digestive health expert, blogger and influencer known for her work searching for the best gluten-free products and celiac disease research at national trade shows like Natural Products Expo and as a speaker at Gluten-Free Expos across the country, and in her role as a patient advocate for digestive health conferences like Digestive Disease Week and celiac disease research summits.

Dawn Borromeo Beaulieu, MD, FACG, AGAF, is an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). She is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, with an expertise in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis).

Dr. Angelika Erwin is a board‐certified clinical geneticist and internist at the Center for Personalized Genomic Healthcare at the Cleveland Clinic. She is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and Founder/Director of MyGeneticist, a private genetics practice in Miami, FL.

Heather Hampel, M.S., CGC is a Clinical Professor and Associate Director of the Division of Clinical Cancer Genomics at City of Hope National Medical Center. Her research focuses on Lynch syndrome and universal tumor screening for Lynch syndrome.

Baha Moshiree MD, MS-CI is Professor of Medicine and Director of Motility, in the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, North Carolina (Atrium Health). She has previously completed subspecialty training in gastroenterology at the University of Florida and received a master’s degree in clinical investigation with a focus in functional and motility disorders during fellowship training on a National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 grant.

Dr. Silvester is co-Chair of the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Celiac Disease Special Interest Group and serves on the American Gastroenterological Association Council for section for basic and clinical intestinal disorders. Her research interests include the diagnosis and management of celiac disease with a particular interest in what happens after the diagnosis of celiac disease is made.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse aliquam consequat erat vitae gravida. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi posuere pharetra urna quis laoreet. Integer pretium lacus eget lobortis molestie. Praesent id libero tempus, viverra risus quis, egestas libero. Curabitur ac elementum sem. Aliquam ut purus nisl. Vestibulum mollis lobortis mauris, non iaculis sem porttitor at.

Dr. Mayer is a world renowned gastroenterologist and neuroscientist with 35 years of experience. His current research focus on the role of the gut microbiota brain interactions has expanded to emotion regulation, chronic visceral pain, food addiction and obesity, cognitive decline and autism spectrum disorders.

Beth Rosen is a Non-Diet Registered Dietitian, practicing nutrition for Gastrointestinal disorders and disordered eating issues from a Health At Every Size^® approach. She is the owner of Beth Rosen Nutrition in Southbury, Connecticut and works with clients virtually.

Tara Cousineau, PhD, has received numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovative Research program. She founded www.bodimojo.com, and develops digital wellness tools for youth.

Jeremy Sable was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis and eosinophilic gastritis in 1994 at 6 months of age, following significant continued weight loss and “failure to thrive.” Eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs) were newly classified and amino-based formulas had not yet been approved as a prescription medical food; there was no EGID community.

Dr. Karlitz is the Chief Medical Officer of Gastro Girl and Director of Clinical Operations for GI OnDemand.

Nancy Lazarus is a founder of the Achalasia Awareness Organization, a  grassroots movement created to raise awareness about Achalasia, a rare, incurable and progressive esophageal motility disease with only palliative treatment. Nancy is also an achalasia patient who struggled with undiagnosed gastrointestinal symptoms for eight years until her eventual diagnosis.

Sara Horst MD, MPH is an Associate Professor at VUMC and a gastroenterologist who is interested in the care of patient with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. She has active clinical research interests in patient reported outcomes in IBD and medication adherence.

Melodie Blackwell, is a Crohn’s patient and founder of an organization called the Color of Crohn’s and Chronic Illness. Her organization is on a mission is to improve the quality of life for patients who are affected by IBD, Digestive Disorders and associated Chronic Illnesses through Community, Research, Education, and Advocacy.

A recognized expert on the treatment of C. Difficile and Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT), diverticular disease, H pylori infection, acid reflux disease, GI bleeding, microscopic colitis, eosinophilic esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus, Dr. Stollman cares for patients with both common and unusual digestive diseases and disorders.

Dr. Drossman has written over 500 articles and book chapters, has published two books, a GI Procedure Manual, a textbook of Functional GI disorders (Rome I, II, III), and serves on six editorial and advisory boards in gastroenterology, psychosomatic medicine, behavioral medicine, and patient health. He served 5 years as Associate Editor of the journal Gastroenterology and was the Gastroenterology Section Editor of the Merck Manual for 17 years.

Dr. Kwo is currently Professor of Medicine and Director of Hepatology at Stanford University where he joined the faculty in November 2016. Prior to joining the faculty at Stanford, he was at Indiana University for 21 years where he served as the Medical Director of Liver Transplantation.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse aliquam consequat erat vitae gravida. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi posuere pharetra urna quis laoreet. Integer pretium lacus eget lobortis molestie. Praesent id libero tempus, viverra risus quis, egestas libero. Curabitur ac elementum sem. Aliquam ut purus nisl. Vestibulum mollis lobortis mauris, non iaculis sem porttitor at.

Luke Melms is a former NCAA baseball player and founder of Baseball and Business, an organization with the goal of empowering current and former pro and college baseball players to reach their full potential on the field and in business. He is also the host of The Baseball and Business Podcast.

Dr. Tauseef Ali is a consultant gastroenterologist at SSM Health Saint Anthony Hospital. He is also Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma in the section of Digestive Disease and Nutrition and adjunct faculty at Oklahoma State University. He is the chief of the Gastroenterology Section at SSM Health Saint Anthony Hospital, Oklahoma, where he also serves as director of IBD clinical and research program.

Dr. Brenner is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Surgery in the Division of Gastroenterology at Northwestern University and serves as Director of the Neurogastromotility and Functional Bowel Programs, Co-Director of the Integrated Bowel Dysfunction program, and Director of the Motts Tonelli GI Physiology Laboratory.

Kristina Booth, M.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. Dr. Booth specializes in colon and rectal surgery and practices at OUHealth, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Dr. Booth attended medical school and completed a general surgery residency at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Brian E. Lacy is a board certified gastroenterologist who focuses his research and clinical interests on disorders of gastrointestinal motility. Dr. Lacy’s areas of expertise include gastroesophageal reflux disease, dysphagia, achalasia, dyspepsia, gastroparesis, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, intestinal pseudo-obstruction and visceral pain.

At 21 Collin Jarvis was a nationally ranked middle and long distance runner when he was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2013, just before starting his final year at the University of California, Berkeley. The disease quickly forced Collin to stop running and put his plans for graduating on hold. Within 8 months of the initial diagnosis, Collin was left with no choice but to have ileostomy surgery performed to remove the diseased colon.

Johannah Ruddy is a national expert, researcher and writer on teaching communications skills to patients and providers and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Rome Foundation. Ms. Ruddy has 22 years of executive leadership experience working with a variety of nonprofit organizations nationwide and a strong background in writing for patients as well as a speaker at GI practices, medical centers and conferences in the area of provider communication and patient advocacy.

Jeffrey Roberts has been an Irritable Bowel Syndrome sufferer for 25+ years and was the creator of the first website for IBS sufferers. He currently runs the IBS Patient Support Group community at IBSpatient.org. He has testified to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) several times as well as act as a consultant to pharmaceuticals on behalf of IBS patients. Jeffrey is active in the media and press and has received award recognition for his work.

Dr. Lupe completed his Master’s degree and Doctorate in clinical psychology with a specialization in integrated behavioral health at The Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida. Dr. Lupe then completed his predoctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship in health psychology at the University of Florida Health Science Center.

Dr. Achkar is a gastroenterologist who sees patients with inflammatory bowel disease and also pursues research in the field. He has been in practice at the Cleveland Clinic for over 20 years and has a large and busy clinical practice focused predominantly in inflammatory bowel disease.

Danielle is a two-time colon cancer survivor first diagnosed at age seventeen and an award-winning communications professional. She writes and speaks to encourage those facing trials, under a motto of “faith that survives.” She’s the author of Blush: How I Barely Survived 17 (Redemption Press, 2020), The Holiday Girls (Little Lights Studio, 2018), and Unexpected: 25 Advent Devotionals.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse aliquam consequat erat vitae gravida. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi posuere pharetra urna quis laoreet. Integer pretium lacus eget lobortis molestie. Praesent id libero tempus, viverra risus quis, egestas libero. Curabitur ac elementum sem. Aliquam ut purus nisl. Vestibulum mollis lobortis mauris, non iaculis sem porttitor at.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse aliquam consequat erat vitae gravida. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi posuere pharetra urna quis laoreet. Integer pretium lacus eget lobortis molestie. Praesent id libero tempus, viverra risus quis, egestas libero. Curabitur ac elementum sem. Aliquam ut purus nisl. Vestibulum mollis lobortis mauris, non iaculis sem porttitor at.

Amanda Lynett is a GI specialized Registered Dietitian. Amanda is passionate about helping individuals build a healthy relationship with food while reducing symptoms with evidence-based medical nutrition therapy for a variety of digestive health conditions.

Dr. David A Johnson is Professor of Medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology at Eastern VA School of Medicine. Despite his primary focus on the clinical practice of gastroenterology, he has published extensively in the internal medicine/gastroenterology literature, contributing over 600 articles/chapters/invited reviews and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals and books. His particular areas of expertise focus on esophageal reflux disease, gut microbiome, sleep disorders and colorectal screening.

Dr. Chey has authored more than 400 manuscripts, reviews and book chapters yielding an H-index of 50. He is former Co-editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology (2010-2016) and serves on the editorial boards of several other journals. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees and in 2026, will become President of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Dan “Dry Dock” Shockley is a retired United States Navy veteran and an 8-year hereditary attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis (AFAP) survivor with a permanent ileostomy. He is an active patient advocate across multiple organizations and strives to bring awareness to hereditary colon cancer.

Kate is a Boston-based registered dietitian and NY Times Best Selling Author with 25+ years of digestive health experience. She was awarded Best Dietitian 2016 by Boston Magazine. She is a world-renowned Low FODMAP diet expert, and invited speaker at numerous international and national gastrointestinal health conferences from Harvard Medical School to Monash University.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse aliquam consequat erat vitae gravida. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi posuere pharetra urna quis laoreet. Integer pretium lacus eget lobortis molestie. Praesent id libero tempus, viverra risus quis, egestas libero. Curabitur ac elementum sem. Aliquam ut purus nisl. Vestibulum mollis lobortis mauris, non iaculis sem porttitor at.

Amber Tresca is an IBD patient (diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 1989) who has been writing and editing patient-facing content for the IBD community since 2000 both for major online outlets and on her own site, AboutIBD.com. After 10 years of active disease, medical therapy failed and she underwent the 2 step j-pouch surgery (removal of the large intestine and creation of an internal pouch from the last part of the small intestine).

Epicured is a healthcare company which harnesses the natural healing power of food to help people eat better, feel better, and live better. As the first low FODMAP and gluten-free meal delivery service, Epicured give customers with IBS, Crohn’s, Colitis, SIBO, and celiac an easy way to achieve better digestive health.

Kathleen Sable is a pioneer in the eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease patient community. Her son Jeremy, now 27, was diagnosed with eosinophilic gastritis and eosinophilic esophagitis in 1994. Since that time, Kathleen has been a passionate advocate, providing patient and caregiver perspective to researchers, lawmakers, pharmaceutical companies, and other stakeholders.

Dr. Amelie Therrien is a Gastroenterologist and Clinical Research Fellow in Celiac Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA as well as an Instructor In Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Neilanjan Nandi, MD is an academic gastroenterologist specializing in immunologic digestive illness, specifically Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) which includes Crohn’s & Ulcerative Colitis. Passionate about enhancing patient education, Dr. Nandi hopes to provide clarity & practicality in a digital world plagued by intentional or inadvertent miseducation.

Coleen Potts has worked at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio for 39 years. She began as a nursing assistant, became an RN in 1983 and has worked in specialty areas including Medical and Surgical ICU and Subacute.

Lawson started racing karts at the age of 8 and went on to win state, national, North American, and four Grand National Championships. In 2005, he finished on the podium in his first sports car race and then burst out onto the scene in 2006, winning the SPEED World Challenge GT Championship in his rookie year.

Dr. Taft is a licensed clinical psychologist and is director of adult behavioral medicine. She has specialty training in health psychology and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Dr. Taft is a leading expert on the psychological and social aspects of chronic digestive illnesses including IBS, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and Eosinophilic GI Diseases.

Dr. Gupta has an active research interest in Barrett’s esophagus, Eosinophilic Esophagitis, esophageal motility and motor disorders. She is the lead for the Eosinophilic Esophagitis Clinic, co-lead for the Southern Alberta Barrett’s Endotherapy Program and the Calgary Gut Motility Center.

In 1997 at age 29, David Dubin was surprised to learn of his colon cancer diagnosis. Although his grandfather and father both had colon cancer, he didn’t associate his bleeding and cramping to symptoms of the disease. Neither did his primary care physician who neglected to recommend a colonoscopy, despite his family history. Not until several months later when he finally saw a specialist did David learn he had colon cancer.

Jacqueline Gaulin is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Gastro Girl, Inc. and GI OnDEMAND LLC. Gastro Girl is a patient-centric health company that empowers patients to achieve optimal digestive health. Leveraging the latest technologies and its partnership with The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), Gastro Girl’s mission is to bring GI stakeholders together to provide patients the help they need when and how they need it.

Dr. Allison Yang is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Attending Physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is a clinical gastroenterologist with a focus on the multi-disciplinary care of patients with pancreatic disease.

Originally from Brazil, Dr. Werlang did her residency, chief residency and gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship at Mayo Clinic Florida. She is currently working as a general gastroenterologist in Greenville, South Carolina. She is a clinical assistant professor at university of South Carolina Greenville campus. Her main areas of interest are inpatient gastroenterology, nutrition in GI and gut-brain disorders.

Cathy Goldstein, MD is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center where she cares for patients with various conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, as well as participating in the training of future sleep physicians.

Dr. Katherine Pace is a physical therapist specializing in the pelvic floor. She owns a boutique physical therapy clinic in Westfield, NJ that exclusively treats pelvic floor and chronic hip issues. She specifically has a passion to improve maternal healthcare and believes each new mom deserves rehab postpartum.

Pooja Singhal, MD, FACG, DABOM is a board-certified Gastroenterologist and Director of Women’s Digestive Health at SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital. She completed her medical school training at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and an Internal medicine residency at the Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC.

Dr. Megan Riehl is a GI psychologist who specializes in the treatment of GI problems and anxiety-related disorders. She is the Clinical Director of the GI Behavioral Health Program at the University of Michigan, offering comprehensive treatment options for people being cared for by the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.