Byron Cryer, MD

In May 2022, the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) conference was held in person again for the first time in 3 years. Two years prior in July 2020 AGA launched the Equity Project, a six-point strategic plan to achieve equity and eradicate health disparities in digestive diseases.

President John Inadomi elected to focus his AGA Presidential Plenary session on updates in gastrointestinal and hepatic health disparities, and opened with a powerful testimony on his personal experiences encountering racism, and recognizing the need to translate spoken intentions into action.

This served as the perfect segue to the second plenary presentation in which an update was given on the progress of the Equity Project by co-chairs Byron Cryer, MD, and Sandra Quezada, MD, MS. Dr. Cryer described the vision of the Equity Project, including: a just world, free of inequities in access and health care delivery; state-of-the-art and well-funded research of multicultural populations; a diverse physician and scientist workforce and leadership; recognition of achievements of people of color; membership and staff committed to self-awareness and eliminating unconscious bias; and an engaged, large, diverse, vocal, and culturally- and socially aware early career membership.

Concrete action items were identified by a coalition of AGA members with diverse representation across specialties, practice settings, and identities. AGA staff and constituency programs have been critical in the execution of each action item. Key performance indicators were selected to gauge progress and hold the organization accountable in implementation of project tactics. These metrics demonstrate that the first 2 years of the Equity Project have been very productive. Salient accomplishments include three congressional briefings on health disparities topics, increased education and dialogue on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through podcasts, career development workshops and DDW sessions, fundraising of over $300,000 to support health disparities research, dedicated DEI sections and section editors for Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and the creation of a guide for GI fellowship program directors to promote equity and mitigate bias in the fellowship selection process.

Although the Equity Project is entering its third and final implementation year, the spirit and values of the Equity Project will live on. Excellence in equity requires ongoing, focused dedication – AGA is committed to ensuring that equity, diversity, and inclusion are inherently embedded through the fabric of the organization, and continuously integrated and assessed in all of the organization’s future strategic initiatives.

Dr. Quezada is an associate professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She reports being on the People of Color Advisory Board for Janssen. Dr. Cryer is chief of internal medicine and the Ralph Tompsett Endowed Chair in Medicine at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, and a professor of internal medicine at Texas A&M School of Medicine. He has no relevant conflicts of interest. These remarks were made during the AGA Presidential Plenary at DDW 2022.

In May 2022, the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) conference was held in person again for the first time in 3 years. Two years prior in July 2020 AGA launched the Equity Project, a six-point strategic plan to achieve equity and eradicate health disparities in digestive diseases.

President John Inadomi elected to focus his AGA Presidential Plenary session on updates in gastrointestinal and hepatic health disparities, and opened with a powerful testimony on his personal experiences encountering racism, and recognizing the need to translate spoken intentions into action.

This served as the perfect segue to the second plenary presentation in which an update was given on the progress of the Equity Project by co-chairs Byron Cryer, MD, and Sandra Quezada, MD, MS. Dr. Cryer described the vision of the Equity Project, including: a just world, free of inequities in access and health care delivery; state-of-the-art and well-funded research of multicultural populations; a diverse physician and scientist workforce and leadership; recognition of achievements of people of color; membership and staff committed to self-awareness and eliminating unconscious bias; and an engaged, large, diverse, vocal, and culturally- and socially aware early career membership.

Concrete action items were identified by a coalition of AGA members with diverse representation across specialties, practice settings, and identities. AGA staff and constituency programs have been critical in the execution of each action item. Key performance indicators were selected to gauge progress and hold the organization accountable in implementation of project tactics. These metrics demonstrate that the first 2 years of the Equity Project have been very productive. Salient accomplishments include three congressional briefings on health disparities topics, increased education and dialogue on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through podcasts, career development workshops and DDW sessions, fundraising of over $300,000 to support health disparities research, dedicated DEI sections and section editors for Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and the creation of a guide for GI fellowship program directors to promote equity and mitigate bias in the fellowship selection process.

Although the Equity Project is entering its third and final implementation year, the spirit and values of the Equity Project will live on. Excellence in equity requires ongoing, focused dedication – AGA is committed to ensuring that equity, diversity, and inclusion are inherently embedded through the fabric of the organization, and continuously integrated and assessed in all of the organization’s future strategic initiatives.

Dr. Quezada is an associate professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She reports being on the People of Color Advisory Board for Janssen. Dr. Cryer is chief of internal medicine and the Ralph Tompsett Endowed Chair in Medicine at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, and a professor of internal medicine at Texas A&M School of Medicine. He has no relevant conflicts of interest. These remarks were made during the AGA Presidential Plenary at DDW 2022.

In May 2022, the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) conference was held in person again for the first time in 3 years. Two years prior in July 2020 AGA launched the Equity Project, a six-point strategic plan to achieve equity and eradicate health disparities in digestive diseases.

President John Inadomi elected to focus his AGA Presidential Plenary session on updates in gastrointestinal and hepatic health disparities, and opened with a powerful testimony on his personal experiences encountering racism, and recognizing the need to translate spoken intentions into action.

This served as the perfect segue to the second plenary presentation in which an update was given on the progress of the Equity Project by co-chairs Byron Cryer, MD, and Sandra Quezada, MD, MS. Dr. Cryer described the vision of the Equity Project, including: a just world, free of inequities in access and health care delivery; state-of-the-art and well-funded research of multicultural populations; a diverse physician and scientist workforce and leadership; recognition of achievements of people of color; membership and staff committed to self-awareness and eliminating unconscious bias; and an engaged, large, diverse, vocal, and culturally- and socially aware early career membership.

Concrete action items were identified by a coalition of AGA members with diverse representation across specialties, practice settings, and identities. AGA staff and constituency programs have been critical in the execution of each action item. Key performance indicators were selected to gauge progress and hold the organization accountable in implementation of project tactics. These metrics demonstrate that the first 2 years of the Equity Project have been very productive. Salient accomplishments include three congressional briefings on health disparities topics, increased education and dialogue on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through podcasts, career development workshops and DDW sessions, fundraising of over $300,000 to support health disparities research, dedicated DEI sections and section editors for Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and the creation of a guide for GI fellowship program directors to promote equity and mitigate bias in the fellowship selection process.

Although the Equity Project is entering its third and final implementation year, the spirit and values of the Equity Project will live on. Excellence in equity requires ongoing, focused dedication – AGA is committed to ensuring that equity, diversity, and inclusion are inherently embedded through the fabric of the organization, and continuously integrated and assessed in all of the organization’s future strategic initiatives.

Dr. Quezada is an associate professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She reports being on the People of Color Advisory Board for Janssen. Dr. Cryer is chief of internal medicine and the Ralph Tompsett Endowed Chair in Medicine at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, and a professor of internal medicine at Texas A&M School of Medicine. He has no relevant conflicts of interest. These remarks were made during the AGA Presidential Plenary at DDW 2022.

“The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has worked diligently and effectively to expand the pool of underrepresented in medicine physicians who provide care for patients with digestive diseases,” remarks Byron Cryer, MD, FORWARD principal investigator and associate dean for the office of faculty diversity & development, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

This long history of promoting and encouraging diversity in the field is notable; however, the society recognizes that there is still more to be done to prepare and sponsor underrepresented in medicine physician-scientists to assume leadership positions in the field.

“As of 2017, only 3.2% of gastroenterology fellows were African American and 8.5% were Hispanic,” remarked Sandra Quezada, MD, AGA Chair, Diversity Committee. These statistics closely correspond to AGA’s membership demographics, where only 3.36% of AGA members are African American and 5.53% are Hispanic, among those reporting ethnicity.

Under the leadership of principal investigators Byron Cryer, MD, and Sheila Crowe, MD, and coinvestigators Juanita Merchant, MD, and Jesus Rivera-Nieves, MD, AGA developed the FORWARD (Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity) program.

This program was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases through an education project (R25) grant.

The overall objective of the grant is to enhance the diversity of the biomedical science research workforce in gastroenterology and to prepare individuals to assume leadership positions within the AGA and in academic medicine.

1. Provide skill development in leadership – including general leadership development, executive coaching, and opportunities for leadership experience within the society.

2. Implement a diversity management plan focused on active mentoring approaches, using both one-on-one and networking approaches, to provide opportunities for broad support and sponsorship.

3. Provide training for skill development in research careers including training in research development, management of research groups, scientific manuscript, and grant writing.

The program targets fellows and early-career faculty and was promoted broadly to society membership and to past participants in AGA diversity programs. Through a rigorous selection process, 10 physician-scientists were selected among a qualified pool of applicants. Participants were matched with experienced academic gastroenterologists who committed to serve as their professional mentors throughout the course of their participation in the FORWARD program.

Leadership development

The first FORWARD cohort kicked off in March 2019 and will conclude May 2020. They convened at AGA’s inaugural 2½ day Leadership Development Conference. During the conference, the 10 FORWARD scholars joined with 18 AGA Future Leader program participants and 40 Women’s Leadership Conference attendees to participate in leadership development training that addressed such topics as building resilience, presentation skills, negotiation, career success in an ever-changing scientific environment, emotional intelligence, and other key topics designed to bolster their skills as emerging leaders in gastroenterology. With seven past and current AGA presidents in attendance, the FORWARD participants had the unique opportunity to learn about the career paths and gain advice from key leaders in the field while also networking with fellow emerging leaders in both the Future Leaders program and Women’s Leadership Conference.

To further prepare the FORWARD scholars to assume future leadership positions within the society, they’ve begun “internships” that included shadowing AGA committee meetings during Digestive Disease Week (DDW^®) 2019 in San Diego and participating in networking events with AGA leaders at receptions and various events.
 

Mentoring and coaching

In addition to leadership development training at the conference, each FORWARD scholar identified a research topic that they would work on with their mentor and a grant-writing expert to develop into a full grant proposal by the conclusion of the program. The FORWARD mentors have committed to provide mentoring that addresses scientific research content as well as career guidance. The active mentoring provided to the FORWARD scholars is extensive and includes regular contact with their mentors as well as one-on-one executive coaching by a professional coach committed to learning about their needs and guiding them through an individual development plan.

To facilitate the coaching for their individual development plan, each FORWARD scholar completed a Self-Assessment for Physician Leaders and a 360° assessment, which informed the executive coaching that the scholars receive. For many of the scholars, this is the first time that they have benefited from individual executive coaching.
 

Academic research skills development

In addition to leadership development training and networking opportunities along with executive coaching and mentoring, the FORWARD scholars benefit from direct evaluation and consultation on grant writing. FORWARD scholars have access to a private learning management system where they participate in online grant-writing skills training designed by a grant-writing expert. Based on their training, they are developing various segments of an actual grant proposal and are receiving both virtual peer critiques as well as individualized critiques and guidance from the grant-writing consultant, their program mentor, and their home institution mentor. Future training modules will include lab management and manuscript writing.

Jesus Rivera-Nieves, MD, FORWARD coinvestigator, stated, “I have had the honor of monitoring the progress of our first class of scholars recently. I am incredibly proud of the caliber of these early-career professionals and have no doubt that they will emerge as leaders in our field, where more diversity is greatly needed.”

The scholars and their mentors will reconvene at DDW^® 2020 for an opportunity to give a presentation and participate in a commencement ceremony concluding their involvement in the program. Following the graduation of this first cohort, there will be a period of evaluation prior to recruitment of the second cohort of FORWARD scholars.
 

The 2018-2020 FORWARD Cohort includes:

Yelina Alvarez, MD, PhD University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia

Dominique Bailey, MD Columbia University Medical Center, New York

Veroushka Ballester, MD, MSc Columbia University Medical Center, New York

Oriana M. Damas, MD University of Miami

Patricia D. Jones, MD, MSCR University of Miami

Folasade (Fola) May, MD, PhD, MPhil University of California, Los Angeles; Veterans Affairs

Antonio Mendoza Ladd, MD, FACG, FASGE Texas Tech Univ. Health Sciences Center, El Paso

Akinbowale Oyalowo, MD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Nneka Ufere, MD Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Eric J. Vargas, MD Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

The 2018-2020 – FORWARD Program Mentors

Maria Abreu, MD, AGAF University of Miami

C. Rick Boland, MD, AGAF University of California, San Diego

John Carethers, MD, AGAF University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Darwin Conwell, MD, MS Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus

Gail Hecht, MD, MS, AGAF Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill.

John Inadomi, MD, AGAF University of Washington, Seattle

David Lieberman, MD, AGAF Oregon Health and Science University, Portland

Jorge Marrero, MD, MS, AGAF University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

Robert Sandler, MD, MPH, AGAF University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Gary Wu, MD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Dr. Cryer is associate dean for faculty diversity and development, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Dr. Rivera-Nieves, is professor of medicine, University of California, San Diego; and Ms. NuQuay, is senior director, member relations and constituency programs, American Gastroenterological Association, Bethesda, Md.

“The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has worked diligently and effectively to expand the pool of underrepresented in medicine physicians who provide care for patients with digestive diseases,” remarks Byron Cryer, MD, FORWARD principal investigator and associate dean for the office of faculty diversity & development, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

This long history of promoting and encouraging diversity in the field is notable; however, the society recognizes that there is still more to be done to prepare and sponsor underrepresented in medicine physician-scientists to assume leadership positions in the field.

“As of 2017, only 3.2% of gastroenterology fellows were African American and 8.5% were Hispanic,” remarked Sandra Quezada, MD, AGA Chair, Diversity Committee. These statistics closely correspond to AGA’s membership demographics, where only 3.36% of AGA members are African American and 5.53% are Hispanic, among those reporting ethnicity.

Under the leadership of principal investigators Byron Cryer, MD, and Sheila Crowe, MD, and coinvestigators Juanita Merchant, MD, and Jesus Rivera-Nieves, MD, AGA developed the FORWARD (Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity) program.

This program was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases through an education project (R25) grant.

The overall objective of the grant is to enhance the diversity of the biomedical science research workforce in gastroenterology and to prepare individuals to assume leadership positions within the AGA and in academic medicine.

1. Provide skill development in leadership – including general leadership development, executive coaching, and opportunities for leadership experience within the society.

2. Implement a diversity management plan focused on active mentoring approaches, using both one-on-one and networking approaches, to provide opportunities for broad support and sponsorship.

3. Provide training for skill development in research careers including training in research development, management of research groups, scientific manuscript, and grant writing.

The program targets fellows and early-career faculty and was promoted broadly to society membership and to past participants in AGA diversity programs. Through a rigorous selection process, 10 physician-scientists were selected among a qualified pool of applicants. Participants were matched with experienced academic gastroenterologists who committed to serve as their professional mentors throughout the course of their participation in the FORWARD program.

Leadership development

The first FORWARD cohort kicked off in March 2019 and will conclude May 2020. They convened at AGA’s inaugural 2½ day Leadership Development Conference. During the conference, the 10 FORWARD scholars joined with 18 AGA Future Leader program participants and 40 Women’s Leadership Conference attendees to participate in leadership development training that addressed such topics as building resilience, presentation skills, negotiation, career success in an ever-changing scientific environment, emotional intelligence, and other key topics designed to bolster their skills as emerging leaders in gastroenterology. With seven past and current AGA presidents in attendance, the FORWARD participants had the unique opportunity to learn about the career paths and gain advice from key leaders in the field while also networking with fellow emerging leaders in both the Future Leaders program and Women’s Leadership Conference.

To further prepare the FORWARD scholars to assume future leadership positions within the society, they’ve begun “internships” that included shadowing AGA committee meetings during Digestive Disease Week (DDW^®) 2019 in San Diego and participating in networking events with AGA leaders at receptions and various events.
 

Mentoring and coaching

In addition to leadership development training at the conference, each FORWARD scholar identified a research topic that they would work on with their mentor and a grant-writing expert to develop into a full grant proposal by the conclusion of the program. The FORWARD mentors have committed to provide mentoring that addresses scientific research content as well as career guidance. The active mentoring provided to the FORWARD scholars is extensive and includes regular contact with their mentors as well as one-on-one executive coaching by a professional coach committed to learning about their needs and guiding them through an individual development plan.

To facilitate the coaching for their individual development plan, each FORWARD scholar completed a Self-Assessment for Physician Leaders and a 360° assessment, which informed the executive coaching that the scholars receive. For many of the scholars, this is the first time that they have benefited from individual executive coaching.
 

Academic research skills development

In addition to leadership development training and networking opportunities along with executive coaching and mentoring, the FORWARD scholars benefit from direct evaluation and consultation on grant writing. FORWARD scholars have access to a private learning management system where they participate in online grant-writing skills training designed by a grant-writing expert. Based on their training, they are developing various segments of an actual grant proposal and are receiving both virtual peer critiques as well as individualized critiques and guidance from the grant-writing consultant, their program mentor, and their home institution mentor. Future training modules will include lab management and manuscript writing.

Jesus Rivera-Nieves, MD, FORWARD coinvestigator, stated, “I have had the honor of monitoring the progress of our first class of scholars recently. I am incredibly proud of the caliber of these early-career professionals and have no doubt that they will emerge as leaders in our field, where more diversity is greatly needed.”

The scholars and their mentors will reconvene at DDW^® 2020 for an opportunity to give a presentation and participate in a commencement ceremony concluding their involvement in the program. Following the graduation of this first cohort, there will be a period of evaluation prior to recruitment of the second cohort of FORWARD scholars.
 

The 2018-2020 FORWARD Cohort includes:

Yelina Alvarez, MD, PhD University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia

Dominique Bailey, MD Columbia University Medical Center, New York

Veroushka Ballester, MD, MSc Columbia University Medical Center, New York

Oriana M. Damas, MD University of Miami

Patricia D. Jones, MD, MSCR University of Miami

Folasade (Fola) May, MD, PhD, MPhil University of California, Los Angeles; Veterans Affairs

Antonio Mendoza Ladd, MD, FACG, FASGE Texas Tech Univ. Health Sciences Center, El Paso

Akinbowale Oyalowo, MD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Nneka Ufere, MD Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Eric J. Vargas, MD Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

The 2018-2020 – FORWARD Program Mentors

Maria Abreu, MD, AGAF University of Miami

C. Rick Boland, MD, AGAF University of California, San Diego

John Carethers, MD, AGAF University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Darwin Conwell, MD, MS Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus

Gail Hecht, MD, MS, AGAF Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill.

John Inadomi, MD, AGAF University of Washington, Seattle

David Lieberman, MD, AGAF Oregon Health and Science University, Portland

Jorge Marrero, MD, MS, AGAF University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

Robert Sandler, MD, MPH, AGAF University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Gary Wu, MD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Dr. Cryer is associate dean for faculty diversity and development, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Dr. Rivera-Nieves, is professor of medicine, University of California, San Diego; and Ms. NuQuay, is senior director, member relations and constituency programs, American Gastroenterological Association, Bethesda, Md.

“The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has worked diligently and effectively to expand the pool of underrepresented in medicine physicians who provide care for patients with digestive diseases,” remarks Byron Cryer, MD, FORWARD principal investigator and associate dean for the office of faculty diversity & development, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

This long history of promoting and encouraging diversity in the field is notable; however, the society recognizes that there is still more to be done to prepare and sponsor underrepresented in medicine physician-scientists to assume leadership positions in the field.

“As of 2017, only 3.2% of gastroenterology fellows were African American and 8.5% were Hispanic,” remarked Sandra Quezada, MD, AGA Chair, Diversity Committee. These statistics closely correspond to AGA’s membership demographics, where only 3.36% of AGA members are African American and 5.53% are Hispanic, among those reporting ethnicity.

Under the leadership of principal investigators Byron Cryer, MD, and Sheila Crowe, MD, and coinvestigators Juanita Merchant, MD, and Jesus Rivera-Nieves, MD, AGA developed the FORWARD (Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity) program.

This program was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases through an education project (R25) grant.

The overall objective of the grant is to enhance the diversity of the biomedical science research workforce in gastroenterology and to prepare individuals to assume leadership positions within the AGA and in academic medicine.

1. Provide skill development in leadership – including general leadership development, executive coaching, and opportunities for leadership experience within the society.

2. Implement a diversity management plan focused on active mentoring approaches, using both one-on-one and networking approaches, to provide opportunities for broad support and sponsorship.

3. Provide training for skill development in research careers including training in research development, management of research groups, scientific manuscript, and grant writing.

The program targets fellows and early-career faculty and was promoted broadly to society membership and to past participants in AGA diversity programs. Through a rigorous selection process, 10 physician-scientists were selected among a qualified pool of applicants. Participants were matched with experienced academic gastroenterologists who committed to serve as their professional mentors throughout the course of their participation in the FORWARD program.

Leadership development

The first FORWARD cohort kicked off in March 2019 and will conclude May 2020. They convened at AGA’s inaugural 2½ day Leadership Development Conference. During the conference, the 10 FORWARD scholars joined with 18 AGA Future Leader program participants and 40 Women’s Leadership Conference attendees to participate in leadership development training that addressed such topics as building resilience, presentation skills, negotiation, career success in an ever-changing scientific environment, emotional intelligence, and other key topics designed to bolster their skills as emerging leaders in gastroenterology. With seven past and current AGA presidents in attendance, the FORWARD participants had the unique opportunity to learn about the career paths and gain advice from key leaders in the field while also networking with fellow emerging leaders in both the Future Leaders program and Women’s Leadership Conference.

To further prepare the FORWARD scholars to assume future leadership positions within the society, they’ve begun “internships” that included shadowing AGA committee meetings during Digestive Disease Week (DDW^®) 2019 in San Diego and participating in networking events with AGA leaders at receptions and various events.
 

Mentoring and coaching

In addition to leadership development training at the conference, each FORWARD scholar identified a research topic that they would work on with their mentor and a grant-writing expert to develop into a full grant proposal by the conclusion of the program. The FORWARD mentors have committed to provide mentoring that addresses scientific research content as well as career guidance. The active mentoring provided to the FORWARD scholars is extensive and includes regular contact with their mentors as well as one-on-one executive coaching by a professional coach committed to learning about their needs and guiding them through an individual development plan.

To facilitate the coaching for their individual development plan, each FORWARD scholar completed a Self-Assessment for Physician Leaders and a 360° assessment, which informed the executive coaching that the scholars receive. For many of the scholars, this is the first time that they have benefited from individual executive coaching.
 

Academic research skills development

In addition to leadership development training and networking opportunities along with executive coaching and mentoring, the FORWARD scholars benefit from direct evaluation and consultation on grant writing. FORWARD scholars have access to a private learning management system where they participate in online grant-writing skills training designed by a grant-writing expert. Based on their training, they are developing various segments of an actual grant proposal and are receiving both virtual peer critiques as well as individualized critiques and guidance from the grant-writing consultant, their program mentor, and their home institution mentor. Future training modules will include lab management and manuscript writing.

Jesus Rivera-Nieves, MD, FORWARD coinvestigator, stated, “I have had the honor of monitoring the progress of our first class of scholars recently. I am incredibly proud of the caliber of these early-career professionals and have no doubt that they will emerge as leaders in our field, where more diversity is greatly needed.”

The scholars and their mentors will reconvene at DDW^® 2020 for an opportunity to give a presentation and participate in a commencement ceremony concluding their involvement in the program. Following the graduation of this first cohort, there will be a period of evaluation prior to recruitment of the second cohort of FORWARD scholars.
 

The 2018-2020 FORWARD Cohort includes:

Yelina Alvarez, MD, PhD University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia

Dominique Bailey, MD Columbia University Medical Center, New York

Veroushka Ballester, MD, MSc Columbia University Medical Center, New York

Oriana M. Damas, MD University of Miami

Patricia D. Jones, MD, MSCR University of Miami

Folasade (Fola) May, MD, PhD, MPhil University of California, Los Angeles; Veterans Affairs

Antonio Mendoza Ladd, MD, FACG, FASGE Texas Tech Univ. Health Sciences Center, El Paso

Akinbowale Oyalowo, MD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Nneka Ufere, MD Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Eric J. Vargas, MD Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

The 2018-2020 – FORWARD Program Mentors

Maria Abreu, MD, AGAF University of Miami

C. Rick Boland, MD, AGAF University of California, San Diego

John Carethers, MD, AGAF University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Darwin Conwell, MD, MS Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus

Gail Hecht, MD, MS, AGAF Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill.

John Inadomi, MD, AGAF University of Washington, Seattle

David Lieberman, MD, AGAF Oregon Health and Science University, Portland

Jorge Marrero, MD, MS, AGAF University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

Robert Sandler, MD, MPH, AGAF University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Gary Wu, MD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Dr. Cryer is associate dean for faculty diversity and development, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Dr. Rivera-Nieves, is professor of medicine, University of California, San Diego; and Ms. NuQuay, is senior director, member relations and constituency programs, American Gastroenterological Association, Bethesda, Md.