The 2023 Digestive Health Foundation Gala raised $1.6 million to further its mission to fund vital medical research at the Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Center (DHC) aimed at improving the quality of life for individuals with digestive disease and their families. The June 3 event at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, highlighted how the researchers and physician scientists at the DHC are leveraging these funds to continue to improve and advance treatments for digestive health. The additional $1.6 million raised at this year’s gala brought the amount raised by DHF since its inception in 2015 to nearly $20 million. The evening was emceed by WGN’s Brónagh Tumulty and featured John E. Pandolfino, MD, MSCI, Hans Popper Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Northwestern Medicine; and Rajesh N. Keswani, MD, MS, Director of Endoscopy and Director of Quality at the Digestive Health Center and Northwestern Associate Professor of Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Drs. Pandolfino and Keswani spoke about how funding from the Digestive Health Foundation is impacting their work, specifically how the physicians at the DHC are working in tandem with AI to transform the future of gastronenterology. Live auction highlights featured an epic journey through South Africa including tours of Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula, the Cape winelands, and the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve; and a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience from Venice to Paris aboard the luxurious Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train. Other fabulous items included a New York Fashion Week experience at Christian Siriano and Naeem Khan’s shows; a private in-home dinner with famed Aba Chicago Chef, CJ Jacobson; a Chicago summer concert package with premium tickets to Beyoncé, Madonna,...
Northwestern Medicine has recently created the Michael A. Ruchim, MD, Fellowship Director in Digestive Health position in honor of Dr. Ruchim and his years of dedication to the health and care of his patients and their families. The directorship was awarded with an endowment of $5.25 million to support the ongoing costs of training and educating future digestive health clinicians as well as the salary of the medical director overseeing the Northwestern Medicine Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship Program. The Northwestern Medicine Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship is a rigorous, three-year educational training program for physicians who wish to become specialists in the field of digestive health. The application process is extremely competitive and typically only four fellows are accepted each year. Participants work closely with experienced doctors and scientists at the Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Center and are exposed to highly innovative clinical studies and research. In the past five years, 75% of fellows have successfully pursued academic careers. Leila Kia, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern Medicine, will serve as the Michael A. Ruchim, MD, Fellowship Director in Digestive Health and will guide the fellows throughout their training to ensure that they are ready to treat a variety of acute digestive issues with leading-edge care. Dr. Ruchim and John Pandolfino, MD, the chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Northwestern Medicine, will continue to provide integral leadership and will collaborate with the fellows and fellowship directors to determine what subspecialties and additional research will be supported through the endowment. During his career at Northwestern Medicine, Dr. Ruchim has participated in the training of over 75 gastroenterology fellows and over...
