Optimizing Management in IBD: Challenging Cases

Gil Y. Melmed, MD, MS, is the co-director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. He earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY and a Master of Science degree in clinical research from UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles, CA. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Dr Melmed is board certified in gastroenterology.

Dr Melmed’s research interests include clinical outcomes and quality of care in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He has authored or coauthored more than 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals and several book chapters. He has been an associate editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, and a clinical research editor for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Dr Melmed has given more than 100 invited presentations nationally and internationally. He is a committee member of several professional organizations, including the American Gastroenterology Association, the American College of Gastroenterology and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, where he serves as co-chair of the IBD Quality of Care committee. He has led or participated in the development of quality measures for IBD with the American Gastroenterology Association, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, and the Canadian Crohn’s and Colitis organizations.

Adam S. Cheifetz, MD, is the director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. Dr Cheifetz is also the director of the Harvard Medical School Gastroenterology Clerkship Elective and assistant director of the Advanced Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr Cheifetz received his medical degree from Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, NY and completed his residency and fellowship at Yale – New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT.

Dr Cheifetz specializes in the treatment of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In addition to his clinical work, he is involved in multiple research projects relating to IBD and has published over 150 articles and chapters on the subject. His research currently focuses on optimizing the use of biologics through the proactive use of drug concentrations and antibodies. Dr Cheifetz lectures nationally and internationally on IBD. In addition, he serves on numerous editorial boards, including Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis, and the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Gary R. Lichtenstein, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF, is the director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and a professor of medicine in the Gastrointestinal Division of the Department of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Lichtenstein earned his medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY. He then completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. He also served a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr Lichtenstein’s current research interests encompass investigational therapies for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, including a significant focus on the safety of current and future medical therapy. He has also focused his research on the natural history of disease. Dr Lichtenstein has received numerous research grants and has served as the national/international principal investigator evaluating novel agents for therapeutic trials in the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Dr Lichtenstein is a fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American College of Gastroenterology, has been listed in “Best Doctors in America” (inflammatory bowel disease), and has served as medical secretary for the American Board of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology Section. He holds membership and committee positions in many professional societies at a national level.

Dr Lichtenstein has served on the editorial board of many journals, including Gastroenterology, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, World Journal of Gastroenterology, and Digestive Diseases and Science. He is the author or coauthor of more than 325 peer-reviewed primary articles and chapters and has presented over 250 abstracts and edited 18 books. He has lectured at a national and an international level at over 500 invited conferences, lectures, symposiums, and institutional grand rounds.