Anil Rustgi, chief of gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, was recently elected president of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.
Rustgi is decorated physician who attended Duke Medical School, has a long career of service with the AGA and has previously served as vice president of the Institute.
The AGA is an organization founded in 1897 dedicated to the science and practice of gastroenterology, the medical study of the digestive system and its disorders. The AGA Institute is responsible for acting out the policies of the organization, including education, research and medical practice.
Rustgi’s election was announced last week at the annual Digestive Disease Week, a convention that the AGA describes as “the world’s largest gathering of physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology … and gastrointestinal surgery.”
About his election, Rustgi said in a release, “I’m honored to serve as the next President of the AGA and look forward to leading our specialty and serving its many different constituencies.”
He anticipates his duties will include fundraising with the National Institutes of Health, working with the recent healthcare reform laws, and “promoting the interrelationship between clinical medicine and science.”
In the past, Rustgi has earned his clout in the field of gastroenterology through his breakthrough research about cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. He also served as editor-in-chief of the journal Gastroenterology and is an active clinician and teacher.
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