The International Digestive Disease Forum (IDDF) 2024 - Institute of Digestive Disease, CUHK

#IDDF2024

Speaker

Juan ABRALDES

University of Alberta, Canada

Canada

Juan ABRALDES

University of Alberta, Canada

Transplant Hepatologist
Professor and Director of the Liver Unit

Juan Abraldes is a Transplant Hepatologist, Professor and Director of the Liver Unit at the University of Alberta, and the AHS hepatology lead for the Edmonton Zone.

He gained his MD in 1995 from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and got his Board Certificate in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona (2000). He did a postdoctoral training at Yale University (2003–2004).

His main interest is the diagnosis, risk prediction and management of chronic liver disease. He is the co-author of the American Association for the Liver (AASLD) Clinical Guidance for the management of varices and variceal bleeding in cirrhosis 2016, and the chair of the AASLD guidance on TIPS and endovascular therapies for variceal hemorrhage 2023. He has contributed to Baveno guidelines for the management of portal hypertension since 2005. He is associated editor of Hepatology.

Yoon-kyo AN

Mater Hospital Brisbane, Australia

Australia

Yoon-kyo AN

Mater Hospital Brisbane, Australia

Head of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Clinical Lead of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Trials Unit

Yoon-kyo An is an active Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) clinician and researcher. She is the Head of IBD at Mater Hospital Brisbane and the clinical lead of IBD clinical trials unit at Mater Research.

Dr. An currently serve on the GENIUS committee (chair), IBUS collaboration committee, young GESA (chair), ANZIBD consortium and represent Australia at the APMA IBD Coalition.

Jasmohan BAJAJ

Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Central Virginia Veterans Healthcare System in Richmond, USA

USA

Jasmohan BAJAJ

Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Professor of Medicine

Central Virginia Veterans Healthcare System in Richmond, USA

Professor of Medicine

Jasmohan Bajaj earned his MBBS from Delhi University at Maulana Azad Medical College. He completed an internship in internal medicine at Delhi University at Maulana Azad Medical College and an internal medicine residency at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn. He furthered his medical training with a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, then went on to earn an MS in epidemiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), and American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), and has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Dr Bajaj is a member of the Central Leadership team of the VA’s Hepatic Innovation Team and is the chair of the Cirrhosis Faculty Advisory Board at the Veterans Affairs.

Active in research, Dr. Bajaj has served as a principal investigator or co-investigator for numerous clinical trials and translational investigators in areas such as hepatic encephalopathy, chronic liver disease, gut-brain axis, patient-reported outcomes, and microbiome. This has led to >300 original publications in journals such as Gastroenterology, Nature, Hepatology, New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet G/H, Journal of Hepatology, American Journal of Gastroenterology, and Liver Transplantation, among others. He has reviewed for Nature, Nature Medicine, Science Translational Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, Gastroenterology, Hepatology among others.

Dr. Bajaj's research has been funded through the NIH, Veterans Affairs, AHRQ, and ACG and he has received continuous federal funding for >10 years. Dr Bajaj has served on several study sections across the NIH, VA, AHRQ and ACG. Dr. Bajaj is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology and has previously served as associate editor for the American Journal of Gastroenterology, Gut Microbes, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology. He is on the editorial board of Liver Transplantation, Gut Microbes, and Journal of Hepatology.

Dr. Bajaj frequently presents his work on hepatic encephalopathy, microbiota, and chronic liver disease nationally and internationally at meetings, grand rounds, and symposia, and is a member of the Hepatic Encephalopathy Guidelines Writing Committee and is a member of the critical illness guidance committee at AASLD. He is also a member of the clinical research committee at AASLD. He heads the ACG Acute on Chronic Liver Failure Guidelines Committee. Dr. Bajaj is the Chair of the North American Consortium for Study of End-stage Liver Disease, Co PI of the CLEARED Consortium, and was the President of the International Society for Hepatic Encephalopathy

Mingyan CAI

Endoscopy Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai

China

Mingyan CAI

Endoscopy Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai

Associate Professor of Surgery

Mingyan Cai is an associate professor and a surgical endoscopist at Endoscopy Center of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. She holds MD and PhD degrees from Fudan University and completed her General Surgery training in Shanghai. Dr. Cai further specialized in interventional endoscopy under the guidance of world renowned surgical endoscopist, Prof. Pinghong Zhou. She is skilled in a variety of advanced endoscopic procedures such as endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR), tunnel endoscopy (POEM, STER, etc), NOTES, and interventional EUS. Dr. Cai is dedicated to advancing these techniques in China and globally, having trained many international endoscopists interested in ESD, POEM, STER, and more.

Shang CAI

Westlake University, China

China

Shang CAI

Westlake University, China

Associate Professor in School of Life Sciences

Shang Cai is an Associate Professor in School of Life Sciences in Westlake University.  He received his bachelor degree in Peking University in 2003, and got his PhD degree in the Biochemistry Department of Indiana University in 2009. He pursued his postdoc research in the Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, working on the mechanism of self-renewal and fate specification of mammary stem cell and breast cancer stem cell. In 2017, Dr. Cai joined Westlake University as assistant professor. Dr. Shang Cai’s research focused on the role of mammary stem cell in the morphological and functional integrity of the mammary gland during puberty, pregnancy and lactation, as well as the role of breast cancer stem cells in cancer initiation, evolution, drug resistance, relapse and metastasis.

Shannon CHAN

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Shannon CHAN

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Assistant Professor, Division of Upper Gastrointestinal & Metabolic Surgery

Shannon Chan is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Upper Gastrointestinal & Metabolic Surgery of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2007. She completed general surgical training and received fellowships of the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2014. Dr. Chan’s interest is in gastric and esophageal cancers, mainly focusing in the laparoscopic and robotic approach. She did her overseas training in National Cancer Centre in Tokyo, Yonsei University in Seoul and also Amsterdam Medical Centre in Amsterdam. Her research interests include upper gastrointestinal surgical oncology and advanced diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy especially in interventional endoscopic ultrasound. She also has special interests in peritoneal surface malignancy and has started a multidisciplinary team for these rare, yet important group of patients. She is a member of the stomach and duodenal diseases subcommittee of the World Endoscopy Organisation (WEO) and is a reviewer for Digestive Endoscopy and Surgical Endoscopy. She has published over 20 peer-reviewed journals.

Apart from her research interest, Dr. Chan has also devoted herself to humanitarian aid work. In 2014, she joined the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, also named Doctors without borders). MSF is an international humanitarian non-governmental organization working in war-torn and under-developed regions. Dr. Chan joined their surgical missions to South Sudan from Oct 2016 - Dec 2016 and to Yemen from Dec 2019 to Feb 2020. After her return, she has further affirmed her commitment to providing humanitarian aid to the less developed parts of the world.

Ting-ting CHAN

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Ting-ting CHAN

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Department of Medicine and Therapeutics

Ting-ting Chan received her specialist training from the Prince of Wales Hospital, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and obtained her Gastroenterology & Hepatology fellowship in 2019. Since then, she continued her advanced endoscopy training with special interest in EUS and pancreaticobiliary diseases. She graduated from the World Endoscopy Organization (WEO) International School of EUS (WISE) in 2022.
She has obtained numerous research awards and grants, including Young Investigator Award from the Hong Kong Association of Study of Liver Diseases (HKASLD) in 2016, Distinguished Research Paper Awards for Young Investigators in 2020 and 2022 as well as Young Investigator Research Grants in 2020, 2021 and 2022 from the Hong Kong College of Physicians, and Bronze Medal, Best Original Research by Young Fellows in 2022 from the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine.  Her current research interest is fatty pancreas and application of EUS in liver diseases, which has led her to the Best Oral Presentation in the EUS Summit 2023 and Outstanding Poster Presentation in ENDO 2024. 
She is now also the Co-Chairlady of Women-in-GI focus group, Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE) Emerging Leaders’ Committee, which aims to promote gender balance in training for female gastroenterologists in the Asian regions.

Philip CHIU

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Health Bureau of HKSAR Government, Hong Kong

Hospital Authority, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Philip CHIU

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Professor of Robotic Surgery
Director of Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center
Director of Endoscopy Center and Institute of Digestive Disease

Health Bureau of HKSAR Government, Hong Kong

Member of the Steering Committee of Health and Medical Innovation Development of the

Hospital Authority, Hong Kong

Board Member

Professor Philip Chiu is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Professor of Robotic Surgery, Director of Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center, Director of Endoscopy Center and Institute of Digestive Disease of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also serves as a member of the Steering Committee of Health and Medical Innovation Development of the Health Bureau of HKSAR Government, and a Board Member of the Hospital Authority. Professor Chiu is a pioneer in cutting-edge robotics and endoluminal surgery, with research interests in esophageal cancer management, minimally invasive and robotic esophagectomy, novel endoscopic technologies for diagnosis of early GI cancers, endoscopic surgery and robotics for endoluminal surgery. He has earned numerous accolades including the State Scientific Technology and Progress Award from the People’s Republic of China, Spirit of Hong Kong Award on Innovation, and the Karl-Storz-Harold Hopkins Golden Telescope Award at the Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics by Imperial College London.

Emad EL-OMAR

University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

GUT, Australia

Australia

Emad EL-OMAR

University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Professor of Medicine
Director, UNSW Microbiome Research Centre

GUT, Australia

Editor in Chief

Emad El-Omar graduated in Medicine from Glasgow University, Scotland, and trained as a gastroenterologist. He worked as a Visiting Scholar/Scientist at Vanderbilt University, TN, and National Cancer Institute, MD, USA, and was Professor of Gastroenterology at Aberdeen University, Scotland, for 16 years before taking up the Chair of Medicine at St George & Sutherland Clinical Campus, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He is the Editor in Chief of the journal Gut. His research interests include all aspects of the microbiome, inflammation driven GI cancer and IBD. He is the Director of the UNSW Microbiome Research Centre at St George Hospital, Sydney.

Jacob GEORGE

University of Sydney, Australia

Westmead Hospital, Australia

Western Sydney Local Health District

Australia

Jacob GEORGE

University of Sydney, Australia

Robert W. Storr Professor, Hepatic Medicine, Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research

Westmead Hospital, Australia

Head, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Western Sydney Local Health District

Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Services

Jacob George is the Robert W. Storr Professor of Hepatic Medicine at the Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Westmead Hospital and Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Services for the Western Sydney Local Health District.

He undertakes basic and clinical research on MAFLD, hepatitis C, liver cancer and hepatic fibrosis. He was an Associate Editor for the Journal of Hepatology (to September 2023) and is a current senior Editor for Seminars in Liver Disease (since 2022) and Journal of Hepatology Reports (from Oct 2023).

He is on the executive of the International Association for the study of Liver (IASL), was a past Executive Council member and Chair of Research for the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver, a board member of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia and Chair of the Liver Faculty of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia. He has published extensively.

Kazuo HARA

Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Japan

Aichi Cancer Center Hospital in Nagoya, Japan

Komaki Municipal Hospital, Japan

Toyohashi Municipal Hospital, Japan

Japan

Kazuo HARA

Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Japan

Director, Department of Gastroenterology

Aichi Cancer Center Hospital in Nagoya, Japan

• Chief Physician of the Department of Gastroenterology

Komaki Municipal Hospital, Japan

Chief Physician of the Department of Gastroenterology

Toyohashi Municipal Hospital, Japan

Medical Staff

Kazuo Hara is the Director of the Department of Gastroenterology at Aichi Cancer Center in Nagoya, Japan. He graduated from Nagoya University School of Medicine in March 1996 and from Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in March 2008.

Professional Experience:
• Medical Staff at Toyohashi Municipal Hospital from May 1996.
• Chief Physician of the Department of Gastroenterology at Komaki Municipal Hospital from April 2000.
• Chief Physician of the Department of Gastroenterology at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital from October 2001.
• Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in 2002.
• Chief Physician of the Department of Gastroenterology at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital in Nagoya from April 2008.
• Director of the Department of Gastroenterology at Aichi Cancer Center in Nagoya from April 2016 to the present.

Research Field:
• Diagnosis and Treatment for Pancreato-Biliary Tumors
• Endoscopic management (Interventional EUS, ERCP etc)
• Drug therapy (Chemotherapy, Molecular target therapy, etc)

Aric Hui

Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Aric Hui

Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, Hong Kong

Consultant, Department of Medicine
Deputy Director, Combined Endoscopy Unit

Dr. Hui is a Consultant in the Department of Medicine and Deputy Director of the Combined Endoscopy Unit of the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital. Dr. Hui was trained under Professor Joseph Sung at the Prince of Wales Hospital and became a fully qualified gastroenterologist/hepatologist since 2004. His special interests are in enteroscopy and endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Kenichiro IMAI

Shizuoka Cancer Center

Japan

Kenichiro IMAI

Shizuoka Cancer Center

Head Physician of the Division of Endoscopy

Kenichiro Imai currently is the Head Physician of the Division of Endoscopy at Shizuoka Cancer Center. He was a Resident in Endoscopy, Chief Resident in Endoscopy and Assistant Head Physician Division of Endoscopy, Shizuoka Cancer Center in 2009 – 2015.
He received his Degree M.D at the Osaka Medical College, Osaka in Japan in 2004. He was the Residency in Internal Medicine and Internship Rotating Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in 2004 – 2006. He achieved his Fellowship in Gastroenterology/ Hepatology Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in 2009
Kenichiro is a Board-Certified Gastroenterologist/ Trainer/ Councilor at the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.
At Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society, he is a Board Certified Fellow/ Trainer/ Councilor. He is also a Member of the committee for
• guidelines for endoscopic resection for colorectal tumors
• preparing the examination for board members
• the editorial board for the Japanese JGES journal
• the associated editor for the Digestive Endoscopy journal
Kenichiro is a Board Certified Member at Japan Society of Internal Medicine and a member at Japanese Association for Capsule Endoscop.

Changtao JIANG

Peking University, China

Mainland China

Changtao JIANG

Peking University, China

Chair of Department of Immunology
Deputy dean of the School of Basic Medical Sciences

Changtao Jiang is a tenured full professor at Peking University, serving as the chair of Department of Immunology and the deputy dean of the School of Basic Medical Sciences. His work aims at gut microbiota and its impacts on metabolic diseases. In short, he pioneers a new theory of "cross-kingdom regulation of host homeostasis by gut microbial enzymes". The research results include the following: proposing a new concept of “microbial-host isozymes”; uncovering a nicotine-degrading gut bacterium and its nicotine-degrading enzyme NicX; revealing the bile acid 3-acylation modification by novel microbial enzyme BAS-suc, and elucidating the role of microbial bile acid converting enzymes in metabolic disease. Furthermore, his lab implicates gut microbial enzymes as potential targets for therapeutic intervention in metabolic diseases, such as microbial DPP4, BAS-suc and NicX. In recent 5 years, he has published more than 20 SCI papers in Cell (2024), Science (2023), Nature (2022), and other journals.

Norifumi KAWADA

Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan

The Royal Free Hospital, London, United Kingdom

Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam

Japan

Norifumi KAWADA

Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan

Professor, School of Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine

The Royal Free Hospital, London, United Kingdom

visiting Professor, the UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health

Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam

Honorary Professor

Norifumi Kawada is Professor of Medicine and Director of Department of Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University. Since 2015, he has been a visiting Professor, the UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health at the Royal Free Hospital, London, UK and, since 2019, he has been an Honorary Professor, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Dr. Kawada is one of leading Hepatologists in Japan both in clinical research and in basic science and, in particular, is acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of liver fibrosis research with special reference to hepatic stellate cell biology. He is a discoverer of cytoglobin, the fourth globin in mammals, isolated from rat hepatic stellate cells.

Dr. Kawada has served on councilor and scientific boards of major Japanese Internal Medicine, Hepatology and Gastroenterology organizations, as the representative organizer of Japan Hepatic Sinusoidal Research and as Associate Editor and Editorial Board of peer-reviewed international medical journals. He is the Fellow of American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), the International Member of European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), Asian-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL), Vietnam Association for the Study of the Liver (VASLD), and Baveno Cooperation.

Dr. Kawada has published 446 original and review articles in international journals with 19983 total citations and has h-index of 76 (Google Scholar). Dr. Kawada has been ranked in the world's top 2% researchers (Oxford University 2023) and 1st in the world as an expert in Cytoglobin research (according to Expertscape)

Jimmy LAI

Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Jimmy LAI

Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong

Specialist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics

Dr. Jimmy Lai graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2015 with honours. He obtained MRCP(UK) in 2018 and received training in Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Prince of Wales Hospital. He obtained the fellowship of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 2022.

Dr. Lai is active in cirrhosis and viral hepatitis research, and has published original research papers in peer-reviewed journals. He has special interest in portal hypertension and endo-hepatology. With his research findings, he has presented in international hepatology conferences, was awarded Poster of Distinction Award in Asia Pacific Digestive Week Forum 2017, Prize for Best Original Research by Trainees in 2021 from Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, as well as Distinguished Research Paper Award for Young Investigators in 2019, Young Investigator Research Grant and Best Thesis Award (gold medal) in 2022 from Hong Kong College of Physicians. He was named Distinguished Young Fellows by Hong Kong Academy of Medicine in 2023.

Young-suk LIM

University of Ulsan College of Medicine

Department of Gastroenterology, Liver Center at Asan Medical Center, South Korea

Korea

Young-suk LIM

University of Ulsan College of Medicine

Dean

Department of Gastroenterology, Liver Center at Asan Medical Center, South Korea

Professor

Professor Young Suk Lim is the Dean of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine and a Professor in the Department of Gastroenterology, Liver Center at Asan Medical Center, South Korea.

Professor Lim graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1992 and obtained his PhD at Seoul National University in 2002. He completed the Clinical Research Training Program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA in 2008.

Professor Lim was awarded the First Leading Research Achievement Award of the Korean Association for the Study of the Liver (KASL) in 2023, Emerging Leader Award by the Asian Pacific Digestive Week 2015, Taipei, Taiwan; and 3 times of official commendation by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korean Government in 2017, 2020, and 2022.

Professor Lim’s research interests include hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Rashid LUI

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Rashid LUI

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Clinical Assistant Professor (Honorary), Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital
Head (Clinical Service) of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital

Rashid Lui is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor (Honorary) and Head (Clinical Service) of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He is a quadruple board accredited physician (Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Medical Oncology, Genetics and Genomics [Medicine], Advanced Internal Medicine) with clinical interests in digestive cancers, advanced endoscopy and gut microbiota modulation.

He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, CUHK in 2010 with Distinctions in Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Microbiology. He was the recipient of the Young Investigator’s Award (2nd Prize) at Asian Pacific Digestive Week 2018, the inaugural Dr Stanley Ho Medical Development Foundation Scholar at St Anne’s College in partnership with the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, and Distinguished Young Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine 2019. He was recently selected to represent Hong Kong in the inaugural American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Leadership Development Program Asia-Pacific Class of 2021-2022, and in the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Leadership Generation Programme Asia Class of 2023-2024.

Dr Lui has published in peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Gastroenterology and Gut, with a h-index of 18 (from Google Scholar). He currently serves as the Founding Co-Chair of the Emerging Leaders Committee, Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE), Member of the Young Members Committee, World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO), Social Media Editor for the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Member of the Asia Pacific Working Group on Colorectal Cancer Screening, and Vice President of the Hong Kong Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (HKASLD).