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Underwood
Center for
Digestive
Disorders

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Quarterly Digest

Directors' Message

We are now truly into the 10th anniversary year of the Underwood Center and there is a lot going on. The Underwood Center began at HMH at the Texas Medical Center where its primary focus remained until recently. How this has changed! Working with colleagues in GI and GI surgery as well as administrators from all of the HM hospitals we developed a framework for the expansion of Underwood across the entire system and are now embarked on projects to enhance patient care and further education and research for all in Greater Houston and beyond.

System Leadership Photos Click on each thumbnail to enlarge the photo.

Earlier this month Dr. Maria Abreu, a future president of the American Gastroenterological Association, delivered our 10th annual IBD lecture supported by an endowment from Dr. Carl and Lynn Schmulen. In her lecture, Dr. Abreu highlighted advances in the laboratory that show promise for translation to the bedside – exciting days ahead! Next up is the Underwood Symposium on March 31st with special guest lecturers Dr. Hirano from Northwestern University and Dr. Martinie from Carolina Medical Center plus lectures on hot topics in GI and GI surgery from our faculty. On April 1st, a hands on course in endoscopy for GI fellows and senior surgical residents from the Greater Houston Area will be held in our simulation center MITIE. On May 3rd, a Presidential Lecture hosted by the Underwood Center will be presented by the internationally renowned expert on the gut microbiome, Dr. Fergus Shanahan, the founder of APC Microbiome Ireland, a world leader in microbiome science. This event will also provide an opportunity to review progress at the Underwood Center over the past 10 years; celebrate our success, review the challenges, and plot a course for the future. We look forward to welcoming you to all of these events! March is colon cancer awareness month – accordingly, you will see number of items in the Newsletter addressing this important public health topic.

Eamonn M.M. Quigley, MD David M. Underwood Chair of Medicine in Digestive Disorders Co-Director, Lynda K. and David M. Underwood Center for Digestive Disorders Chief, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Houston Methodist Hospital Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Sciences Center College of Medicine

Wade M. Rosenberg, MD Co-Director, Lynda K. and David M. Underwood Center for Digestive Disorders Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine

Awards & Recognitions

U.S. News & World Report's best hospital survey

Dr. Eamonn Quigley interviewed with CNN on the vibrating capsule used for chronic idiopathic constipation, which just went on the market.

Dr. Bincy Abraham won a research award from Crohn’s & Colitis 360 for her study on ustekinumab exposure in pregnant women from inflammatory bowel disease clinical trials.

Congratulations to Dr. Christopher Fan who won a HMAI Clinical Scholar award for his proposal titled “Elucidating Response to Anti-TNF-a in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis Using Imaging Mass Cytometry.”

Dr. Mazen Noureddin was nominated by AASLD to deliver a State-of-the-Art lecture on noninvasive approaches for diagnosing fibrosis/cirrhosis at Digestive Disease Week 2023.

Department of Surgery faculty Drs. Edward Chan, Ray Chihara, Katherine Gray, Min Kim, Rodolfo Oviedo along with GI faculty Drs. Bincy Abraham, Sunil Dacha, Kerri Glassner, Thomas McCarty, Mazen Noureddin and Eamonn Quigley all had abstracts accepted for Digestive Disease Week 2023 – let us know if you’re joining us in Chicago!

Edward Chan, MD

Ray Chihara, MD

Katherine Gray, MD

Min Kim, MD

Rodolfo Oviedo, MD

Bincy Abraham, MD

Sunil Dacha, MD

Kerri Glassner, MD

Thomas McCarty, MD

Mazen Noureddin, MD

Eamonn Quigley, MD

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospital Survey is Ongoing

Survey-eligible physicians, please consider recognizing our physicians and their work by including us in your vote in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Hospitals survey:

Go to your account at Doximity.com
Click on the U.S. News nomination icon, or search for “U.S. News Best Hospitals” in your Doximity account to submit your nominations.
When voting for Best Hospital, select “Houston Methodist Hospital” in the nomination form.

Colon cancer awareness month

Detecting and Preventing Colon Cancer

Gastroenterologists are on the front line of colon cancer detection and prevention.

Expanding Access to Colon Cancer Care

Dr. Bincy P. Abraham has forged a new partnership with El Centro clinic to expand access to specialized GI care within the community.

Endoscopic Resection for Large Polyps

Endoscopic resection provides an organ-preserving alternative to surgery for patients with large polyps in the colon.

Advancing Colon Cancer Surgery with the “NICE” Technique

Dr. Eric Haas and colleagues have pioneered a Natural Orifice Robotic Surgery technique to cure colon cancer without making an incision.

What happens after surgery for colon cancer?

Patients with colon cancer receive personalized care after surgery from oncologists in the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center.

ACTIVE / ENROLLING CLINICAL TRIALS

Please click here for our full listing of clinical trials for IBD, GERD, liver and more. We invite current Underwood Center members to submit clinical studies to spotlight here in upcoming newsletters.

Featured Publications

READ MORE for summaries

“Prior Antibodies to Infliximab or Adalimumab Are Related to Immunogenicity to Vedolizumab in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease”

Papamichael K, Vande Casteele N, Abraham BP, Ritter T, Jain A, Cheifetz AS. Prior Antibodies to Infliximab or Adalimumab Are Related to Immunogenicity to Vedolizumab in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 Nov 11:S1542-3565(22)01053-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2022.10.037

“Randomised clinical trial: efficacy and safety of the live biotherapeutic product MRx1234 in patients with irritable bowel syndrome”

Quigley EMM, Markinson L, Stevenson A, Treasure FP, Lacy BE. Randomised clinical trial: efficacy and safety of the live biotherapeutic product MRx1234 in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2023 Jan;57(1):81-93. doi: 10.1111/apt.17310.

“Impact of pre-operative transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt on post-operative outcomes following non-transplant surgeries in patients with decompensated cirrhosis”

Patel P, Irani M, Graviss EA, Nguyen DT, Quigley EMM, Victor DW 3rd. Impact of pre-operative transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt on post-operative outcomes following non-transplant surgeries in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Transl Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Jan 25;8:9. doi: 10.21037/tgh-21-133.

“Hyperphosphorylation of hepatic proteome characterizes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in S-adenosylmethionine deficiency””

Robinson AE, Binek A, Ramani K, Sundararaman N, Barbier-Torres L, Murray B, Venkatraman V, Kreimer S, Ardle AM, Noureddin M, Fernández-Ramos D, Lopitz-Otsoa F, Gutiérrez de Juan V, Millet O, Mato JM, Lu SC, Van Eyk JE. Hyperphosphorylation of hepatic proteome characterizes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in S-adenosylmethionine deficiency. iScience. 2023 Jan 14;26(2):105987. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.105987.

EDUCATION

10^th Annual IBD Lecture

SYSTEM HOSPITAL UPDATES

Houston Methodist Sugar Land

Svetang Desai, MD

In collaboration with the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, Dr. Svetang Desai kicked off colon cancer awareness month by providing an educational lecture and Q&A regarding colon cancer risk factors and screening guidelines. Over 600 employees from across the system joined the 3-part series with Dr. Desai, Dr. Kirtan Nautiyal, medical oncologist, and Knubian Gatlin, dietician, to learn more about this important public health topic and why preventative screenings are important. Part 1 with Dr. Desai Recording   Part 2 with Dr. Nautiyal Recording   Part 3 with Knubian Gatlin Recording

Houston Methodist Clear Lake

HMCL is building a new IR suite which will allow their providers more access to radiology procedures. A new outpatient endoscopy center is also being designed, with plans to open by summer 2023.

UPCOMING EVENTS

8th Annual Underwood Symposium

Friday, March 31 | 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. Houston Methodist Research Institute John F. Bookout Auditorium (R2-306)

Course Directors: Drs. Bincy Abraham and Min Kim This course will address the challenge of defining the role of new technologies, disease entities and therapies in everyday clinical practice by presenting the latest evidence-based information on diagnostics and therapeutics in digestive disorders. Featuring Guest Speakers:

Eosinophilic Esophagitis – Are We Making Progress? Dr. Ikuo Hirano, Northwestern Medicine

Robot Assisted Pancreaticoduodenectomy Dr. John Martinie, Carolinas Medical Center

Hands-On Workshop - Endolumenal Therapies for Gastroenterologists and Surgeons

Saturday, April 1 | 7 a.m. - 12 p.m. Houston Methodist Research Institute MITIE (5th Floor) This hands-on training program will provide experience with advanced therapeutics endoscopic techniques and technology in the areas of mucosal ablation and resection, tissue closure, intraluminal stenting, gastroesophageal reflux treatments, and ERCP.

Workshop is open only to second, third and fourth year fellows and surgery residents

5th Annual Hepatology Update for Primary Care: A Practical Approach

Saturday, April 29 | 9:15 a.m. – 1 p.m. Hybrid Houston Methodist Research Institute John F. Bookout Auditorium (R2-306) Course Director: Dr. Rashid Khan

The goal of this meeting is to provide an overview of the most common liver diseases seen in the community and to bridge the learning gap between primary care and the latest advances and developments in the field of hepatology.

Presidential Seminar Series: No Stool Left Unturned! Why our Microbiomes Differ

Wednesday, May 3 | 4 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Houston Methodist Research Institute John F. Bookout Auditorium (R2-306)

Presented by: Drs. Eamonn Quigley and Wade Rosenberg Featuring Guest Speaker:  Dr. Fergus Shanahan, University College Cork, National University of Ireland

Digestive Disease Week 2023

May 6-9 | Chicago, IL Houston Methodist Social Hour May 7 | 5:30 – 7pm

DDW is the largest and most prestigious meeting in the world for GI professionals. Every year it attracts physicians, researchers and academics from around the world.  Interested in connecting at DDW? Please let Sharon Chui know: schui@houstonmethodist.org

Ongoing Events

Digestive Disease Grand Rounds: Multidisciplinary Case Conference

Every Friday at 7am

Led by: Dr. Alberto O. Barroso Contact: Donna Ruddell (djruddell@houstonmethodist.org) for the Teams link.

Monthly IBD Case Conference

Upcoming Meetings: March 24, April 28, May 26, June 30, August 4

Led by: Dr. Bincy Abraham  Contact: Donna Ruddell (djruddell@houstonmethodist.org) for the Teams link.

Medical Center Motility Meeting

1st Wednesday of the month at 5-6pm

Multi-institutional conference between MD Anderson, Houston Methodist, UT Health, Baylor College of Medicine

Contact: Carol Cox (ccox@mdanderson.org) for more information.

SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK

To be featured in the next newsletter, please submit news, events or a story to: underwoodcenter@houstonmethodist.org If you have questions about membership, please contact: schui@houstonmethodist.org

UnderwoodCenter forDigestiveDisorders

Directors' Message

Ongoing Events

Underwood
Center for
Digestive
Disorders