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ACG International GI Training Grant Awards
2021 ACG International GI Training Grant Award
The ACG and the International Relations Committee are pleased to announce the recipients of the International GI Training Grant . This program, initiated in 1995, provides partial financial support to physicians outside the United States and Canada to receive clinical or clinical research training or education in Gastroenterology and Hepatology in selected medical training centers in North America . Two grants of $10,000 have been awarded this year .
Evaristus S. Chukwudike, MBBCh, FWACP
Calabar, Nigeria
Dr . Evaristus Chukwudike from Nigeria plans to study at Brown University / Rhode Island Hospital, under the direction of Dr . Steven Moss and Dr . Akwi Asombang . He will observe and understand patient flow and resource utilization in a resource-rich setting compared to low and middle-income countries with the focus on inpatient consults and endoscopy, and have the chance to observe interventional endoscopic procedures such as endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with emphasis on the pre-procedural, intra-procedural and post-procedural evaluation . He hopes to strengthen research collaboration with Dr . Moss on Helicobacter pylori research with the focus of studying H. pylori antibiotic resistance pattern, and the association between genotypes and severity of gastric mucosal inflammation . This training will offer him the opportunity to compare patient flow in resource-rich settings especially in the areas of inpatient consults and endoscopic procedures taking note of the barriers to setting up efficient healthcare in resource-limited settings . The knowledge acquired from this training will also enable him to scale up approaches to change the behavior and utilization of healthcare resources in resourcepoor settings as well as enhance quality improvement process and explore ways to ensure that resources are utilized to deliver care that is evidence-based . Dr . Chukwudike will observe the pre-procedural, intra-procedural and post-procedural evaluation of patients for EUS and ERCP which will create a future opportunity to further his training in these vital areas of gastroenterological practice . His goal is to research the prevalence of H. pylori genotypes and antibiotic resistance to previously efficacious antibiotics to address the antibiotic resistance rates in Nigeria which can reach up to 100%, a major reason for eradication failure .
Artemis Trikola, MD, MPH, MSc
Athens, Greece
Dr . Artemis Trikola from Greece will study at Massachusetts General Hospital, Center for Neurointestinal Health, under the direction of Dr . Christopher Velez . She will: 1) gain comfort with outpatient functional and gastrointestinal motility disorder management; 2) achieve level 2 competence in foregut, bowel, and hindgut motility diagnostic testing modalities; and 3) participate in both research and didactic learning . Visiting, interacting, and gaining the experience of a well-known department and the esteemed faculty in this specific field of neurogastroenterology, which is not as well established in the Greek healthcare system, will serve as an outstanding value for her hospital and for Dr . Trikola . The acquired information and knowledge will be transferred to her home institute and will serve as an opportunity to broaden their present knowledge and to improve the quality of their daily practice . Foregut and hindgut motility diagnostic modalities are inaccessible to most healthcare professionals in Greece, and she is strongly motivated to fill this gap . Finally, participating in educational and research activities of MGH will be a unique experience for her career path, that could be fulfilled only in such a respectful center of excellence, since research opportunities are quite limited in her country .
Giselle Mahoro, MD
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr . Giselle Mahoro is currently a first year GI Fellow at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia . She will be going to the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali in Rwanda to train under the supervision of Dr . Jean Damascene Kapakambira for four months . Dr . Mahoro aspires to have a career in global health and gastroenterology, and believes this experience will serve as a foundation to her future endeavors .
Screening for colorectal cancer is rare in Rwanda as there are very few gastroenterologists in the country . Colonoscopy is mostly performed only for diagnostic purposes . There is also very limited data on colorectal cancer in the Rwandese population . The financial support received from ACG will give her the opportunity to spend four months at Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK); a large referral hospital with six trained endoscopists . As a second year fellow, she will spend 2 months doing clinical gastroenterology and improving her technical skills in endoscopy while also gaining the confidence to perform these procedures under less than ideal circumstances . She will also learn about the IRB process and connect with local internal medicine residents who are interested in gastrointestinal research . She will then return as a third-year fellow for an additional 2 months with the goal of conducting clinical research . She is particularly interested in the risk factors and burden of colorectal cancer in the Rwandese population .
The ACG and the International Relations Committee are pleased to announce the recipient of the North American International GI Training Grant . This program provides partial financial support to U .S . and Canadian GI fellows in training or GI physicians who have completed their training within the last 5 years, to receive clinical or clinical research training or education in Gastroenterology and Hepatology outside of North America . Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited gastroenterology fellowship program or be a GI physician who completed their training within the last 5 years, and must also be citizens of the United States or Canada . One grant of $10,000 has been awarded this year .
