September | October 2011
www.ASGE.org
VOL. 18, NO. 5
An Official Publication of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
8 Ask the expert: Endoscopy and
inflammatory bowel disease
16 Capital Campaign at 81 percent
of goal; leaders ask for all members
to participate
23 ASGE Postgraduate Course at ACG
28 New online resource:
Endoscopy Marketplace
29 New affiliate partner: Gateway EDI
32 Update on ASGE’s
international initiatives
34 Dues notices sent in October
See Inside this issue on pg. 2 for
a detailed list of contents.
ASGE Celebrates
70 Years of Excellence
Made possible, in part, through the
ASGE Foundation.
Research funding in jeopardy
As Congress is pressured to trim the budget deficit, funding for biomedical research is
undoubtedly in jeopardy. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends more than
$31 billion annually on medical research. Eighty percent of this funding supports
research by more than 350,000 scientists and research personnel affiliated with more
than 3,000 universities, medical schools, hospitals and other research facilities in the
United States.
“The evidence of the return on investment of federal funding for biomedical research is
overwhelming,” said Brian C. Jacobson, MD, MPH, FASGE, chair of the ASGE Health
and Public Policy Committee. “Yet, NIH funding is at real risk of substantial cuts that
will be felt for years to come. The debate before Congress is not about deficit reduction
but about where to start. The research community must send a message that medical
research should be a funding priority.”
First time NIH funding cut
For the first time in more than a decade, funding for NIH was cut by 1 percent for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, after a failed attempt in the House to reduce it by 5 percent.
continued on page 21
President’s message
Gregory G. Ginsberg, MD, FASGE
2011–2012 ASGE President
Zen and the art of quality maintenance
in endoscopy
During September, I joined over 220 ASGE members for the second annual EndoFest™ held in
La Jolla, Calif.
EndoFest is now a signature ASGE event and a celebration of gastrointestinal endoscopy
and advancing endoscopic skills. It was a veritable beehive of activity with scores of ASGE
faculty and staff engaging with member attendees, who were training in new techniques
and technologies.
Many industry partners were also there, taking the opportunity to better understand the
challenges we are facing with new technology development and its adoption in the U.S. There
is perhaps no better venue for vendors to showcase their wares and attendees to try new
technologies than EndoFest.
There was “merry-making,” too, with several casual receptions that kept the “Fest” in EndoFest
and gave attendees time to talk informally with faculty and industry representatives.
I was asked to collaborate with John Baillie, MD, FASGE, for a didactic presentation on
successful endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography cannulation. This opportunity
