Bruce Sands

Bruce Sands, MD, MS is the Dr. Burrill B. Crohn Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Dr. Sands is an expert in the management of IBD and has earned an international reputation for his care of patients with complex and refractory disease. Dr. Sands was awarded his BA and MD from Boston University, and trained in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After completing GI fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School and served as the Acting Chief of the Gastrointestinal Unit at MGH before moving to Mount Sinai in 2010 as Chief of the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Sands is widely recognized for his innovative treatment of IBD and for his clinical investigations of new therapeutics. Dr. Sands' research also explores IBD epidemiology and includes the creation of a population-based cohort of IBD in Rhode Island. Dr. Sands is a past chair of the Clinical Research Alliance of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America and served as Chair of the Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Section of the American Gastroenterological Association. Additionally, Dr. Sands was the Chair of the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD). In 2016 Dr. Sands was awarded the Dr. Henry Janowitz Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, that organization’s highest honor.

Dr. Miguel Regueiro is the Enterprise Chief of Staff and Executive Vice President at Cleveland Clinic, and Professor in the Department of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Regueiro is the inaugural Chair holder of The Melody and Steve Golding Chair for Digestive Diseases. He served as the Global Chief for the Digestive Disease Institute from 2021 - 2026 before becoming Enterprise Chief of Staff. As Chief of Staff, he is responsible for shaping the healthcare strategy and vision for the national and international Cleveland Clinic sites. He oversees 6,000 physicians and 4.000 advanced practice providers across the enterprise.

Dr. Regueiro’s main clinical and research interest is Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) with a focus on the natural course and medical-surgical management of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. He leads research on postoperative prevention of Crohn’s disease, as well as developing new models of healthcare, including the first-of-its kind specialty medical home for IBD.

Corey A. Siegel, MD, MS, is the Director of the Walter and Carole Young Center for Digestive Health at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He is the Constantine and Joyce Hampers Professor of Medicine and a Professor at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

Dr. Siegel received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center where he also served as chief medical resident. He then completed a fellowship in Gastroenterology at Dartmouth Hitchcock followed by a fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Siegel’s research interests include understanding risk/benefit tradeoffs in IBD, developing models to predict outcomes in Crohn’s disease, creating tools to facilitate shared decision making, expanding telemedicine services to patients with IBD living in rural locations, and improving the quality of care delivered to patients with IBD. He has been funded by the NIH, AHRQ, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust for this work. Dr. Siegel is the founder of the BRIDGe group, an international research collaborative of IBD investigators. Dr. Siegel was inducted into the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD) in 2013 and he received the Sherman Prize in 2023. He lives in Hanover, New Hampshire with his wife and three boys.

Dr. Sara Horst MD, MPH, FACG, AGAF is a Professor in the division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Horst completed her medical school and residency training at The Ohio State University and then went to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for Gastroenterology Fellowship and to obtain her Masters of Public Health. She joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2011. She is involved in clinical care of complex IBD care, complex amyloid care, clinical research, and teaching and mentoring medical students and housestaff. She is the medical director for VUMC Specialty Pharmacy, VUMC Telehealth director, and VUMC Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs for Dept of Medicine. Her research interests involve enhancing EHR efficiencies in the care of IBD, telehealth in IBD, and medication adherence in IBD. She has extensively published in peer reviewed journals. She is also involved in clinical care improvement as an EPIC Physician Builder and is on the National EPIC GI Steering Board. She is an associate editor for American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Edward V. Loftus, Jr. is a gastroenterologist who specializes in the care of patients with complex Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. He is the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Professor of Gastroenterology Specifically in IBD at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. He developed a population-based cohort of inflammatory bowel disease patients which has resulted in over 50 peer-reviewed publications on the epidemiology and natural history of IBD. Professor Loftus has published over 500 original articles, book chapters, or editorials and more than 750 abstracts. He was awarded AGA’s Distinguished Clinician Award and the IMIBD section’s Research Mentor Award in 2019. He has also been awarded the Mayo Department of Medicine Laureate Award twice and the Outstanding Mentorship Award in Research. Professor Loftus has been the principal investigator on several funded studies focusing on the epidemiology and natural history of inflammatory bowel disease and has served as the local PI on multiple clinical trials of investigational agents for IBD. He serves on the steering committees of several clinical development programs in IBD. In the past he has served as Associate Editor for American Journal of Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, and currently serves as Associate Editor for Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Laura Raffals, MD, MS, FACG is Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair, Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. She received her Masters in Health Studies and completed her gastroenterology fellowship training at the University of Chicago, and for six years was a member of the faculty. In 2011, she joined the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Raffals’ clinical and research interests have focused on inflammatory bowel disease with a focus on pouch disorders, exploring the intersection of pouch motility disorders and pouch inflammation. She is the co-principal investigator for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation SPARC IBD, a national prospective adult research cohort with IBD study and has published broadly on topics in inflammatory bowel disease.

Bruce Sands, MD, MS is the Dr. Burrill B. Crohn Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Dr. Sands is an expert in the management of IBD and has earned an international reputation for his care of patients with complex and refractory disease. Dr. Sands was awarded his BA and MD from Boston University, and trained in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After completing GI fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School and served as the Acting Chief of the Gastrointestinal Unit at MGH before moving to Mount Sinai in 2010 as Chief of the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Sands is widely recognized for his innovative treatment of IBD and for his clinical investigations of new therapeutics. Dr. Sands' research also explores IBD epidemiology and includes the creation of a population-based cohort of IBD in Rhode Island. Dr. Sands is a past chair of the Clinical Research Alliance of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America and served as Chair of the Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Section of the American Gastroenterological Association. Additionally, Dr. Sands was the Chair of the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD). In 2016 Dr. Sands was awarded the Dr. Henry Janowitz Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, that organization’s highest honor.

Dr. Bridget E. Shields is the Susan Nicholas Fasciano Family Foundation Professor of Inflammatory Skin Diseases, Associate Professor, and Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Program in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She completed her dermatology residency at the University of Wisconsin, where she served as Chief Resident, followed by a fellowship in Complex Medical Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania with specialized training in granulomatous skin diseases, including cutaneous Crohn disesae. Dr. Shields directs the University of Wisconsin's specialized IBD-Dermatology clinic and serves on the inpatient dermatology consultation service, caring for patients with complex inflammatory skin disorders. She also leads the University of Wisconsin Multidisciplinary Sarcoidosis Program, fostering collaboration among clinicians and scientists to improve the understanding and treatment of systemic granulomatous disease.
As a clinician-scientist, Dr. Shields' research focuses on defining the molecular mechanisms underlying skin manifestations of IBD through spatial transcriptomics, multiomics, and translational immunology, with the goal of developing precision diagnostics and targeted therapies.
Dr. Shields has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications and numerous invited book chapters. She is a nationally recognized speaker who has delivered invited lectures on skin manifestations of IBD and other inflammatory dermatologic disorders at regional and national scientific meetings.
Her research program has been supported by the Dermatology Foundation Medical Dermatology Career Development Award and the Ann Theodore Foundation, among other competitive funding sources.

Bruce Sands, MD, MS is the Dr. Burrill B. Crohn Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Dr. Sands is an expert in the management of IBD and has earned an international reputation for his care of patients with complex and refractory disease. Dr. Sands was awarded his BA and MD from Boston University, and trained in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After completing GI fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School and served as the Acting Chief of the Gastrointestinal Unit at MGH before moving to Mount Sinai in 2010 as Chief of the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Sands is widely recognized for his innovative treatment of IBD and for his clinical investigations of new therapeutics. Dr. Sands' research also explores IBD epidemiology and includes the creation of a population-based cohort of IBD in Rhode Island. Dr. Sands is a past chair of the Clinical Research Alliance of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America and served as Chair of the Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Section of the American Gastroenterological Association. Additionally, Dr. Sands was the Chair of the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD). In 2016 Dr. Sands was awarded the Dr. Henry Janowitz Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, that organization’s highest honor.

James Lewis, MD, MSCE, is Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Senior Scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, LDI Senior Fellow, Vice-Chief for Research (Clinical) in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Lewis is a gastroenterologist with a focus on caring for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and has conducted clinical research related to IBD for nearly 30 years. His reserach includes epidemiology studies focusing on optimal choice of therapies and treatment patterns and investigator-initiated multicenter clinical trials of medications and behavioral interventions, particulalry related to dietary patterns. His work has been funded by the NIH, AHRQ, CDC, PCORI, and numerous foundations and corporate sponsors. Dr. Lewis is the lead scientist for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation’s IBD Plexus Research Program. He is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. In 2016, he received the Sherman Prize for Excellence in Crohn’s and Colitis.

Millie D. Long MD, MPH earned her doctor of medicine degree at the University of Virginia. She completed a residency and chief residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She then completed a gastroenterology fellowship at University of North Carolina. She also completed a fellowship in preventive medicine and a masters of public health in epidemiology at the Gillings School of Public Health. She is board certified in internal medicine, preventive medicine, and gastroenterology. She is currently Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of North Carolina, as well as Chief of the Division.

Dr. Long’s clinical practice is at the UNC Multidisciplinary Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) center. Her research interests include prevention of complications of IBD, women’s health and clinical epidemiology. Dr. Long has contributed over 200 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and review articles to the literature. She co-authored the 2025 ACG ulcerative colitis guidelines. She serves Co-Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Long is a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology where she is a member of the Board of Trustees. She is also a fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association and a member of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Recipient of the 2024 Sherman Prize for Excellence in Crohn’s and Colitis. She is a member of the International Organization for the Study of IBD.

Dr. Kaplan is a Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Dr. Kaplan is a gastroenterologist who is internationally renowned for studying the global epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). As the corresponding author, he has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, The Lancet and JAMA. He is an Associate Editor of Gastroenterology and an Academic Editor of PLOS Med. Between 2020 and 2025 Clarivate, Web of Science named Dr. Kaplan a Highly Cited Researcher in recognition of being in the top one percent of cited researchers. Dr. Kaplan is a member of the International Organization for the study of IBD (IOIBD). Dr. Kaplan received Canadian Association of Gastroenterology’s Research Leader Award and was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Dr Nuru Noor is a Clinical Lecturer in Gastroenterology based at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He also works as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit - the largest academic clinical trials unit in Europe. He has a particular interest in novel clinical trial designs, having completed his PhD on this topic. He is keen to bring novel methodological approaches to the field of Gastroenterology, and in particular to IBD - which is his main area of clinical interest and expertise.

Bruce Sands, MD, MS is the Dr. Burrill B. Crohn Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Dr. Sands is an expert in the management of IBD and has earned an international reputation for his care of patients with complex and refractory disease. Dr. Sands was awarded his BA and MD from Boston University, and trained in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After completing GI fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School and served as the Acting Chief of the Gastrointestinal Unit at MGH before moving to Mount Sinai in 2010 as Chief of the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Sands is widely recognized for his innovative treatment of IBD and for his clinical investigations of new therapeutics. Dr. Sands' research also explores IBD epidemiology and includes the creation of a population-based cohort of IBD in Rhode Island. Dr. Sands is a past chair of the Clinical Research Alliance of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America and served as Chair of the Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Section of the American Gastroenterological Association. Additionally, Dr. Sands was the Chair of the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD). In 2016 Dr. Sands was awarded the Dr. Henry Janowitz Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, that organization’s highest honor.

Prateek Sharma, MD, MASGE is currently Professor of Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and his gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Sharma has been at the forefront in improving diagnosis and management of GI diseases and cancer, specifically in advanced imaging and endoscopic treatments. He is a world-renowned physician, teacher, and educator who has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek.

Dr. Sharma's research has focused on upper gastrointestinal diseases including Barrett's esophagus, esophageal cancer, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. He received the ACG Governors Award for Excellence in Clinical Research. He has over 400 publications, including original articles and book chapters, and is regularly invited to present at major national and international meetings. In addition, he has co-edited several important books. Dr. Sharma has and continues to publish in several high-profile national and international journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Gastroenterology, and American Journal of Gastroenterology. Dr. Sharma is currently a Governing Board Member and Treasurer of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.