Professors - CELIAC Degree

He attended medical school at University of Sydney, Australia. Gastroenterology fellowships were completed at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, where he was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School. He is currently the Phyllis and Ivan Seidenberg Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York and the Director of the Celiac Disease Center. He has received the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Foundation Mentors Research Scholar Award in 2007, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Master Endoscopist Award in 2007, AGA Research Mentor Award in 2020 and Distinguished Clinician Award in Academic Practice from the AGA in 2021

Graduated in 2000 at Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy), he performed the specialization in Gastroenterology and Endoscopy at the University of Udine (Italy) and PhD (Gastroenterological Sciences) at Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences (Milano, Italy). He was Assistant Gastroenterologist at the “Center for Prevention and Diagnosis of Celiac Disease”, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of Milan (Italy) and from 2010 he was dessignated as Chief of this important Center. With respect to teaching activities, he is Professor and Lecturer at the Gastroenterology Specialization Schools, Università degli Studi di Milano, where he also is parto f the program of Superivion of Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows. During the last years Luca Elli dealt with Celiac Disease acquiring an important clinical and scientific experience. Moreover, he is an expert endoscopist specialised in small bowel endoscopy with videocapsule and double balloon with more that 130 publications on peer reviewed journals.

Head of the Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Unit of the San Jorge de Huesca University Hospital, Spain. Director of the INDOGASTRO Research Group recognized by the Government of Aragon and attached to the Aragon Health Institute (IACS). Accredited by the National Agency for Quality Assessment (ANECA) for access to the university professors. He is currently a Practicum tutor of the Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics of the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences of the University of Saragossa. Since 2018 he has presided over the Spanish Celiac Disease Society (SEEC). In November 2020, he was honored for his career in the Spanish Association of Gastroenterology.

He was borned in Parma (Italy) on August 11th 1952. Degree in Medicine with honours July 1976 at Bologna University. Specialist in Cardiology (1979) and Internal Medicine (1986). From 1986 to date Professor of Diagnostic Immunopathology at Bologna University. From 1999 to 2012 Director of the Celiac Disease Centre of St. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna University. RESEARCH INTEREST: celiac disease; liver disorders; connective tissue diseases; type 1 diabetes mellitus. PUBLICATIONS: 650 publications of which 201 in peer-review journals. MEMBERSHIPS: President of the Scientific Board of the Italian Association for Coeliac Disease (2006-2014) and member of the same Board from 2015 to date. Member of the Board of the European Society for the Study of Coeliac Disease (ESsCD) from 2015 to date. Vice-president of the Ethical Committee of St. Orsola Hospital at Bologna University from 2013 to 2018. PRESENT AFFILIATION: Retired with a research contract as Professor of Internal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences ( DIMEC), University of Bologna, Italy

She studied clinical chemist biologist at UANL, in Monterrey Mexico. She continued his postgraduate studies at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, where she obtained a master’s degree in medical and pharmaceutical sciences and a doctorate in genetics of immune diseases. Under the supervision of Prof. Cisca Wijmenga, she helped identify new regions, genes and mechanisms that contribute to celiac disease and prioritize the causative genes. She did research stays at the University of Washington and Harvard Medical School. She is currently doing a post-doctorate at RadboudUMC in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Her line of research focuses on better understanding the causes of infectious diseases and on identifying biomarkers and possible treatments using omic technologies, especially in sepsis.

She has always been involved in basic and clinical gastroenterology research, since she was a trainee doctor in Gastroenterology, especially focusing on gluten related disorders. After her residency at the “Federico II” University of Naples, she took part in a Clinical Research Training Fellowship in Gastrointestinal Epidemiology at the Division of Epidemiology and Public Health of The University of Nottingham as Academic Visitor and obtained a Master in Applied Epidemiology. During this period, she developed the ability to analyse big data and conduct epidemiological studies and formed many productive and ongoing collaborations. She is a member of the “Oslo Group” international study group and has contributed to define the standard coeliac disease terminology (Gut 2013) and write the coeliac disease management guidelines (Gut 2014). In December 2015, she completed her PhD on the “Epidemiology of coeliac disease”. From August 2012 to June 2017, she conducted basic and clinical research projects on coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease at the University of Salerno. In June 2017, she started working at the University of Padua, initially as Junior Researcher and then as Assistant Professor in Gastroenterology, where she is now continuing her research activity on immune-mediated gastrointestinal disorders with particular focus on gluten related disorders, inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal epidemiology. She regularly participates as speaker in national and international conferences and has so far published more than one-hundred peer-reviewed papers.

Professor Riccardo Troncone is Full Professor of Pediatrics at the Department of Medical Translational Sciences of the University Federico II, Naples. He is presently Director of the Resident Program in Paediatrics at the University Federico II, Naples and Director of the “European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases” at the same University. He holds a research position at the Institute of Protein Biochemistry of the Italian Research Council (IBP-CNR). He is President of the International Society for the Study of Coeliac Disease, Past President of the European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) and Associate Editor of Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (JPGN). His research interests are focused mostly on clinical and immunological aspects of celiac disease. Other areas of interest include food allergies and inflammatory bowel diseases.

He received his MD degree in Berlin, and two PhD degrees in Germany. He was Associate Professor of Gastroenterology/Hepatology/Medicine in Berlin and Full Professor and Deputy Director of the Dept of Medicine I (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases, Endocrinology) at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany until 2004.
He is has been Professor of Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Consultant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) in Boston.
Since 2011 he is Director of the Institute of Translational Immunology and Director of the Clinical Center for Celiac, Small Intestinal, Metabolic and Autoimmune Diseases at Mainz University Medical Center, maintaining his senior faculty position at BIDMC and HMS.
Research and clinical focus is on liver inflammation, fibrosis related disorders like IBS and atypical allergies, the gut-liver axis, celiac disease, wheat sensitivity, food allergies and the role of the nutritional factors and the intestinal microbiome on autoimmunity, GI and liver cancer. Apart from the preclinical and clinical validation of novel therapeutics, including small molecules, siRNA and nanoparticles, his group develops novel noninvasive biomarkers and targeted imaging to predict and monitor the activity of these diseases.
He has been and continues to be consultant, principal and co-Investigator in numerous clinical phase 1-3 trials in celiac disease, liver fibrosis, NASH, metabolic and autoimmune diseases. He has been and is in leading positions of major national international GI and liver associations, served and serves as editor of renowned journals in these fields, and received several international prizes. He has mentored and qualified more than 120 PhD and MD/PhD students. He has published more than 580 Pubmed cited original articles and reviews. He has >30,000 citations and an h-index of 90 (isi-web/pubmed); >51,000 citations and an H-index of 115 (google scholar).

Specialist in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology graduated from the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City. Postgraduate in Neurogastroenterology from the University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, USA. Master of Medical Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He is currently the Director of the Institute for Medical Biological Research at the Universidad Veracruzana and is a Level 2 National Researcher of the National System of Researchers in Mexico. He has been Editor of the Gastroenterology Journal from Mexico and Member of the Editorial Committee of Journals such as Gastroenterology, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Acta Gastroenterología de Latinoamérica. Author of 20 books and more than 200 publications in the area of Gastroenterology. His main lines of research are: Celiac Disease and Functional Digestive Disorders.

She is born in Madrid, Spain. She lives and works in the Netherlands since 1979. Her ambition is to improve the health and quality of life of sick children, especially those with gastrointestinal diseases, particularly celiac disease. Since completing her training as a Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Mearin has been committed to providing the best possible care and support for children with gastrointestinal diseases and their families. Among other things, this led to the introduction of pediatric endoscopy in the LUMC (1989), the opening of the first outpatient clinic in the Netherlands for children with celiac disease (Coeliac Clinic LUMC, 2009) and the launch of e-Health for children in the LUMC (2019).
In addition to her work as a pediatrician, educator and lecturer, she conducts scientific research. The interaction between fundamental research and patient care is the foundation of her work. Since 1983, when she reported the strong relationship between celiac disease and the HLA system, she has conducted research on the epidemiology, immunology, genetics, treatment, prevention and quality of life of children with celiac disease. Mearin has coordinated multiple national and international scientific projects, including the ongoing projects PreventCD (www.preventcd.com) and GLUTENSCREEN (www.glutenscreen.nl) on the prevention and early detection of celiac disease.

She is currently appointed as Professor of Internal medicine at the Tampere University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Finland. Professor Kaukinen’s research focuses on clinical, translational and epidemiological aspects of celiac disease and other gluten-induced disease entities. During her scientific career, she has published over 200 original peer-reviewed articles and several review articles, editorials and book chapters. Her research achievements have been widely exploited in clinical practice and she is actively involved in national and international networks and working groups focusing on diagnostic criteria, current care guidelines and management models of celiac disease.

He is 67 years old and Professor of Pediatrics and Head of Research at Hans Christian Andersen Children’s Hospital, Odense University Hospital, and Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterologist. He has received most of his education in Denmark, supplemented with a one research stay at University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA, in 1990-1. He is author of approx. 200 scientific papers, 6 book chapters. H-index 38 (Thomson-Reuter), Total number of citations > 4500. Invited speaker/chairman at numerous international conferences. He has as PI received several larger research grants. Main supervisor for 9 finished M.D., Ph.D. studies, currently supervising 3 Ph.D. fellows. He has been active within European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutition (ESPGHAN), as a Council member 2003-5, Gastroenterology Committee, 2008-13. Head of ESPGHAN Special Interest Group for Coeliac Disease, 2013-2017. ORCID no. 0000-0002-6286-2496.

He studied Biochemistry at the National University of La Plata (UNLP). In 1995 he obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemical Sciences from UNLP. Since 1997 he is a member of the CONICET Researcher Career and is currently Principal Investigator. He is a Professor of Immunology since 2006, he teaches the course on Molecular and Cellular Immunology, and has organized and directed several national and international postgraduate courses on Mucosal Immunology. He directs the research group “Small Intestine Immunobiology” at the Institute for Immunological and Physiopathological Studies (IIFP) (UNLP-CONICET). He did postdoctoral studies at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) under the supervision of Dr. Allan Mowat, participating in the first functional studies of intestinal dendritic cells and their role in the regulation of the immune response.
He has investigated basic aspects of the pathogenesis of celiac disease and the biochemistry of prolamines, such as the development of analytical platforms to quantify gluten proteins in food, the cloning and analysis of transglutaminase 2 expression, and optimization of serological tests. More recently he has focused on the mechanisms of inflammation, stress and cell death, and the control of the immune response in the small intestine using clinical samples and animal models. The result of his research work has been published in more than 60 scientific articles in international indexed journals. Since 2002, he is an executive member of the “European Working Group in Prolamin Analysis and Toxicity” (WGPAT). In 2016, together with other Latin American scientists, he founded the LatinAmerican Mucosal Immunology Group (LAMIG), being a member of the Board since its creation. In 2019, he was elected to the Board of the Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI).

He is a full time Consultant Neurologist and the Academic Director of the Department of Neurosciences, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Sheffield, UK. His primary research is in the neurological manifestations of gluten related diseases, and the ataxias, areas that he has studied initially for his MD thesis and subsequently became the focus of his research career over the last 25 years. He has published extensively in high impact journals including 3 first author papers in the Lancet. His H index is 49. He runs a weekly gluten sensitivity/neurology clinic, regular vasculitis/autoimmunity and weekly ataxia clinics and receives referrals from all over the UK and Internationally. He is the director of the Sheffield Ataxia Centre caring for over 2500 patients with ataxias and a founding member of the Sheffield Institute of Gluten Related Diseases (SIGReD). He cares for almost 1500 patients with neurological manifestations of gluten sensitivity and coeliac

He is Director of the Celiac Disease Program and Gastroenterologist (Staff) at the Institute of Digestive Diseases and Surgery at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States of America. Dr. Rubio-Tapia obtained his specialization in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in the United States and at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition in Mexico City, Mexico. He studied Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (U.N.A.M.) in the University City, Mexico City, Mexico.

He received his MD from Medicine VU University Medical Center (Amsterdam) and then completed his internship in Internal Medicine (Haarlem), Haematology (Leiden) and Gastroenterology (AMC Amsterdam). He is Professor in Gastroenterology and Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the VU University Medical Center where his main area of research concerns epidemiology, genetics, patterns of care, natural history of celiac disease, refractory CD and EATL lymphoma. He is an author of hundreds of peer-reviewed papers, mostly on celiac disease and he won numerous prizes from different important places around the world. He served in different positions for numerous gastroenterological societies in Holland, Europe and USA such as Dutch Society of Gastroenterology, United European Gastroenterology, American College of Gastroenterology and he was member of Train the Trainers, World Gastroenterology Organisation and Chairman Digestive Oncology (WGO).

Graduated in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, and in Food Science and Technology and PhD from the University of Valencia. She received a PhD from the University of Valencia in 2017, with a Cum Laude qualification. Currently, she works as Coordinator of the Nutrition and Dietetics Unit of the Campo Grande Hospital in Valladolid and as Coordinator of the Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics of the Miguel de Cervantes European University. She has participated in numerous national and European projects related to pediatric nutrition and especially celiac disease. She is a member of the Ethics Committee and the Celiac Disease Task Force of ESPGHAN. She is also a member of the Gastroenterology Committee of the European Federation of Dietitian Associations (EFAD), member of the Spanish Society of Celiac Disease. She has worked as a nutritionist in the European Prevent CD Project.

Carlo Catassi is professor of Pediatrics, Head of the Department of Pediatrics and Director of the Residency Program in Pediatrics at the Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy, and Visiting Scientist at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Boston (USA). He graduated in Medicine in 1977 and then specialized in Pediatrics, Human Nutrition and Biostatistics. From 2001 onward he spent long periods of time in the USA collaborating with the Center for Celiac Research firstly in Baltimore and then in Boston. He was President of the Italian Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition from 2013 to 2016. Prof Catassi’s main research interest is the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders. As in January 2021 he is coauthor of several books on pediatric Gastroenterology, particularly on gluten-related disorders, and of 196 publications indexed on the PubMed, including original articles and reviews published on the major international journal, e.g. the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, and Gastroenterology, and has a H-Index of 54 (Scopus).

She has had a longstanding interest in microbial commensal influence on chronic inflammatory disorders, long before the topic gained center stage in gastroenterology. After completing her MD studies in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she began clinical research training on Helicobacter pylori infection and chronic gastritis at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. This was followed by a Ph.D. degree at the Institute of Microbiology and Gnotobiology of the Czech Academy of Science on the effect of commensal bacterial antigens in animal models of inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease. As a post-doctoral fellow at McMaster University, she focused on beneficial (probiotic) bacteria and their effect on gut function and inflammation. As faculty at McMaster University, she developed a program to investigate host-microbial and dietary interactions in the gastrointestinal tract.

Dr. Lebwohl received his MD from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2003, and then completed his internship, residency, and chief residency in internal medicine at Columbia. He stayed at Columbia as a fellow in Digestive and Liver Disease, during which time he obtained a Masters in Patient Oriented Research from the Department of Biostatistics at the Mailman School of Public Health. He is the Director of Clinical Research at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, where his main area of research concerns epidemiology, patterns of care, and the natural history of celiac disease. He is an author of more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, mostly on celiac disease and gluten. He currently serves as a member of the Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee of the United States Food and Drug Administration. His work has been funded by the American Gastroenterological Foundation and the Celiac Disease Foundation, and he is President-Elect of the Society for the Study of Celiac Disease.

David S Sanders is a Professor of Gastroenterology and a Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital & the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. He has published more than 400 peer reviewed papers. He is internationally recognised for his work in coeliac disease and gluten related disorders and he has received a number of research awards. He is the current Chair of the Coeliac UK Health Advisory Council. Previous roles include chair of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) Small Bowel and Nutrition Section (2006-2012), BSG Audit Committee (2010-2013), BSG Council Member 2016-19, President of the International Society for the Study of Coeliac Disease 2015-2019 (ISSCD) and Board Member of the European Society for study of Coeliac Disease (ESsCD) from 2017-2020. The Sheffield Unit has recently been designated as the UK National Centre for Refractory Coeliac Disease (2019) and a World Endoscopy Organisation GI Centre of Excellence (2020).

Kamran is well known for his expertise in the field of inflammatory bowel disease, IBS/Gluten related disorders. He has special interest in promoting nutrition therapy by focusing on identifying and eliminating the food antigens that triggers or contribute in various forms of Gastrointestinal disorders in individuals who are genetically at risk. By doing this he has been able to facilitate a healthier care and treatment for numerous patients in the United Kingdom and recently in Palmerston North (New Zealand). His postgraduate journey started with a PhD in coeliac disease from the University of Amsterdam. He worked as a consultant Gastroenterologist in the UK and then joined the Gastroenterology Unit at Palmerston North Hospital. He has organised and presented at numerous national and international Gastroenterology conferences, coordinated a number of multicentre studies and has published numerous research papers in peer reviewed journals. He serves as the deputy and associate editor for a number of Gastroenterology journals.

She received his MD from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina) and she is a gastroenterologist from the Post-Graduate School of the Argentine Society of Gastroenterology. She performed Clinical Research Fellowship in Celiac Disease in Gastroenterology Hospital of Buenos Aires Dr. C B. Udaondo. Since 2012 she has developed her activity at Mc Master University (Department of Medicine Francombe) in Canada where she currently works as Assistant profesor.
Clinical and research interest of Prof Pinto-Sánchez are mainly in the field of gastroenterology and nutrition including the diagnosis and treatment of chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal conditions, celiac disease and gluten related disorders, nutrition support therapies and the microbiota gut-brain axis.
She is an author of more than 70 peer-reviewed papers, mostly on celiac disease and she won numerous prizes from different important places around the world (Europe, USA, Canada) and receiving many research funding during last years. Regarding her contribution to teaching practice, she had a strong role as a mentor; thus, she held different positions such as supervisor or co-supervisor guiding numerous resident/fellowships and undergraduate,graduate and post-graduate students.

Daniel Leffler, MD, MS, AGAF is a practicing gastroenterologist caring for patients with celiac disease and other gastrointestinal disorders and is founding member of the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School where he continues to see patients with gluten related disorders. Dr. Leffler has been the recipient of multiple National Institute of Health, foundation and industry sponsored grants for the advancement of digestive health. Dr. Leffler has lectured nationally and internationally, has published over 150 articles in peer reviewed literature, and has co-authored a patient-focused book with Melinda Dennis, RD: Real Life with Celiac Disease. Troubleshooting and Thriving Gluten Free, published by the American Gastroenterological Association Press. Dr. Leffler joined Takeda Pharmaceuticals in 2016 and is currently a Senior Medical Director and the Global Clinical Lead for Celiac Disease in the Gastrointestinal Therapeutic Area.

Dr Govind K Makharia is presently a Professor in the Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. He has trained 80 fellows in gastroenterology and 9 PhD students. He has published 258 articles in the indexed journals, 40 chapters for different books and edited a hand-book on celiac disease.
His focus of research is CeD. He has established a CELIAC CLINIC in India. He is the secretary General of Indian Society of Gastroenterology, Co-Chair, Clinical Research Committee, World Gastroenterology Organization; Council Member of Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology. Co-inventor of a device for fecal incontinence and a liver biopsy needle (Bioscoop), he has received many awards. He has successfully organized Young Clinician Program for the past 11 years involving approximately 1000 GI trainees and the first Train the Trainers program in 2019 on behalf of Indian Society of Gastroenterology.

Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. He has been involved in patient care and research in Celiac disease for more than 30 years. He founded the Celiac Center at BIDMC, Boston in 2004 and continues to serve as its Medical Director. In 2013 he co-founded the Celiac Research Program at Harvard Medical School. Dr Kelly runs an active research program on celiac disease diagnosis and novel approaches to management. He is the author of more than 300 original articles, clinical and basic research book chapters and invited reviews appearing in such journals as Gastroenterology, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Clinical Investigation, New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet.

Professor of Gastroenterology, Paris University, Paris, France. Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy, European Georges Pompidou Hospital, Paris, France. Coordinator of the French national network for patients with complicated malignant complications (refractory sprue and lymphoma supported by INCA (French Cancer Institute). Member of Research Unit of intestinal immunology, INSERM U 989; Paris, France. Past-President of the French Digestive Endoscopy Society (SFED). President of the French Celiac Disease Study Group (GERMC). Board of European Society for the Study of Celiac Disease (ESSCD).
Involved in clinical and translational research on celiac disease since 20 years ago. Publication of more 100 peers review papers on celiac disease

Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Seville (Spain). He is a scientific researcher in four different laboratories at the University of Seville, the National Center for Biotechnoloy-CSIC and the “Institute des Sicences Vegetales-CNRS. Co-founder and Managing Director and Scientific Director of the biotechnology company Biomedal since 2000 (Seville, Spain). Co-founder and scientific director of the company Glutenostics LLC (USA). Co-author of more than one hundred scientific articles. Co-inventor of fifteen international patent applications, seven of them have been exploited by companies. Coordinator and head of more than twenty applied and industrial research projects. Professor in various masters, university courses.

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