American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy And ASGE Foundation To Hold Crystal Awards Dinner As Part Of Digestive Disease Week(R), May 21, In Los Angeles

OAK BROOK, Ill., May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the ASGE Foundation will recognize leading gastroenterologists who have contributed to the advancement of GI endoscopy at its annual Crystal Awards Dinner to be held at 6:30 p.m., May 21, 2006 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, former home of the Academy Awards, in Los Angeles.

Held in conjunction with Digestive Disease Week (DDW(R)), the program not only will pay tribute to recipients of the Society's highest honors, but it will also raise funds for gastrointestinal endoscopy-related research and public education.

The event will feature live music, dinner and presentations to awardees by ASGE President, Robert H. Hawes, MD, FASGE; ASGE Foundation Chair, Francis Tedesco, MD, FASGE; David J. Bjorkman, MD, FASGE and Master of Ceremonies, ASGE Past President and Foundation Trustee, David Carr-Locke, MD, FASGE.

Tickets for the Crystal Awards Dinner are available at http://www.asge.org , or by contacting Kathryn Dattomo, ASGE Development Manager, at KDattomo@asge.org or by phone at 630.570.5607.

Award Recipients The Rudolf V. Schindler Award Michael B. Kimmey, MD, FASGE, Tacoma Digestive Disease Center, Tacoma, WA

ASGE's highest honor, this award is given to a member whose accomplishments in endoscopic research, teaching and/or service to ASGE exemplifies the standards and traditions of Rudolf Schindler, MD, founder of the American Gastroscopic Club, the forerunner of ASGE.

President's Award

Nib Soehendra, MD, University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

Awarded at the discretion of the ASGE President, the President's Award distinguishes an individual as making exceptional contributions to the Society and its mission. Whether through organized volunteer opportunities or singular initiatives supporting the goals of ASGE, the honoree is recognized for this assistance by the President.

Special Recognition Award

Basil I. Hirschowitz, MD, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL

Recognizing a unique contribution or an ongoing series of achievements to the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy, the Special Recognition Award is bestowed at the discretion of the ASGE President to an individual who stands apart for these activities or involvement.

Master Endoscopist Award

Firas H. Al-Kawas, MD, FASGE, Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC

David A. Greenwald, MD, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY

Norman E. Marcon, MD, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

This Award recognizes physicians who spend the majority of their time in patient care and are recognized regionally or nationally for their expertise and longitudinal contributions to the practice of gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Distinguished Educator Award

John P. Cello, MD, San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA

Jean W. Saleh, MD, Columbia University, New York, NY

Physician as educator is the focus of this award, recognizing one or more doctors' contributions to the education of fellows through endoscopy seminars, participation in national postgraduate courses and published scholarly reviews or educational materials, including videos.

Distinguished Service Award

Maurits J. Wiersema, MD, Indiana Medical Associates

This award is granted to an individual who has made long-term contributions to GI endoscopy in the areas of equipment research and development, as well as an individual who has been a strong supporter of the educational and research mission of the society.

Honorary Members

Anthony Axon, MD, The General Infirmary at Leeds, Leeds, UK

Haruhito Inoue, MD, Showa University-Northern Yokohama Hospital, Yokohama, Japan

Claudio S. Navarrete Garcia, MD, Clinica Alemana de Santiago, Santiago, Chile

Honorary Members of the ASGE are selected by the society for their contributions to GI endoscopy. To date, 13 individuals have been so honored and are accorded the same benefits as all other ASGE members.

Audiovisual Awards Christopher C. Thompson, MD, Harvard University Medical School, Boston, MA Joo Young Cho, MD, Seoul, South Korea Tomonori Yano, MD, Jichi Medical School Hospital, Togichi, Japan

The Audiovisual Awards recognize outstanding educational productions related to GI endoscopy techniques. The videos demonstrate accepted techniques or show difficult cases, complications or innovations within the field of endoscopy and are showcased at the ASGE Video Forum at DDW.

Career Development Awards Olympus Endoscopic Research Career Development Award Ananya M. Das, MD, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ Julia K. LeBlanc, MD, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN Cook Endoscopy Career Development Award Christopher C. Thompson, MD, Harvard University Medical School

The Career Development Awards support junior investigators who are working toward an independent research career in any area of endoscopic research. These awards are supported by educational grants from Olympus America and Cook Endoscopy.

ASGE/ConMed Outstanding Manuscript Award

Ram M. Dickman, MD, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, Tucson, AZ

The ASGE/ConMed Award recognizes an outstanding manuscript written by a fellow and published in GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Diversity Award

Alison Schneider, MD, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Diversity Award is granted to physicians who submitted abstracts for DDW, promoting gender- and minority-related healthcare research.

Don Wilson Award Grant F. Hutchins, MD, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE Prasun K. Jalal, MD, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Floral Park, NY Uzma Siddiqui, MD, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

The Don Wilson Award provides advanced fellows or junior faculty with the opportunity to train outside of their home country with a premier GI endoscopist or group to advance their training. The award assists in underwriting reasonable and customary travel and living expenses for a period of one to three months. Three awards are available annually: two for ASGE members in North America to travel abroad to an ASGE-member site, and one for an international member to come to a North American ASGE-member site. The award was named to honor Dr. Don Wilson, who was a strong advocate and supporter of international education and training in GI endoscopy and is underwritten by Cook Endoscopy.

ASGE Given Capsule Endoscopy Research Award

Douglas R. Morgan, MD, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Atul Kumar, MD, Smithtown, New York

This award is offered to physicians for projects specific to capsule endoscopy research. This award provides $25,000 in research funding plus 200 capsules for the duration of one year and aims to foster research in capsule endoscopy both within and outside of academic centers. This award is made possible through the generous support of Given Imaging, Inc.

Michael V. Sivak, Jr., MD Endoscopic Research Award

Victor K. Chen, MD, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

The Michael V. Sivak, Jr., MD Endoscopic Research Award is a special grant named for Dr. Michael Sivak, Jr., who was the editor of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy from 1997-2004. Under his direction, the journal became the pre- eminent international journal, publishing the best research related to GI endoscopy.

Research and Outcomes and Effectiveness (ROE) Awards Mohammad Al-Haddad, MD, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL Gregory S. Cooper, MD, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH Denise M. Harnois, DO, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL Dennis M. Jensen, MD, University of California, Los Angeles, CA Michael J. Levy, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN Mandeep S. Sawhney, MD, Minneapolis VA Hospital, Minneapolis, MN Elena M. Stoffel, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA Marcelo F. Vela, MD, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

After undergoing a vigorous peer-review process, ROE grants are awarded to physicians who received the highest scores for projects in basic and clinical endoscopic technology research and outcomes and effectiveness of endoscopy research. The objective is to foster research in GI endoscopy, both within and outside of academic centers.

Source: American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Oak Brook, IL

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), founded in 1941, is the preeminent professional organization dedicated to advancing the practice of endoscopy. ASGE, with more than 9,000 physician members worldwide, promotes the highest standards for endoscopic training and practice, fosters endoscopic research, recognizes distinguished contributions to Endoscopy, and is the foremost resource for endoscopic education.

About ASGE: http://www.asge.org 630-573-0600

Patient Information: http://www.askasge.org 866-305-ASGE

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

CONTACT: Barbara Connell of the American Society for GastrointestinalEndoscopy, +1-630-570-5616, or bconnell@asge.org

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