Indian-American physician elected president of the American College of Gastroenterology

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At a convention held in Philadelphia, PA, Indian-American physician from Minnesota was elected head of the American College of Gastroenterology Oct. 8.

Dr. Sunanda V. Kane, a gastroenterologist and Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, was elected by the membership as the 2018-2019 President of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), a national medical organization representing more than 14,000 clinical gastroenterologists and other specialists in digestive diseases from some 86 countries, a press release from the organization, said.

Dr. Kane officially takes her position as President during the College’s Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course, held this week in Philadelphia.

In this position, she will direct ACG’s programs, which include continuing medical education in the clinical, scientific and patient-related skills of gastroenterology, activities involving national and state medical affairs, health policy issues, and clinical investigation.

Dr. Kane, who has contributed more than 135 papers of original research, 50 reviews, and 25 book chapters to the medical literature, is the Chair of Quality within the Mayo Clinic’s Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

“As President, my goal is to build upon the core strengths of ACG’s advocacy, education and research endeavors and to maintain our dedication to serving the needs of clinicians,” Dr. Kane is quoted saying in the press release.

Along with a busy clinical practice seeing patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD),  Dr. Kane conducts research in the areas of new therapies, gender-specific issues, and medication adherence.

Dr. Kane received her BS in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine and MS in Public Health in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from the University of Illinois. After earning her medical degree from Rush Medical College, Dr. Kane completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, and then her fellowship in Gastroenterology at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Kane is also actively engaged in teaching, including the second-year medical students in the Mayo Medical School, the medicine residents on the GI inpatient consult service, and gastroenterology fellows in clinic, on hospital service and in the outpatient endoscopy suite.

A member of the ACG Board of Trustees since 2008, Dr. Kane has served as an officer of the College since 2014. Since 2011, Dr. Kane has served on the Board of Directors for the ACG Institute for Clinical Research & Education. Dr. Kane was Director of the College’s Quality Council from 2012 to 2015.

She pioneered ACG’s Fellows Mentoring Program in 2010 and continues to participate as a mentor.

She has co-edited a pocket guide on management of IBD for practitioners and written a book for patients on self-management.

She is the past chair of the National Patient Education Committee for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. She served as the first woman Associate Editor for Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics and continues to serve editorial roles for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. Dr. Kane sits on the GI Specialty Council of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Her hobbies include writing haiku, being commissioner for a fantasy football league, and standup comedy.