From academic leadership appointments to new milestones in surgical technology, here are five gastroenterologists making recent Becker’s headlines:
1. Tom Serena, CEO of the Bethesda, Md.-based American Gastroenterological Association, plans to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2026, after 12 years leading the organization and more than three decades in other leadership roles there.
2. Atlantic City, N.J.-based AtlantiCare named Latha Alaparthi, MD, as chief of gastroenterology July 31. Dr. Alaparthi has more than 24 years of experience in clinical practice, academic medicine and healthcare leadership.
3. A White House Office of Management and Budget proposed rule that would require senior political appointees to approve every discretionary federal research grant is drawing sharp opposition from gastroenterology and biomedical research organizations. The American College of Gastroenterology, joined by four other GI societies, submitted formal comments opposing the rule, and ACG President William Chey, MD, warned Congress the ongoing uncertainty at NIH has already weakened U.S. standing as the global leader in biomedical research.
4. Medtech company EvoEndo reached 3,000 sedation-free transnasal endoscopy cases with the EvoEndo Endoscopy System.
“TNE has changed the way I approach endoscopy in my pediatric patients — no sedation, no recovery room and a child who walks out the door minutes after the procedure,” Aravind Thavamani, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, said in a news release covering the milestone. “EvoEndo’s platform gives me the tools to make that a reality with enhanced diagnostic capability.”
5. The University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center named Marcoandrea Giorgi, MD, chief of its division of gastrointestinal and bariatric surgery, effective Nov. 1, 2026.
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