Call for papers - Women and gastrointestinal health

Vivian Wai-Mei Huang, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada; University of Toronto, Canada

Dr Vivian Huang is an Associate Professor and Clinician investigator in the Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto.  Dr Huang completed medical school and Internal Medicine residency at Queen's University,  followed by a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Toronto, and an Advanced IBD fellowship at the University of Alberta. She practices P4 (predictive, preventive, personalized, participatory) medicine to optimize maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes in IBD through clinical innovations in patient and physician education, and e-health strategies.  She developed the Northern Alberta Preconception and Pregnancy in IBD clinical research program and the Mount Sinai Hospital Preconception and Pregnancy in IBD clinical research program in Ontario.  She also created the Multidisciplinary Care in IBD (MCIBD) CME program for clinicians who care for people with IBD.  She received the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada and Pfizer Canada Women in IBD: Emerging Researchers Award  in 2020 and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology Young Scholar in Quality Innovation Award in 2023 for her work in Pregnancy and IBD management and education.  She is lead author or co-author of over 60 research articles and 2 book chapters, and is one of 2 Canadian committee members of the upcoming Global Consensus Conference: Pregnancy and IBD.

Cynthia Maxwell, MD, Women's College Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada

Dr Cynthia Maxwell (pronouns she/her) is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist as well as an Obesity Medicine Specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital and Women’s College Hospital, Toronto. She is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Her clinical and research interests are focused on disorders of pregnancy with an emphasis on pregnancies affected by obesity, malignancy, and gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel diseases. Her leadership interests focus on health systems transformation, health equity and health care access.

Sumona Saha, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, USA

Dr Sumona Saha is a faculty member in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology within the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She holds the Judy and Sal Troia Faculty Fellowship in IBD Leadership. Dr Saha is the lead physician at the UW Health Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic (IBD), the director of the Gastrointestinal Disorders in Pregnancy Clinic and the director of the sub-fellowship in inflammatory bowel disease within the gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship program. Dr Saha is a member of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), and a charter member of the AGA’s Academy of GI and Liver Educators Advisory Board. Dr Saha is the first physician in the country to complete a training program in gastroenterology with a specific focus on women's health. Her clinical interests are in inflammatory bowel disease and GI disorders in pregnancy.  She has conducted multiple studies evaluating the impact of IBD on various aspect of women's health including menstrual function, body image and sexual function. She has also investigated fertility issues in patients with IBD. She is the site principal investigator for several longitudinal, observational studies in patients with IBD as well as for several clinical trials involving novel therapies for IBD.