This issue of Inside Tract reminds me of the remarkable breadth of clinical and scientific innovation in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology—a testament to the extraordinary dedication of our faculty.

Hepatologist Tinsay Woreta, for example,  is asking a question that, just a few years ago, we never thought we’d ask: What should we do with patients after their hepatitis C is cured? It’s important to assess people who no longer harbor the virus but who have sustained liver damage. Dr. Woreta’s work with transient elastography to measure liver fibrosis will help inform the way we diagnose and monitor liver fibrosis, post-HCV.

Noobia Chaudhry, a gastroenterologist who specializes in obesity medicine, is working with patients to help them not only lose weight, but also to change behaviors. Without behavior change, Dr. Chaudhry points out, weight loss is not sustainable. She and her colleagues in our Gastric Weight Loss Center offer a wide range of options for patients who are ready to take the first steps to weight loss.

Anne Marie O’Broin-Lennon’s work focuses on solving the puzzle of pancreatic cysts, with the ultimate goal of knowing if and when to intervene. Her work on a “blood test biopsy” that detects early-stage pancreatic cancer by sifting through a blood sample for both mutated DNA and specific proteins could yield lifesaving discoveries.

And gastroenterologists Jay Pasricha and Subhash Kulkarni dispelled a myth that the intestinal neurons that we’re born with stay with us for life. Dr. Pasricha provides us with the first-ever images of the death-and-rebirth cycle of the enteric nervous system.

When I consider the wide-ranging work of my colleagues to solve medical problems across a host of conditions, I am both humbled and proud.

As always, we welcome your thoughts, and we invite you to call on us if we can contribute to your practices.