Enrichment Program

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: Enrichment Program The Enrichment Program provides critical mechanisms to support the overall goals of the Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center (DDC) via the following Specific Aims: 1) To share and disseminate knowledge gained from the presence of the DDC and in the larger field of digestive diseases; 2) To promote and increase interaction and collaboration among investigators and clinicians interested in digestive diseases; and 3) To foster the scientific and career development of DDC members. To achieve these aims, The DDC developed and implemented an Enrichment Program that has several elements: 1) the Research Seminar Series; 2) the Annual DDC Symposium; 3) the Annual DDC Scientific Retreat; 4) DDC Core Research Workshops; 5) DDC Research Focus Group Workshops; and 6) Career Development Initiative. Institutional and endowed support over the last funding period sponsored complementary research symposia and lectures within the GI Sections in the three DDC institutions targeting the research interests of DDC members. To catalyze member scientific development and interactions, the DDC Research Seminar Series, initiated in 1998, continues to flourish through in-person and online events. This semi-weekly series is a vehicle for prominent local, national, and international investigators to present lectures related to topics within the DDC Research Domains. Since 2009, the DDC annual scientific symposium offers a full-day monothematic forum focusing on topical and cutting-edge topics, and became CME accredited in 2015. Since 2019, the DDC has enhanced the symposium schedule by adding additional networking opportunities and breakout sessions with prominent speakers. The Directors and/or Co-Directors of the DDC four research Cores hold several DDC Core Research Workshops on educational and technical issues of new technologies or Core activities. The DDC has created several DDC GI Focus Groups including: a GI/liver Covid Group designed to bridge the gap between COVID-19 clinical and research efforts; Bioinformatics User Group, which meets bi-monthly; and the Junior Investigators Group, in which investigators meet twice monthly to discuss diverse GI research interests in both basic and clinical sciences. In response to the global pandemic, the Enrichment Program initiatives moved to an online format that resulted in an increase of participation among the GI community. The annual DDC retreat format helps disseminate research findings among members and includes a poster session, which provides robust interactions among senior investigators, junior faculty, and trainees. Awards for the best posters are presented during the annual retreat. The DDC Career Development Initiative sponsors several activities including preparedness for PF awards, dissemination of grant and career development information, virtual meetings with visiting speakers, and rehearsals for national presentations.