Outstanding Service Award
AGA honors the Funderburg family with the Outstanding Service Award, which was created in 1972 to honor an individual(s) who has contributed significantly to society’s health and welfare. The family, which includes Rob and Cathy, Alex and Patty, and Hugh and Gail, has significantly contributed to the AGA Research Foundation through their personal philanthropy. Their parents established the AGA – R. Robert and Sally Funderburg Research Award in Gastric Cancer in 1992. In total, the family has given $3 million and with their most recent gift, they have permanently endowed their research award in gastric cancer.
The family encourages collaboration and communication between and among the Funderburg recipients and as a result, AGA established the annual Funderburg Symposium at DDW. This symposium allows leaders in the gastric cancer field, many of whom are past Funderburg recipients, to come together and learn about the latest advances and findings in gastric cancer research.
Young Investigator Awards
The AGA Young Investigator Awards recognize two young investigators, one in basic science and one in clinical science, for outstanding research achievements.
AGA honors Jennifer Lai, MD, MBA, with the Young Investigator Award in Clinical Science. Dr. Lai has pioneered a research program in frailty in hepatology that is changing the way that gastroenterologists and hepatologists manage patients with liver disease. She has carved out a niche at the junction of aging and hepatology research that is particularly timely given the influx of older patients with cirrhosis being seen in clinical practice, as well as the rapid rise in cirrhotic patients with multiple co-morbidities and frailty seeking liver transplantation. Dr. Lai is an associate professor of medicine in residence and director of the Advancing Research in Clinical Hepatology Group in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology, at the University of California, San Francisco.
AGA honors Nobuhiko Kamada, PhD, with the Young Investigator Award in Basic Science. Dr. Kamada is known for his innovation combining fields examining the microbiota and the immune system in IBD, specifically, the interplay between diet, commensal and pathogenic microbes, and the immune system. He has published stellar findings that have been highly cited within short periods of time due to their innovation. Dr. Kamada is an assistant professor in the division of gastroenterology at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.
