The Microbiota in Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology: Implications for Human Health, Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Dysbiosis

Dr. Floch is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Yale University where he recently formed the Fellow’s Clinic in the Digestive Disease Section supervising all gastrointestinal trainees in consultation on problem cases. He is a Master of the American College of Gastroenterology (MACG) and an American Gastroenterology Association Fellow (AGAF) as well as a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP). He formerly was Chairman of Medicine at Norwalk Hospital and the Founding Chief of Gastroenterology and Nutrition in Norwalk. He is Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and has written five books including the 2nd edition of the textbook “Netter’s Gastroenterology.Dr. Floch is renowned for his work in gastric and intestinal diseases and probiotics. He lectures nationally and internationally, haven given Grand Rounds at Harvard, Brown, UMass, and UConn among others. He is a consultant to Pfizer, Proctor & Gamble, Dannon, Shire and Biocodex.His research has been extensive in gastroenterology having had grants from the Armed Forces and National Institute of Health.Dr. Floch has a FWCI of 1.18 and has the majority (76%) of his content published in gastroenterology journals. 8.7% of his work appears in the top 10% most cited journals worldwide.Dr. Floch has experience with national, international, institutional and single authorship.

Dr. Ringel has been involved in clinical and translational research related to functional gastrointestinal disorders for over 15 years. His research relates to the effect of clinical, physiological and psychosocial factors on the intestinal physiology and functional gastrointestinal symptoms. He is an expert in clinical research and has been involved in the design, evaluation and conduct of clinical trials evaluating new drugs, dietary and food supplements, and new approaches for diagnosis and treatment of patients with GI disorders. He was awarded two grants from the National Institute of Health (NIDDK) to examine the role of intestinal microbiome and intestinal inflammation and immune function in the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome.Dr. Ringel is a recipient of several prestigious awards including from the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA), the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group (FBG). He is a member of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society (ANMS) Education Committee and an associate editor for the Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, and the World Journal of Gastroenterology. Dr. Ringel has published multiple original articles, reviews, editorials and book chapters and he is frequently invited to share his experience and present his work at national and international professional and scientific meetings.

Dr. Walker is a professor in the Harvard School of Public Health. His research is focused within the Developmental Gastroenterology Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital-East and has been in the development of gastrointestinal host defenses, particularly as they pertain to the role of enteric nutrients.He has studied the passive and active properties of human breast milk, specifically in the pre-term infant as it relates to necrotizing enterocolitis, a devastating gastrointestinal infection in the neonatal period. He has also developed human models of intestinal development (cell lines, organ cultures, microUssing chambers and fetal intestinal xenografts) to determine the effect of protective nutrients (pre- and probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, nucleotides, etc.) on stimulating mucosal defenses in the immature intestine and in preventing neonatal diseases.A major commitment of his lab is to train clinical/postdoctoral fellows in clinical translational research. They collaborative with clinical investigators to translate observations made in human models of intestinal development at the laboratory level, into clinical trials and ultimately to multicenter studies.Dr. Walker has a FWCI of 2.83 and has 36.2% of his content published in gastroenterology journals. 34.1% of his work appears in the top 10% most cited journals worldwide.Dr. Walker has experience with national, international, institutional and single authorship.