Henry P. Parkman, M.D.
Message from the ANMS President
Henry P. Parkman, M.D.As part of a strategic plan, our Society’s name was changed to “American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society” (ANMS). There were several reasons why this name change was instituted. These include:
1. American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society better describes the broad nature and variety of research activity and the practice of medicine performed by members of our Society that includes research in several disciplines that is not directly related to GI motility.
2. American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society correspond to our journal title – Neurogastroenterology and Motility.
3. American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society is consistent with other motility societies outside the United States which have embraced the inclusion of the term neurogastroenterology in their title and statute.
4. A more inclusive name with broader interest, including the second line explanatory statement has a greater potential to attract young and established investigators from other related scientific disciplines into our Society.
Our American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society helped institute and will be participating in the annual joint society meetings in Neurogastroenterology and Motility. Each year, one of the societies will host the meeting with input from all the societies. With this structure, our ANMS will be involved in a yearly scientific meeting and hosting this meeting every four years.
Our next ANMS scientific meeting for members will be the 2008 Joint International Meeting in Neurogastroenterology and Motility to be held November 6-9, 2008 in Lucerne, Switzerland. ESNM are the host sponsors for this 2nd meeting of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society, Functional Brain-Gut Research Group, European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, and International Group for Neurogastroenterology and Motility. Our ANMS representatives, Gianrico Farrugia and Jay Pasricha, helped to plan this meeting with the other societies and groups. The abstract deadline is June 20, 2008.
The future meetings of our society will be held on an annual basis: 2008 hosted by ESNM in Switzerland; 2009 hosted by FBG in Chicago, August 26-30, 2009; 2010 hosted by ANMS; 2011 hosted by ISNM in Australia. For the 2010 meeting, our ANMS council is still evaluating possible venues. Let me know if you are interested in helping host this exciting meeting.
The American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society Clinical Training Program for Fellows in Gastrointestinal Motility and Neurogastroenterology have begun a second term. This program offers one month of training for GI fellows to learn the various GI motility procedures used to evaluate patients at a GI motility center of excellence and will provide a platform for better understanding of GI motility disorders and treatment of patients. More information can be found on our web site - www.motilitysociety.org.
Our next ANMS Clinical Motility Course will be held February 29 to March 2, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. This course gives a comprehensive overview of the clinical aspects of GI motility, and is rated extremely positively by attendees. There are dual sessions for physicians as well as for nurses and technicians. This course is useful for those interested in clinical GI motility, those running a GI motility laboratory, as well as the personnel doing the procedures in the GI motility laboratory. This will be our fourth Biennial American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society Course in Gastrointestinal Motility to be held in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit our web site at www.motilitysociety.org for further information and to register.
In response to the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society call for basic or clinical research applications to conduct studies in the area of “Diabetes and the Gastrointestinal Tract”, we received 7 basic science and 5 clinical applications. The research review committee of the ANMS selected three awardees for the 2007 American Motility Society Research Grants on “Diabetes and the Gastrointestinal Tract” sponsored by SmartPill, Inc. and ANMS.
For 2008, the ANMS invites grant proposals on “Esophageal Motility and Esophageal Disorders”. These grants are intended to support work that will generate preliminary data that will lead to extramurally-funded research grants and to promote career development in the area of neurogastroenterology and GI motility. Grants of up to $35,000 each will be awarded in 2008 for qualified applicants. Grant applications can be for clinical research, basic science research, or translational projects that will make the applicant competitive for subsequent extramural research funding. The deadline for application is on March 27, 2008. For further information, please consult the website http://www.motilitysociety.org/
On a final note, keep your eye open for the October 2007 issue of Gastroenterology Clinics of North America which is on Gastrointestinal Motility Disorders with many of the chapters written by ANMS members.