Crohn's Disease: The Pros and Cons of Current Treatment Options

Russell Cohen, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Chicago School of Medicine

Russell Cohen, MD, was born in New York, attended Cornell University for his undergraduate studies, and received his medical degree with honors from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School's Beth Israel Hospital, and then a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Chicago, where he was also a health studies scholar. Dr. Cohen joined the faculty of the section of gastroenterology in the department of medicine at the University of Chicago in 1996. He currently serves as associate professor of medicine and co-director of clinical inflammatory bowel disease.

Dr. Cohen's research interests are primarily involved in 2 major areas of clinical gastroenterology: inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and health care outcomes. His studies in IBD include investigations of both standard and experimental pharmacological therapies, including novel immunomodulatory agents, as well as studies analyzing the economics involved in the diagnosis and treatment of IBD.

Marla Dubinsky, MD
Director, Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Marla C. Dubinsky, MD, is the Director of the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She is also an Assistant-in-Residence Professor of Pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine.

Dr. Dubinsky earned her BSc. in Biology at the University of Western Ontario, and her MD at Queen's University in Canada. She completed her pediatric residency at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary and furthered her training as a Clinical and Research Fellow in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Sainte-Justine Hospital at the University of Montreal. She continued as a Research Scientist in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Health Services Research at the IBD Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Dr. Dubinsky is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in General Pediatrics and Gastroenterology, and she is a Fellow in Pediatrics of the Royal College of Canada.

Dr. Dubinsky is a board member and Co-Chair of the Patient Education Committee with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. She is also a member of the CCFA Task Force on Challenges in IBD Research and Chairperson of the Clinical Phenomics Subcommittee. In addition, she serves as Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee for the CCFA's Greater Los Angeles Chapter.

She is the author or co-author of numerous peer-reviewed research papers, book chapters, and abstracts. She is currently an ad hoc reviewer for Gastroenterology, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. She is also a Section Editor for Pediatrics of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Edward V. Loftus, Jr, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Mayo Medical School

Edward V. Loftus, Jr, MD, is a Consultant in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic and Foundation, and Associate Professor of Medicine at Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota. After receiving his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Temple University Health Sciences Center in Philadelphia. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Gastroenterology at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.

Dr. Loftus is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. He is on the Editorial Board of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, a medical journal sponsored by the CCFA. He also serves the CCFA as the Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee of the Minnesota-Dakotas Chapter, and as the Co-Chair of the Patient Education Committee at the national level. Dr. Loftus has lectured widely on the epidemiology, natural history, and medical management of inflammatory bowel disease. He has received a number of research grants, his interest centering on epidemiologic and outcomes research in inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, he has authored numerous articles, abstracts, and book chapters.