Digestive and liver research has been an important focus historically at the University of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, digestive research has always been interdisciplinary and the Division of Gastroenterology represents a marked enhancement of that effort. Dr. William Osler Abbott, Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, performed early and important experiments in the absorption of electrolytes and nutrients from the small intestine. He teamed with Dr. T. Grier Miller, the first Chief of Gastroenterology (established 1926), to develop the Miller-Abbott tube for intestinal decompression. Other early contributions include the work of Joseph Stokes and John R. Neefe, who demonstrated there were two types of viral hepatitis, and Katherine O'Shea Elsom who examined the effects of vitamin deficiency on the intestine.
Over the next four decades, digestive research grew in parallel with discoveries that catapulted medicine into the modern scientific era. In 1963, the Penn Training Program in Gastrointestinal Sciences was established by Dr. Frank Brooks and funded by the NIH. As the methods of cellular and molecular biology accelerated the pace of scientific discovery, it became necessary for the training and scientific programs in digestive sciences to expand to include these revolutionary methods. As a reflection of this trend, the Penn training program expanded the faculty of preceptors to include scientists in basic science departments. This important trend has been strengthened over the years with more scientists in basic departments becoming involved in digestive and liver research and more scientists in clinical departments using molecular approaches.
Since its formation in 1926, these prominent Chiefs have led the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division:
- T. Grier Miller, MD (1926 - 1952)
- Thomas Machella, MD (1952 - 1962)
- Frank Brooks, MD (1962 - 1973)
- Sidney Cohen, MD (1973 - 1986)
- Frank Brooks, MD (1986 - 1989)
- Richard MacDermott, MD (1989 - 1992)
- Peter Traber, MD (1992 - 1997)
- Anil K. Rustgi, MD (1998 - 2019)
- James C. Reynolds, MD (2019 - 2021)
- Jorge A. Marrero, MD (2021 - Present)
Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division Vice Chief