Gurtner Lecture

Memorial Lecture

Gregory J. Gurtner, MD, was born in Buffalo, NY, and spent most of his childhood in Baltimore. He earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and music from Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He received his MD degree in 1994 from New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY.

Dr. Gurtner completed his residency training in internal medicine and also his fellowship in gastroenterology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine. Following his clinical training, Dr. Gurtner undertook research training in inflammatory bowel disease and was appointed to the faculty as Instructor in Medicine in 2002.

As a junior faculty member in the division of gastroenterology, Dr. Gurtner was in the early stages of developing new treatments for immune mediated intestinal disorders. His major research interest at the time of his death was investigating the role of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase, or IDO, in regulating immune responses in the GI tract. His findings were an important foundation for successful grant award applications from the Crohns Colitis Foundation and the Glaxo Institute of Digestive Health. Dr. Gurtner was promoted to Assistant Professor of Medicine in July, 2004 and continued pursuing his passion for research, working actively at the bench until a few days prior to his death.

Dr. Gurtner found time to faithfully follow the Cardinals and Rams. He was also an accomplished musician, and was equally comfortable on the piano, keyboard, guitar and ukulele.

Upcoming – 18th Gregory J. Gurtner, MD, Memorial Lecture (2022)

Previous visiting professors and recipients of the Gregory J. Gurtner, MD, memorial resident award

Year	Gurtner Speaker	Title
2021	Eileen Carpenter, M.D., Ph.D. Instructor in Medicine University of Michigan, Ann Arbor	“Developing a Human Pre-clinical Pipeline for Translational Pancreatic Cancer Research”
2020	José Sáenz, M.D., Ph.D. Instructor in Medicine Division Gastroenterology Washington University	“Adar on the Radar: Establishing a Role for the Double-Stranded RNA Response in Gastric Metaplasia”
2019	Jonathan Jacobs, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Digestive Diseases University of California, Los Angeles	“Defining a Pre-disease Microbial Risk State for Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
2018	Rotonya Carr, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Director of the Liver Metabolism and Fatty Liver Clinic Division of Gastroenterology University of Pennsylvania	“Ceramides as lipid droplet regulators in alcoholic liver disease”
2017	Florian Rieder, MD Associate Staff Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, OH	“Mechanisms of Intestinal Fibrosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
2016	Luke Engelking, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center	“The Molecular Regulation of Cholesterol and Fatty Acid Metabolism in the Intestine”
2015	Arnold Han, MD, PhD Instructor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology Stanford School of Medicine	“T cell function and specificity in colorectal cancer”
2014	Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH Associate Professor Harvard Medical School	“Aspirin and the Prevention of Colorectal Cancer”
2013	Kelley Yan, MD, PhD Instructor of Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine	“Intestinal Stem Cell Dynamics”
2012	Andrew D. Rhim, MD Instructor of Medicine University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine	“Turning Back the Clock: Epitheal to Mesenchymal Transition and Dissemination in Pancreatic Cancer”
2011	Elizabeth K. Speliotes, MD, PhD, MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine, Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics University of Michigan–Ann Arbor	“Genetic Studies of Human Obesity and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease”
2010	Michael Choi, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Harvard School of Medicine	“Role of Micro RNAs in Cell Reprogramming and Differentiation”
2009	Pradipta Ghosh, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine University of California San Diego School of Medicine	“Cellular Rheostats in Signal Transduction: Turning Ripples Into Tsunamis”
2008	Shanthi Srinivasan, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Emory University School of Medicine	“Role of GDNF in the Regulation of Beta Cell Mass”
2007	Ben Z. Stanger, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine	“Development regulation of liver shape and size”
2006	Ezra Burstein, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine University of Michigan Medical School	“Regulation of NF-kappaB by the COMMD gene family”
2005	Marcia R. Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD Director, Hereditary Cancer Prevention Clinic; Staff Gastroenterologist, Department of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Florida	“Genomic Imprinting: A Clinical Test for Colon Cancer Risk”