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ASGE Attendee Spotlight: Allison R. Schulman, MD, MPH

Allison R. Schulman, MD, MPH
Allison R. Schulman, MD, MPH
Allison R. Schulman, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; ASGE Technology Committee member and soon to be a member of the Advisory Board for the Association for Bariatric Endoscopy, a division of ASGE

How many times have you attended DDW®?

Every year since 2015.

How is the meeting different than other meetings you’ve attended?

This is by far the largest and most diverse academic meeting I have ever attended. The spectrum of interests is unparalleled and the enthusiasm of the attendees is contagious. I am excited to be attending for the first time as a faculty member.

What’s one meeting hack that helps you make the most of your time at DDW?

I always try to develop a blueprint for my plans so that I can make the most of my days. I try to identify the sessions that are most interesting and important to me in advance, but I also allow sufficient time for in-person collaboration, catching up with former mentors and friends, and meeting new collaborators. I make it a point to walk through the poster sessions each day that overlap with my interests, as I always find these sessions spark new ideas for my own clinical practice and research.

What area of digestive disease research do you find most promising or fascinating?

While I have interest in all aspects of therapeutic endoscopy, I dedicate the bulk of my clinical and academic time to endoscopic bariatric therapy. The field is changing rapidly with new technology and we are increasingly able to make a difference in our patients’ lives. I anticipate many new exciting devices in the coming years that I feel will revolutionize the treatment of obesity and its comorbid conditions.

Since we’re in Washington, D.C., is there a legislative issue that you feel is critical to the future of patient care?

I believe that one of the most critical legislative issues is access to comprehensive, quality health-care services for all Americans. This has been the most urgent, yet intractable problem confronting the medical community for years.

If you could have coffee with one presenter at the meeting, who would it be and why?

Dr. Steven Edmundowicz. I have been fortunate to work with him in a variety of settings and he’s an inspiring academic leader, mentor, the incoming ASGE president and a wonderful person to be around. I do not get to see him regularly but always look forward to catching up during conferences.

Social network of choice?

I’m relatively new to Twitter but it seems like a valuable way to stay current in an ever-changing field.

After DDW concludes, I plan to …

get home and spend my first summer in Ann Arbor exploring Michigan with my family. I am also excited to reach out to old friends and new collaborators with whom I connect during the conferene.

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