Representatives from each of the four participating DDW^® societies will highlight the top research abstracts presented over the course of this year’s meeting during Tuesday’s Best of DDW session. DDW Council Chair Grace H. Elta, MD, AGAF, FASGE, and DDW Council Treasurer Steven A. Edmundowicz, MD, FASGE, will moderate the two-hour session, a perennial favorite for meeting attendees.

“DDW is a huge meeting, so you can’t possibly attend everything,” said Dr. Elta, professor of medicine, associate chief for clinical programs and director of the medical procedure unit at the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor. “Most of us want to know what the hot topics are and what are the coolest things in research that came out of this year’s meeting. This session is where that’s all going to be.”

Each of the session’s four presenters will have 30 minutes to summarize outstanding abstracts, highlighting key points and providing commentary that places the research in the context of current best practices and understanding of the topic.

“Like most attendees, I can’t attend all the presentations that I would like to,” said Dr. Edmundowicz, director of the Digestive Health Center at the University of Colorado Hospital and professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora. “At the Best of DDW, though, I can be sure I see and hear those presentations that are selected by experts to represent the best science of 2017.”

Best of DDW speakers work closely with the societies’ program chairs to select the most important research from thousands of abstracts presented at the meeting.

“Each society presents their best abstracts, leading to a mix of basic science, translational and clinical work that varies from year to year,” Dr. Edmundowicz said. “The summary of the science, along with an editorial perspective on the work, creates a useful review of the best-of-the-best science presented this week.”

Although the Best of DDW session is on the last afternoon of the meeting, Dr. Elta said the room is almost always overflowing. She recommends arriving early.

“It’s a very popular session because it allows attendees to catch up on things they might not have heard otherwise,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for members of each society to hear what the other societies think is their best research this year.”

Please refer to the DDW Mobile App or the Program section in Tuesday’s DDW Daily News for additional details on this and other DDW events.