The Rome Foundation held the First Annual American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) — Rome Foundation Lectureship at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2008 meeting in San Diego, on May 20, 2008.

Gina Kolata

The speaker was Gina Kolata, Senior Science Writer for the New York Times. Ms. Kolata has an undergraduate degree in microbiology, a master’s degree in applied mathematics, and studied molecular biology at MIT. She previously worked as a writer for Science. She has reported on broad environmental and medical topics including breast cancer, the medical and legal issues surrounding silicone breast implants, experimental AIDS drugs, abuse, obesity, diet and health, relationship of environment and cancer, and cloning. Dr. Douglas Drossman and Dr. Lin Chang moderated the session.

“Lessons from our Patients”

The objectives were:

• to help physicians to understand the needs of patients
• to provide recommendations to improve the patient-physician relationship, and
• to identify simple measures to make clinical practice more satisfying to the physician and patient