Aldo Torsoli Award for research, education and patient care in the area of gut-brain interactions

We are pleased to announce a joint award from Rome Foundation with the Aldo Torsoli Foundation in the area of Functional GI Disorders. Candidates must hold an MD or PhD and have an academic record of research, education, and patient care in the area of Disorders of the Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI, formerly FGID).

Candidate investigators can apply directly on our website or be recommended by one of their peers. Please keep in mind that nominations and self-nominations both require a letter of recommendation and completion of the required online forms. To be considered for this award, the candidate should be mid-level or senior level and have an academic record of research, education, and patient care in the area of gut brain interactions (DGBIs). Candidates must have completed an MD or PhD and be currently active in DGBI research.

The recipient of the award will be selected by a joint Scientific Selection Committee composed of six members, three from each Foundation. The award will be presented during the Rome Foundation Annual Reception at DDW in May 2024. Following DDW, the recipient will give a lecture about their work which will eventually be available for online streaming.

Award Amount: $10,000
Deadline: January 31, 2024

If you have any questions, please contact Mauricio Rojas at mrojas@theromefoundation.org.

2024 Aldo Torsoli Award

Francisco Javier Santos Vicente, MD

Senior Consultant & Chief Gastroenterology
Vall d’Hebron Hospital, Barcelona, Spain

Dr. Santos graduated in Medicine at the University of Navarra, Spain. He then trained in clinical gastroenterology and obtained the Degree of Gastrointestinal Specialist at Hospital General Universitario Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Spain. In parallel, he completed predoctoral studies in basic and clinical research in neurogastroenterology, at the Digestive Diseases Research Unit, Department of Gastroenterology Hospital Vall d’Hebron, and obtained his Ph.D. from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. and later, he moved for a 3-year postdoctoral stage in immunology and gastrointestinal physiology to the Intestinal Disease Research Program at McMaster University, Canada.

His research in the field of neuro-immune-gastroenterology remains inherently translational, with a special focus on mechanisms linking genetic, molecular, cellular, and environmental determinants to clinical manifestations of irritable bowel syndrome and other functional GI disorders. His research also pursues the identification of sensitive and specific biological markers potentially useful for implementing diagnostic and therapeutic management of those disorders.

Dr Santo’s scientific contribution includes dozens of original manuscripts, reviews and editorials in top peer-reviewed journals, and numerous communications/abstracts/lectures in relevant meetings in the field. Dr. Santos has been awarded by the Association of National European and Mediterranean Societies of Gastroenterology as a 2003 European Rising Star of Gastroenterology, and the 2009 International Foundation of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Research Award in Clinical Science, for his contributions to the field of functional GI disorders.

2023 Aldo Torsoli Award

Ronnie Fass, MD

Dr. Fass is the Medical Director of the Digestive Health Center, Chairman of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and head of the Esophageal and Swallowing Program at the MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio. He is also a tenured professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Fass did his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, where he later became a Chief Resident. He then completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he focused on GI motility and disorders of brain-gut interaction.

Dr. Fass has served in leadership positions in many societies. He is the former treasurer of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and the education committee chair. The former member of the Nominating Committees of the Upper GI Section and Neurogastroenterology and Motility of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). He has served as the chair of the Functional Esophageal Disorders committee for Rome IV, the Membership committee of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society, the Practice Parameter Committee and Audio Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), and the Publication Committee of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

Dr. Fass is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility.

Dr. Fass has published more than 400 articles, editorials, and commentaries in journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, Gastroenterology, Gut, American Family Physician, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Archives of Internal Medicine, Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Nature reviews Primer. He has published three books and has written 62 book chapters, including 2 chapters in UpToDate.

2022 Aldo Torsoli Award

Hans Törnblom, MD

Hans Törnblom is a Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, a tertiary referral center for complex intestinal problems, particularly within the field of neurogastroenterology. His current research interest includes a wide area of studies involving pathogenetic and pathophysiologic mechanisms in functional gastrointestinal disorders and their possible linkage to symptoms, particularly in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In studies of severe IBS, enteral dysmotility and intestinal pseudo-obstruction, a thorough knowledge of both diagnostic and treatment aspects of autonomic visceral neuropathy has resulted. In his current clinical practice, severe nausea and vomiting refractory to standard treatment options is a special interest, particularly within the area of neurostimulation, both with temporary and permanent gastric electrical stimulation devices.

2021 Aldo Torsoli Award

Carlo DiLorenzo, MD

Carlo Di Lorenzo, MD, is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Nationwide Children’s Hospital where he holds the Robert F. and Edgar T. Wolfe Foundation Endowed Chair in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Named multiple times among the “Best Doctors in America,” Dr. Di Lorenzo has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. He has functioned as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and abstract reviewer for the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).

2020 Aldo Torsoli Award

Professor Alexander C. Ford, MBChB, MD, FRCP

Dr. Ford is a proponent of evidence-based medicine, with an interest in disorders of brain-gut interaction (DGBI). His work has informed management guidelines in both the UK and USA, and has informed treatment paradigms for several DGBI. He is the principal investigator of the ATLANTIS study in the UK, a large randomised controlled trial of amitriptyline for irritable bowel syndrome.

2019 Aldo Torsoli Award

Roberto de Giorgio MD, PhD

Dr. de Giorgio has made significant contributions to the understanding of the structural and functional organization of the enteric nervous system in normal and disease states with focus on neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases and enteric neuropathies.