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Rome Foundation Expands Leadership as it Looks to the Future

Doug Drossman, MD; Johannah Ruddy, MEd; Jan Tack, MD

As the Rome Foundation grows in the degree and scope of its educational and research activities in Disorders of Gut-Brain Interactions (DGBI), we have found the need to broaden the leadership. Since its inception more than 30 years ago, the Rome Foundation has been led by Dr. Douglas Drossman as President and governed by a Board of Directors comprised of key international leaders. This organizational structure served well and allowed for the creation of Rome I-IV and countless other contributions to the field.

Over the past five years, the expansion of clinical education and programming, as well as the growth of the Rome Foundation Research Institute, the Rome Foundation/Drossman Center Communication Skills Program, the Rome GI Psych and Rome Pediatric Sections, and other initiatives have driven the need to expand our leadership model beyond Dr. Drossman and the Board. As we look at these and other programs and the Foundation’s future beyond the immediacy, we have expanded our leadership structure to allow for continuity and sustained growth.

This change brings Douglas Drossman, MD, to the role of Chief Executive Officer and President Emeritus, Johannah Ruddy M.Ed. as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, and Jan Tack MD, Ph.D. as President and Chairman of the Board. These three leaders will continue to work together, along with the Board of Directors, to create a diverse portfolio of activities and operationalize them into meaningful outcomes to advance the field.

We are excited about the growth and breadth of our programming and for what’s to come with Rome V in 2026, new and innovative clinical initiatives, and expansion into more research activities that will continue to drive the science of DGBI and improve the care of patients living with these conditions.

 

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