Dr. Ahmed Sultan is a consultant Gastroenterologist and Head of Department at Mediclinic Airport Road Hospital in Abu Dhabi, whose expertise includes liver and digestive disorders. He has extensive experience in performing general and advanced diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy procedures include 3rd space endoscopy.

Dr. Sultan completed his medical degree and residency at Mansoura University, Egypt, and was involved in multiple trials researching Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

In Egypt, he was also a lecturer at the faculty of Medicine of Mansoura, after which he moved to practice medicine in various hospitals in Abu Dhabi, he is also serving as adjunctive faculty of Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Ammar Kheir is the Director for the Complex Luminal Endoscopic Resection Program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Prior to that, Dr. Kheir was a Gastroenterologist and Therapeutic Colonoscopist at Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee, and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Dr. Kheir completed his GI training and fellowship in Advanced Therapeutic Colonoscopy in Brisbane, Australia, followed by further Advanced Endoscopic Training at Kyushu University Hospital in Japan.

His expertise are in image-enhanced endoscopy, advanced endoscopic resection techniques, including wide-field EMR and ESD, antithrombotic agents, and GI polyposis syndromes. He has presented at international meetings, been published in peer-reviewed journals and authored endoscopy textbook chapters.

Treasurer of the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM). Daniel Pohl is Head of the Neurogastroenterology and Motility Unit at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. Besides managing a very busy clinic his research interests include upper gut motility and dysmotility, nutrient intolerance and disorders of brain-gut interaction. Daniel is the co-founder of the Swiss Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (SwissNGM) and Member of the executive committee of the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM).

Prof. Edoardo Vincenzo Savarino obtained a degree in medicine and a research doctorate from the University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. He completed his training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital San Martino di Genova, Genoa, Italy. He is currently Associate Professor of Gastroenterology from the University of Padua, Padua, Italy.

He is mainly interested in neurogastroenterology and immune-mediated diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases and eosinophilic diseases of the gastro-intestinal tract. He has published widely (h-index 50, articles published n=409) on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), esophageal motility disorders (achalasia), esophagus Barrett, immune-mediated disease (scleroderma, celiac disease), functional gastrointestinal disorders (functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome), eosinophilic esophagitis and diseases intestinal inflammation.

He has received several awards for his work from the European Federation of Gastroenterology (UEG), OESO Foundation, International Society of the Diseases of the Esophagus, Italian Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy. He is a reviewer for various journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Gastroenterology, Gut, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, American Journal of Gastroenterology and Neurogastroenterology and Motility (NMO)

DIRECTOR, ESOPHAGEAL PROGRAM-SECTION HEAD, SMALL BOWEL REHAB

Dr. Eyad Alakrad is currently serving as a Consultant Gastroenterologist and the director of the GI motility disorders and endoscopy at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City. With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Alakrad has extensive expertise in the fields of Gastroenterology and Hepatology with a significant training background in renowned hospitals and universities in the UK and the USA. Prior to joining SSMC, he worked as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. He was a key member of a robust gastroenterology motility disorder group. During his work over there, he introduced a cutting-edge gastroparesis program which was unique to the state of Florida and neighboring states. He instituted a program for endoscopic placement of temporary gastric electric stimulators in the treatment of refractory gastroparesis. Dr. Alakrad has successfully established a comprehensive state-of-the-art GI Motility Lab at SSMC which has made an impact to the management of the GI Motility Services in UAE and competing with other international centers of excellent in that filed . In addition to the knowledge he brought to the region, Dr.Alakrad prides himself on introducing the latest technology like Enoflip, which its applications have revolutionized the management of certain motility disorders. His research work has been focusing on foregut motility disorders and Eosinophilic Esophagitis, for which has been a key speaker on multiple platforms.

Dr.Filippos Georgopoulos is a graduate of University of Crete in Greece since 1990. He completed his Gastroenterology training in 2000 in Athens and he subsequently subspecialized in Interventional and advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy, (ERCP) at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in United Kingdom where he also worked as a consultant up to mid-2003. He became a Fellow of the European Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (FEBGH) in 2008.

Prior to joining Al Zahra Hospital Dr. Georgopoulos worked as a Consultant Gastroenterologist in a tertiary Hospital in Athens, Greece which was a regional IBD center.

Currently he works at Al Zahra Hospital in Dubai as head of the GI department and Endoscopy Unit.

He has a special interest in IBD, GI motility as well as therapeutic endoscopy.

Gerard Clarke is Professor of Neurobehavioural Science in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioural Science, and a Principal Investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland at University College Cork. He holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Chemistry, an MSc degree in Neuropharmacology (1999 and 2001; Both from NUI, Galway) and a PhD degree (2009) in Neurogastroenterology (Department of Psychiatry, UCC). His research interests include the impact of the gut microbiome on brain and behaviour across the life span, microbial regulation of tryptophan metabolism and translational biomarkers of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders. With over 220 publications and a H-Index of 86, he was included in Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Group Highly Cited Researchers list 2019-2023.

Prof. Giovanni Barbara is a Surgeon and Specialist in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. He trained in Bologna, London and completed a three-year research fellowship at McMaster University in Canada. Prof. Barbara's main field of scientific interest is represented by clinical and molecular research in the field of functional and organic gastrointestinal disorders, neuro-gastroenterology of the intestinal microbiota and inflammatory bowel diseases. He collaborates with numerous universities in Italy and abroad and is the author of numerous articles published in the main international journals. Prof. Barbara has received international awards and recognitions, including the prestigious Master Award in Gastroenterology of the American Gastroenterological Association. He is currently a member of the Boards of Directors of the Rome Foundation and Past-President of the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM), currently Chair of the Gut Microbiota for Health section of ESNM.

Dr Laith Al-Rubaiy is a UK trained and board certified Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist with more than 10-year experience in Gastroenterology. He is an honorary Professor at Swansea University School of Medicine in the UK. Before joining Healthpoint Hospital, Dr Al-Rubaiy worked as a Consultant Gastroenterologist at St Mark’s Hospital, a highly specialized GI hospital in London. As the first ranked medical graduate, he won two highly competitive scholarships to complete his post graduate medical studies in the USA then in the UK. Dr Al-Rubaiy published published widely in peer reviewed articles and presented at national and international conferences and meetings. He was also involved in writing 3 books/ chapters.

I am a Gastroenterologist specialising in Clinical Nutrition. I worked as a consultant at Cambridge University Hospital UK for 8 years, where I ran the National Intestinal Transplant Unit, as well as being part of the Intestinal Rehabilitation team and carrying out general Gastro inpatient and outpatient duties. Since October 2023 I have relocated to Kings College Hospital in Dubai. Since relocating to Dubai, I have been invited to be a member of the scientific committee of the UAE genetic diseases association and appointed as Co-Director of a new international training course in Clinical Nutrition. I also now hold an Associate Clinical Professor position with Gulf Medical University.

I am proficient in diagnostic and therapeutic upper and lower GI endoscopy, including EMR, PEG, PEG-J, PEXACT placements and haemostasis. My GI clinic practice includes all aspects of luminal gastroenterology, especially clinical nutrition, coeliac disease, IBD and functional disorders, as well as basic hepatology conditions.

I am a member of various national and international organisations and have contributed articles and book chapters in Gastroenterology, Intestinal Failure and Transplant. I have been an invited speaker to many regional, national and international conferences. I am passionate about teaching clinical nutrition and was previously Nutrition training representative to the British Society of Gastroenterology training committee. I am a member of NNedPro and NEPHELP, organisations committed to improving education in nutrition for all healthcare professionals and a member by invitation of the International Academy of Nutrition Educators (IANE). I have been part of the scientific committee for two international CIRTA meetings and am an elected member of the IRTA council.

Maura received her residency (2000) and PhD (2004) from the University of Milan in Italy. She worked for eight years as a referral consultant for functional bowel disorders at one of the leading university hospitals in Milan, San Raffaele University Hospital. She then moved to Belgium, where she also spent part of her PhD, to work in Prof. Jan Tack's laboratory as Senior Research Supervisor (2012-2016).

In 2016, she was appointed Associate Professor of Gastroenterology with Honorary Contract as Consultant Gastroenterologist at NHS. Maura directs the Neurogastroenterology Unit and the GI Motility lab and is a referring consultant for functional disorders of the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract at the Nottingham Digestive Diseases BRC.

She has devoted her professional career to the study of the role of gastro-intestinal (GI) motility in the pathophysiology of symptoms of functional disorders, becoming an internationally recognized expert in GI motility.

She is a member of the Rome Foundation Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Rome V Committee on Functional Bowel Disorders, and Editor-in-Chief of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (official journal of the European and American Association of Neurogastroenterology and Motility). She is Chair of the BSG Neurogastroenterology Committee and ESNM representative to the Scientific Committee and Postgraduate Teaching Course at UEG.

Dr. Mazin Rasool Aljabiri is a Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist at Mediclinic Parkview Hospital and Mediclinic Dubai Mall. With more than 15 years’ experience in gastroenterology, Dr. Aljabiri has recently relocated to Dubai from the UK where he held a consultant gastroenterologist and general physician post in one of the teaching university hospitals.

He has extensive experience in endoscopy and has performed more than 4,000 colonoscopies and 10,000 gastroscopies. He is also experienced in managing difficult ERCP cases and has a keen interest in Inflamatory Bowel Disease and hepatology, including managing patients with liver transplant, after working with the Royal Free Hospital – one of the leading liver transplant centres in the UK.

Dr. Mazin is also experienced in oesophageal/pyloric/duodenal and colonic balloon dilatations and stent insertions. His main interest is intervention endoscopy, including bowel cancer screening and has performed more than 450 polypectomies for which he received extensive training in Japan including Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD).

Very active in the medical education field, Dr. Aljabiri regularly presents abstracts and lectures at national and international conferences and has taught membership courses for the MRCP exams forRoyal College of Physicians in the UK. His clinical memberships include the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA), the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), the British Medical Council (BMA), and the General Medical Council (GMC).

Associate professor

Gastroenterologist and motility consultant

Dr Muhammad Toqeer is a UK trained Consultant Gastroenterologist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He had extensive experience in General Gastroenterology with special interest in intestinal diseased like Inflammatory Bowel disease and advanced endoscopy. He performs various procedures including gastroscope, colonoscopy, push enteroscopy, single balloon enteroscopy, large polypectomy, endoscopic feeding tube placement. He also performs therapeutic procedure including stricture dilatation and endoscopic variceal management. He is a fellow of Royal College of Physicians of London.

Gastroenterology consultant at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Program director of GI fellowship. Director of esophageal diseases and motility.

Dr. Rizwan Hamid is a consultant urological surgeon and Chief Governance & Quality Officer at Kings College Hospital London in Dubai and Jeddah.

He has served as a Consultant Urological Surgeon at University College London Hospitals and the London Spinal Injuries Unit, Stanmore, UK, and as an Honorary Associate Professor at UCL.

Dr. Hamid specializes in Functional & Neuro-Urology and provides tertiary care in the reconstruction of the lower urinary tract. His doctoral thesis focused on fertility issues in spinal cord injury men, and he completed higher surgical training with a fellowship at the Institute of Urology at UCLH, London.

He is renowned for his expertise in both conservative and surgical management of bladder dysfunction in males and females, with a particular focus on lower urinary tract reconstruction following oncological surgery. He also manages overactive bladder and urinary incontinence, and is an internationally recognized authority on bladder dysfunction post-neurological diseases, performing all surgical procedures in functional urology.

Dr. Hamid has been a principal investigator in numerous clinical trials and established a European-wide registry for male anti-incontinence surgery. He has also directed the School of Neuro-urology of the International Continence Society (ICS) and chaired the Neuro-urology Committee, in addition to serving on various boards and committees within the EAU, BAUS, and ICS.

He is actively involved in teaching and frequently invited to lecture at international meetings. Dr. Hamid also reviews articles for major urology journals and serves on the editorial boards of Neurourology & Urodynamics, ICS Continence, and the Turkish Urology Journal.

With over 125 peer-reviewed articles, numerous review articles, guidelines initiatives, and over 15 book chapters authored, Dr. Hamid is a prolific contributor to his field.

Outside of his professional career, Dr. Hamid enjoys traveling and has a passion for cars.

Dr Saad Khalid Niaz graduated in 1986 from Dow Medical College, followed by MRCP and CCST from UK returning after 13 years back to Pakistan. He was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (London) in 2008.

He is currently Executive Director of Sindh Institute of Advance Endoscopy and Gastroenterology and Visiting Professor at Dow University of Health Sciences.

He was appointed Interim Health minister for Sindh from August 18 to February 27, 2024.

He is also current President of Nigahban Welfare Association and Founding Director of Professional Education Foundation, The Health Foundation and AlSeha Foundation.

All above NGOs are working in health sector except Professional Education Foundation.

Dr. Niaz has to his credit starting Advance Endoscopy procedures in the Public sector hospitals, working in an honorary capacity for over 18 years these were performed at Surgical 4 Civil Hospital until May 23, which has now been shifted to a newly built State of Art facility with 2 Fluroscopy units, ESWL for pancreatic stones EUS , HRM and pH monitoring provided free of cost to patients. Today due to his and his team’s unique efforts, in the province of Sindh and its adjacent areas advanced endoscopic treatment is available free of cost.

SIAG is a leading centre for training in advance endoscopy and motility disorders

The Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology awarded him the prestigious honour of “The Best Gastroenterologist” in 2012 and Excellence in GI and Hepatology award by PSG in 2024.

In recognition of his services in the field of medicine he was also awarded the prestigious Tamgha e Imtiaz (Presidential Award) in 2013, which he returned as a protest against the government’s attitude towards medics during Covid.

He was a Finalist in the Consultant category, for the ‘Excellence in patient care award’ 2016 awarded by the Royal College of Physicians UK.

He has been elected twice as the General Secretary and once as the Vice President of the Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology & GI Endoscopy.

He has published extensively both in national and international journals.

Dr (Professor) Shobna Bhatia is currently the Head, Department of Gastroenterology at National Institute of Medical Sciences, Jaipur. She superannuated as Head, Gastroenterology at Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai in 2019.

She did Advanced Fellowship in Esophageal Motility and pH under Dr. Donald O Castell, in 1992 in Philadelphia. After her training, she set up the first Esophageal motility laboratory in Western India. She has established herself as a mentor and leader in the field of GI motility disorders.

She has been a member of World Gastroenterology Organisation guidelines committee for Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). She was a member of the Asian Pacific Consensus Meetings on the management of GERD, 2016 and for the Chicago Classification of Esophageal Motility Disorders, v3.0 and 4.0, BOB-CAT consortium for Barrett's esophagus and International GERD Consensus Working Group. She is a member of the Functional Esophageal Disorders of Rome V committee. She is also a member of the Lyon Consensus group which published the recent guidelines on management of GERD, as also the Asian Barrett's Consortium for Barrett's Esophagus.

Professor Bhatia has vast experience in management of functional gastrointestinal diseases, and GERD. She has authored many papers and book chapters on esophageal motility, GERD, and IBS, As the coordinator of Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) Task Force on GERD, she oversaw data collation and publication on GERD epidemiology from more than 20 centres across the country and was also associated with the publishing of guidelines for GERD, 2018. She was a core group member for the Task Force on IBS, as also a member of Task forces on IBD. After publication of the epidemiology data, she has led multiple consensus meetings and publications on management of GERD, with special reference to India. She is currently involved in advocating against inappropriate use of PPIs.

Besides Functional GI diseases, Dr Bhatia is actively involved in management of IBD and liver disease.

She served as Editor-in-chief of the Indian Journal of Gastroenterology, which is the official publication of ISG. During her tenure, she made a major impact on the publication by shifting from manual peer review and publication, to electronic publishing. As Editor Emeritus she continues to serve on the Editorial Board, and provides reviewer support to the journal, as well as many international journals in Gastroenterology. She has written chapters in multiple textbooks and has been Section Editor (Gastroenterology) for the API textbook of Medicine 2022. She has been an author and Editor of a book 'Rise of GERD in Asia'.

She has interest in conducting research and in educational activities to promote research and publication. She has thus been involved as faculty in numerous workshops on Scientific Communication and Research Methodology, and has contributed chapters to some of these textbooks.

She has also been honoured with the NBE excellence award by the Honourable Vice President of India, Shri Venkahiah Naidu. Prof Bhatia has been awarded ISG Rakesh Tandon Oration 2023. The oration will be delivered during the Annual ISG conference to be held at Benares in December 2024.

Besides academics, she is actively involved in Rotary Club, and is also a Paul Harris Society Member

Consultant Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist

Senior Lecturer (A Professor) Gastroenterology QM University of London (Hon)

Clinical Associate Professor Gastroenterology (Adj)- MBRU Mohammed Bin Rashid University

Clinical Associate Professor Gastroenterology (Adj)- GMU Gulf Medical University

Dr Yaser El-Gazzar is a UK trained & European Board Certified Senior Consultant with more than 27 years’ experience in the field of Gastroenterology, hepatology and endoscopy with vast knowledge and experience both clinical and academic. He was trained in Birmingham University Hospitals and completed his MD research in Liver Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital which is one of the most reputable Liver Unit in the Europe. He has been a senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at Queen Mary University of London Medical School. He is adjunct as Professor at Mohamed Bin Rashid Medical School & Gulf Medical University. He worked in many reputable hospitals across UK including Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Birmingham, Queens University Hospital Greater London, King George Hospital, King’s College Hospital London and Oxford University Hospital.

Dr. Yogesh Manohar Shastri obtained his MBBS from the Government Medical College, Jabalpur, India. Following this, he obtained his MD (Internal Medicine) from the renowned University of Mumbai, India. In 2004, Dr. Yogesh obtained his super-speciality DNB (Diplomate of National Board) in Medical Gastroenterology from the prestigious Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India. Dr. Yogesh has over 16 years of experience in the field of medical gastroenterology, therapeutic endoscopy and Hepatology.

Following his Gastroenterology training, he acquired advanced training at the world renowned Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany where he got trained in advanced therapeutic endoscopy and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP), as a clinical therapeutic fellow for 4 years.

Subsequent to this, he proceeded for Clinical Fellowship and advanced training in Endoscopic Ultrasound at Institute Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France under the supervision of the world authority on EUS, Prof. Marc Giovannini. Thereon, he moved back to India, where he worked in Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai (one of the largest corporate hospital in India) as a Consultant Gastroenterologist and therapeutic endoscopist for nearly 3 years.

Dr. Yogesh joined NMC Specialty Hospital, Abu Dhabi in 2012. He heads the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and also chairs the Endoscopic Ultrasound program, one of the first program in the private sector in Abu Dhabi and one of the very few in UAE.

His areas of interest include endoscopic ultrasound, therapeutic endoscopy and hepatobiliary interventions (ERCP) and endoscopic bariatric procedures.

Dr. Yogesh has many publications under his belt. He has published about 100 articles including 15 original articles and various book chapters. He regularly participates in national and international conferences to keep himself abreast of the latest advances in his field.

Dr. Yogesh is fluent in English, Urdu, Hindi, Marathi and has working knowledge of German.