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Dr. Timothy C. Wang, chief of the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, has received the 2019 William Beaumont Prize in gastroenterology from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). This award honors Dr. Wang for his contribution in advancing care of patients with digestive diseases through his basic and translational research.

Dr. Wang received the award at the AGA Award Recipient Cocktail Reception and Ceremony, which took place on Sunday, May 19. The award ceremony was part of Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2019, held in San Diego this year.

Established in 1976, the William Beaumont Prize recognizes an individual who has made a unique, outstanding contribution of major importance to the field of gastroenterology.

“I am extremely honored to have received this award for our laboratory’s work in inflammation and cancer,” said Dr. Wang, who has led the gastroenterology division at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center for more than a decade, combining his commitment to research with his dedication to helping enhance the lives of patients with stomach cancer and other gastrointestinal cancers. “I feel that it recognizes the efforts of all my collaborators and members of my team.”

Dr. Wang’s research has led to new thinking about the development of gastrointestinal cancers, including characterization of the cellular mechanisms of Barrett’s esophagus and gastroesophageal cancer, identification of GI stem cells as the cells of origin for most GI tumors, and understanding the role of chronic inflammation in the initiation of gastrointestinal cancer. Dr. Wang’s laboratory at Columbia University Irving Medical Center is currently studying the role of chronic inflammation and nerves in promoting pancreatic cancer and other GI tumors, and is attempting to develop new drugs to target these pathways. Dr. Wang is a recipient of an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute. He is also director of an NCI program in Barrett’s esophagus at Columbia, as well as an NIDDK program in intestinal stem cells.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Wang has been continuously funded by the NIH for over 29 years, and has authored more than 300 publications that have helped shape modern gastroenterology and digestive science. A former President of the American Gastroenterological Association, he has received numerous awards and honors, including the AGA Funderburg Gastric Cancer Award, the Viktor Mutt Medal in Gut Hormone Research, the Ismar Boas Medal, and the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture.

To learn more about the 2019 William Beaumont Prize, click here.