Gastroenterology Division celebrates 75 years
The Division of Gastroenterology celebrated its 75th anniversary this month at the Burke Museum.
They were founded in November 1949 by Dr. Wade Volwiler and were one of the first divisions to comprise the newly formed Department of Medicine.
Milestones
Dr. Cyrus Rubin established the diagnostic criteria for celiac sprue in 1960, and helped develop the flexible hydraulic biopsy tube (the Rubin Tube). He also established the Gut Course in 1968, which has consistently been the highest rated course in the medical school by the students since its inception.
“…the early days of the GI division were marked by collegiality, a rapid expansion of knowledge and time for reflection (no imperative driving endoscopy schedule). A peaceful era, not to be repeated in the years ahead.” - Dr. Charles Pope
In 1976, Dr. Michael Schuffler discovered a new diseases, Hereditary Hollow Visceral Myopathy. 
Dr. Christina Surawicz was appointed as the first female Chief of Harborview Medical Center in 1980. She also became the first female president of the American College of Gastroenterology in 1998.
The first liver transplant was performed in 1990 by Dr. Bob Carithers, section chief of hepatology.
Dr. Sum Lee established biliary sludge as a cause of pancreatitis in 1992.
The Seattle Protocol for Barrett's esophagus surveillance was established in 1993.
“…at the UW, I had “experts” all around me. So, if I had a patient with inflammatory bowel disease who was not responding to medication, I could turn to Scott Lee, who was the UW’s expert in IBD, and get his opinion. And when I had a patient with a finding at endoscopy that did not think I could take care of, I could turn to Michael Saunders, who was an expert at doing complicated endoscopic procedures, and he would take care of the problem.” - Dr. Michael Schuffler
A screening strategy for pancreatic cancer in high-risk individuals was established in 2002.
UWGI began offering fecal transplantation in 2004, led by Dr. Christina Surawicz, joined by Dr. Elizabeth Broussard.
Dr. Cynthia Ko became interim division head in 2020, the first female to lead the division, followed by Dr. Rotonya Carr, who was hired in 2021 as the first female division head and the department's first African American division head.
In 2020, a UW Medicine team performed a first-in-Pacific Northwest living-donor liver transplant for metastatic colorectal cancer.
The Cancer and Organ Transplant Clinic opened in 2021, a first-of-its-kind multidisciplinary consult clinic that combines transplant and oncology expertise.
The Living Donor Liver Transplant Program had the highest volume of adult to pediatric liver transplants in the U.S. in 2022 and is the only group in the Pacific Northwest performing liver transplants in this innovative manner.
In March 2023, the White House Cancer Moonshot convened leaders from the colorectal cancer community to focus on accelerating efforts to reduce the deadly impact of colorectal cancer. Participants shared updates on the progress of several key initiatives around awareness, prevention, screening, and treatment - all to deliver on the President and First Lady's reignited Cancer Moonshot goal of reducing cancer deaths by 50 percent over the next 25 years.
The first blood test for colorectal cancer diagnosis was developed in 2024 by Dr. William Grady and a clinical trial published by Drs. Grady and Rachel Issaka led to FDA approval.
The first liver-dialysis device prototype was created in 2024 by Dr. Bhattacharya and colleagues.
Dr. Jason Dominitz received an Emmy award in 2024 for an ad promoting colorectal screening among veterans.
Leadership
Here's to another 75 years!
Transformational gift honoring Sum Lee
The division was recently received a transformational gift of $1 million from Chung Nung and Bik Lam Lee, to support research focused on liver diseases.
The gift was made in honor of Dr. Sum Ping Lee for his contributions to the research of liver disease and his leadership as a physician-educator-scientist.
Dr. Lee is a professor emeritus at UW and served as division head for the Division of Gastroenterology from 1995-2008.