The Frontline team are really excited to relaunch our twitter debates. Historically these have been a great source of education not only healthcare professionals but public and patients alike. We will now provide a monthly twitter debate entitled “controversies in……”. These aim to discuss some of the more contentious topics in the field of gastroenterology. They will be led by an expert in the field and supported by a trainee. The aims of this is to explore some of the evidence that surrounds the controversies within gastroenterology culminating in a few key take home messages.
The first in the controversies series will be controversies in functional bowel disease. This will be led by our former editor in chief Professor Anton Emmanuel and Dr Monika Widlak. A brief biography can be found below:
Anton Emmanuel obtained his medical degree from London University. He is A Professor of Neuro-Gastroenterology at University College London and Consultant Gastroenterologist at University College Hospital at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (Queen Square). His current clinical work encompasses being director of the GI Physiology Unit at University College Hospital as well as providing specialist gastroenterology service for patients with neurological illness. His research includes gut neurophysiology and the study of the aetiology and management of functional gastrointestinal disorders of the upper and lower gut. He currently supervises 5 post-graduate research fellows undertaking higher degrees. He is ex-Chairman of the NeuroGastroenterology (NGM) section of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and served as Medical Director of GutsUK! until 2018. He is editor in chief of Clinical Medicine, the journal of the Royal College of Physicians having served a similar role for eight years at Frontline Gastroenterology.
Dr Monika Widlak is a West Midlands Gastroenterology Registrar and Clinical Research Fellow at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. She undertakes research on diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility of faecal and urinary biomarkers in symptomatic population suspected of colorectal cancer. In 2015, along with her gastroenterology colleagues, she established the West Midlands Research in Gastroenterology Group (WMRIG), a trainee-led research network, and has been co-chairing regular WMRIG meetings. She represents gastroenterology trainees at the BSG Gastroduodenal Committee and she is the BSG Trainee Section Representative in the United European Gastroenterology. Monika is a keen runner and cyclist. She completed three consecutive Gastrocycle events raising money for Guts UK charity to support research in gastroenterology and hepatology.