Two Columbia Cancer Researchers Honored by American Gastroenterological Association

Timothy Wang, MD, and Kelley Yan, MD, PhD, have each been awarded 2022 Annual Recognition Prizes from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). The AGA is a premier gastroenterological institution with more than 16,000 members globally, involved in all aspects of the science, practice, and advancement of gastroenterology. The AGA Annual Recognition Prizes honor outstanding contributions and achievements in gastroenterological research, care, and education. 

This year, Dr. Wang received the AGA’s highest honor, the Julius Friedenwald Medal, in recognition of his lifelong contributions to the field of gastroenterology. Dr. Wang is a leading physician-scientist and one of the top GI lab researchers in the country. He specializes in GI cancer, H. Pylori infection, chronic inflammation, and gastrointestinal stem cells research. For more than 16 years, Dr. Wang has contributed strongly to the field of gastroenterology through his leadership as the chief of Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s nationally renowned GI division. 

Kelley Yan, MD, PhD, received the AGA’s Young Investigator Award in Basic Science. Dr. Yan’s research addresses important questions of adult stem cell biology, with the goal of understanding and utilizing intestinal stem cells for therapeutic benefit in human disease. Dr. Yan is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at Columbia’s Department of Medicine.

“I am so excited and honored to receive the AGA Young Investigator Award in Basic Science. I am a gastroenterologist and scientist so it is a great honor for my work to be recognized by the AGA, the pre-eminent society in gastroenterology, for contributing to the mission of improving the digestive health of our patients,” Dr. Yan said.

For more information on the 2022 AGA Annual Recognition Prizes, click here.