UCC professor receives International Leadership Award from ACG

UCC's Professor Eamonn Quigley has been awarded an International Leadership Award from the American College of Gastroenterology, the first person to receive this award worldwide.   

He was given the award, in part, for helping train doctors in the second and third world in gastroenterology.  Professor Quigley was also recognized for his educational achievements on behalf of the American College of Gastroenterology in the international arena. 

With the World Gastroenterology Organisation, Professor Quigley has been involved with the development of 14 training centres for doctors from Central and South America, Africa and Asia.   This year he taught on "Train-the-Trainers" courses for international leaders in gastroenterology in Chennai, India and Porto Allegre, Brazil. He also acts as a volunteer for the Swinfen Charitable trust which provides medical advice to doctors in the third world, his advice being in the area of gastroenterology.  "It's good to give something back when you have had all the advantages of living in the developed world", says Professor Quigley.

Eamonn Quigley is Professor of Medicine and Human Physiology and a Principal Investigator at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at University College Cork. He is the immediate past president of the World Gastroenterology Organisation and past president of the American College of Gastroenterology. He is a past Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

The International Leadership Award is given to a Fellow or Master of the American College of Gastroenterology in recogni­tion of outstanding and substantial contributions to gastroenterology, to the College and to the international gastroenterology community. Substantial contributions internationally may include, but are not limited to the following: The training of individuals from other countries who have gone on to become leaders in gastroenterology in their community; leadership in international organizations that has resulted in improvement in the care of patients; and participation in humanitarian efforts.

Eamonn Quigley's major research interests include motility, functional gastrointestinal disease, neurogastroenterology, gastroesophageal reflux disease and probiotics in health and disease. He has published over 550 original papers, reviews, editorials and book chapters, and has received numerous awards worldwide.

He has delivered many named lectureships including: Kullavanijaya International Guest Lecture, the Leeds Course in Clinical Nutrition; McKenna Lecture, Canadian Association of Gastroenterology; Mohammed Mashaly Memorial Lecture, Egyptian Society for the Study of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy; and Mike Moshal Memorial Lecture, South African Gastroenterological Society.