Agenda
Saturday, February 27, 2027
| 6:45 – 7:30 AM | Registration Continental Breakfast and Coffee Exhibit Hall Open |
| 7:30 – 7:40 AM | Welcome and Introductions Course Directors - UT Health San Antonio |
SESSION 1 | The Foregut Reimagined | |
| 7:40 – 8:00 AM | The Stricture That Won't Quit: Management of refractory esophageal strictures Speaker: Todd Baron, MD (UNC) |
| 8:05 – 8:25 AM | From routine to Refractory GERD: A quick guide to diagnosis and management Speaker: Brock Miller, MD (UT San Antonio) |
| 8:30 – 8:50 AM | Barrett's Esophagus: Who to Screen, When to Ablate, and What to Do with the Gray Zone Speaker: Sachin Wani, MD (University of Colorado) |
| 8:55 – 9:15 AM | Achalasia and Spastic Esophageal Disorders in the Modern Era: Tools and techniques for effective management Speaker: Matheus Franco, MD, PhD (UT San Antonio) |
| 9:15 – 9:25 AM | Q&A with Faculty |
| 9:25 – 9:45 AM | BREAK AND EXHIBITS |
SESSION 2 | The Colon and Beyond: Lower GI and IBD Updates | |
| 9:50 – 10:10 AM | The High-Quality Colonoscopy in 2027: New Benchmarks, Serrated Lesions, and Practical Techniques That Prevent Interval Cancer Speaker: Peter Draganov, MD |
| 10:15 – 10:35 AM | Immune Checkpoint inhibitor Colitis A Practical Guide for the GI Doctor Who Didn't Train in Oncology Speaker: Yinghong Wang, MD (MD Anderson) |
| 10:40 – 11:00 AM | The JAK Age Has Arrived: Positioning Small Molecules Across IBD Indications in a Crowded Field Speaker: David Rubin, MD |
| 11:00 – 11:10 AM | Q&A with Faculty |
| 11:10 – 12:25 PM | LUNCH AND EXHIBITS Product Theatre: 11:45 AM (J&J) |
INNOVATION IN GI LECTURE | |
| 12:25 – 12:30 PM | Introduction by Course Directors |
| 12:30 – 12:50 PM | "The Organ Nobody's Watching: The Fatty Pancreas Epidemic and What It's About to Cost Us" Speaker: Max Petrov, MD |
SESSION 3 | Potpourri | |
| 12:55 – 1:15 PM | Acute Pancreatitis in 2027: Less Fluid, Fewer Antibiotics, Smarter Timing Speaker options: Tyler Stevens, MD (Cleveland Clinic) |
| 1:20 – 1:40 PM | From Fever to Drain: A Practical Framework for Acute Cholangitis in the Modern Era Speaker: James Buxbaum, MD (USC Keck School of Medicine) |
| 1:45 – 2:05 PM | The GLP-1 Era: Weight Loss, MASH, Motility, and Endoscopy Speaker: Christina Awad, MD (UT San Antonio) |
| 2:05 – 2:15 PM | Q&A with Faculty |
| 2:15 – 2:40 PM | BREAK AND EXHIBITS |
SESSION 4 | LIVER FOR THE GENERAL CLINICIAN | |
| 2:40 – 3:00 PM | How to use Non-invasive liver tests versus biopsy: Pitfalls and medico-legal implications Speaker: Eric Lawitz, MD (Texas Liver Institute / UT San Antonio) |
| 3:05 – 3:25 PM | HCC in 2027: Surveillance Failures, Updated Staging, and the Explosion of Systemic Therapies Speaker: Amit Singal, MD (UT Southwestern) |
| 3:30 – 3:50 PM | Portal Hypertension for the General GI: Varices, Ascites, and What the Baveno VIII Guidelines Actually Changed Speaker: Eugenia Tsai, MD (Texas Liver Institute / UT San Antonio) |
| 3:50 – 4:00 PM | Q&A with Faculty |
| 4:00 – 4:05 PM | Closing Remarks and Thank Yous |
Sunday, February 28, 2027
HANDS-ON WORKSHOP |
* First 40 to register for workshop will be eligible to participate.
40 Trainees | 8 Stations | 30 min Per Station | 5 Per Station |
Trainees are divided into 8 fixed groups of 5. Each group rotates through all 8 stations in sequence. A 10-minute break follows the 4th rotation. Station assignments are pre-distributed at registration; groups stay together for the full morning.
Time | Activity |
7:00 – 7:45 AM | Faculty & Proctor Arrival, Station Setup and Equipment Check |
7:45 – 8:00 AM | Trainee Registration, Group Assignment, and Welcome Remarks |
8:00 – 8:30 AM | ROTATION 1 — All groups begin at assigned station |
8:30 – 9:00 AM | ROTATION 2 |
9:00 – 9:30 AM | ROTATION 3 |
9:30 – 10:00 AM | ROTATION 4 |
10:00 – 10:10 AM | BREAK — Light refreshments |
10:10 – 10:40 AM | ROTATION 5 |
10:40 – 11:10 AM | ROTATION 6 |
11:10 – 11:40 AM | ROTATION 7 |
11:40 AM – 12:10 PM | ROTATION 8 — Final rotation |
12:10 – 12:30 PM | Closing Remarks, Skills Assessment, Certificate Distribution |