The EMJ Podcast | Episode 143
Alex Ford, Professor and Consultant Gastroenterologist, St James University Hospital, University of Leeds School of Medicine, UK, joins Jonathan to discuss disorders of gut–brain interaction. Ford explains his specific interest in functional gastrointestinal disorders and recent revisions of their aetiology, as well as how conditions of gut–brain interaction affect quality of life and social functioning.
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Speaker bio:
Since obtaining his MBChB from the University of Leeds in 1997, Alex Ford has earned a number of other qualifications, such as a postgraduate certificate in health research and his MD, also from the University of Leeds. In 2007, he went to Canada to become a Postdoctoral Fellow at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he consolidated his research experience, and became an independent clinical researcher. He has received a number of awards and honours, including the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Rising Star of Gastroenterology in 2008; the Rome Foundation/Aldo Torsoli Foundation award for research, education, and patient care in gut–brain interactions in 2020; and was named Gut author of the year in 2021.
Throughout his career, Ford has sat on numerous committees, such as the British Society of Gastroenterology three times; the American Gastroenterological Association, often for Digestive Diseases Week; and most recently, the Rome Foundation. He has experience teaching junior doctors, medical students, and professionals allied to medicine, which he deems as an integral part of his job, and mentors MD and PhD fellows, amongst others. He has published over 400 articles with more than 600 co-authors.