Professor Ala Sharara is Head of the Division of Gastroenterology at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon and Consulting Professor at Duke University, USA. He is a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association and Royal College of Physicians. He has over 160 published articles and 3 book chapters and serves on editorial boards of many premier GI journals. He is the recipient of the Golden Jubilee Clinical Research Award of the Lebanese National Council on Scientific Research. His main research interests are IBD, hepatitis, adverse events of PPI, colonoscopy screening and preparation, Helicobacter pylori, and C. difficile infection.