Penn Staff Spotlight:
Andrew Weber, MD
Andrew Weber, MD
The I3 Research Team had the pleasure of interviewing one of Penn Medicine GI's IBD Doctors, asking him questions about his work and his experience working in the GI field and supporting IBD patients.
Here is what he had to say:
Q: What inspired you to specialize in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)?
Andrew: I worked extensively with an IBD physician Tina Ha early in my internal medicine residency. I worked with her in clinic and helped her on small research projects. I was really inspired by her as a physician and observed how dedicated she was to her patients. This work also permitted be one of the first foundational experiences working with patients dealing with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and I was drawn to the longitudinal relationships between physician and patient, as well as the ever-evolving nature of the field.
Q: What do you wish more patients or caregivers understood about IBD?
Andrew: When patients are newly diagnosed with IBD, some begin to think that they will need to settle with GI symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fatigue as the new norm. I wish more patients understood, and I try to convey to them, that IBD is generally very treatable and that our treatment goals are to achieve remission. With remission, we aim for patients to be symptom free and regain a high quality of life.
Q: What role does clinical research play in improving IBD Treatment
Andrew: Clinical research is essential in improving IBD treatment. While huge strides have been made in the medical treatment of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis over recent decades, even our best medications are imperfect. An individual advanced therapy like a biologic or small molecule may work extremely well for one patient while not seeming to result in any significant improvement for another. We still have some patients who do not seem to respond to multiple advanced therapies utilizing different mechanisms of action. Clinical research can help identify whether novel treatment targets are effective, overall helping to bridge some of our remaining gaps in IBD treatment.
Q: What’s one of the most important advancements you’ve seen in IBD care or research over the last decade?
Andrew: The development of small molecule therapies like tofacitinib, upadacitinib, ozanimod, and etrasimod have resulted in new treatment options for inflammatory bowel disease which offer both new mechanisms of action but also a means of addressing some of the shortcomings of monoclonal antibody-based biologics.
Q: If you could change one thing about how IBD is diagnosed or managed today, what would it be?
Andrew: I wish we possessed better means of determining which medication mechanism of action would work best for an individual patient. This would help us get patients in remission sooner by practicing more personalized medicine.
Q: If you could instantly solve one mystery about IBD, what would it be?
Andrew: A better understanding of environmental factors contributing to the development of IBD would be huge. It is one of the first questions a patient newly diagnosed with IBD will often ask, and our answers at this time are filled with unknowns and leave a lot to be desired.
Q: What is your favorite meal that is actually gut friendly?
Andrew: I am frequently advocating for a Mediterranean Diet for my patients with IBD. I will sometimes make salmon in the air fryer and have found this to be an easy and tasty way of incorporating Mediterranean-style Diet principles into what I eat.
Q: What is the most unforgettable thing a patient has ever said to you that either made your day or made you smile?
Andrew: Any time a patient leaves an office visit with me expressing that they feel like they have a better understanding of their IBD-diagnosis or management, this makes me smile. I want patients that follow with me to feel empowered, and a better personal understanding of the disease process they are dealing with can be a major part of this.
Here is what he had to say:
Q: What inspired you to specialize in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)?
Andrew: I worked extensively with an IBD physician Tina Ha early in my internal medicine residency. I worked with her in clinic and helped her on small research projects. I was really inspired by her as a physician and observed how dedicated she was to her patients. This work also permitted be one of the first foundational experiences working with patients dealing with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and I was drawn to the longitudinal relationships between physician and patient, as well as the ever-evolving nature of the field.
Q: What do you wish more patients or caregivers understood about IBD?
Andrew: When patients are newly diagnosed with IBD, some begin to think that they will need to settle with GI symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fatigue as the new norm. I wish more patients understood, and I try to convey to them, that IBD is generally very treatable and that our treatment goals are to achieve remission. With remission, we aim for patients to be symptom free and regain a high quality of life.
Q: What role does clinical research play in improving IBD Treatment
Andrew: Clinical research is essential in improving IBD treatment. While huge strides have been made in the medical treatment of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis over recent decades, even our best medications are imperfect. An individual advanced therapy like a biologic or small molecule may work extremely well for one patient while not seeming to result in any significant improvement for another. We still have some patients who do not seem to respond to multiple advanced therapies utilizing different mechanisms of action. Clinical research can help identify whether novel treatment targets are effective, overall helping to bridge some of our remaining gaps in IBD treatment.
Q: What’s one of the most important advancements you’ve seen in IBD care or research over the last decade?
Andrew: The development of small molecule therapies like tofacitinib, upadacitinib, ozanimod, and etrasimod have resulted in new treatment options for inflammatory bowel disease which offer both new mechanisms of action but also a means of addressing some of the shortcomings of monoclonal antibody-based biologics.
Q: If you could change one thing about how IBD is diagnosed or managed today, what would it be?
Andrew: I wish we possessed better means of determining which medication mechanism of action would work best for an individual patient. This would help us get patients in remission sooner by practicing more personalized medicine.
Q: If you could instantly solve one mystery about IBD, what would it be?
Andrew: A better understanding of environmental factors contributing to the development of IBD would be huge. It is one of the first questions a patient newly diagnosed with IBD will often ask, and our answers at this time are filled with unknowns and leave a lot to be desired.
Q: What is your favorite meal that is actually gut friendly?
Andrew: I am frequently advocating for a Mediterranean Diet for my patients with IBD. I will sometimes make salmon in the air fryer and have found this to be an easy and tasty way of incorporating Mediterranean-style Diet principles into what I eat.
Q: What is the most unforgettable thing a patient has ever said to you that either made your day or made you smile?
Andrew: Any time a patient leaves an office visit with me expressing that they feel like they have a better understanding of their IBD-diagnosis or management, this makes me smile. I want patients that follow with me to feel empowered, and a better personal understanding of the disease process they are dealing with can be a major part of this.
Penn Staff Spotlight:
Maureen DeMarshall, BSN, RN
The I3 team had the pleasure of interviewing Penn Medicine's Clinical Research Nurse Manager in GI Research, asking her questions about her work and her experience working in the GI field and supporting patients.
Here is what she had to say:
Q: What is your position here at Penn Medicine?
Maureen: "I am the Clinical Research Nurse Manager in GI Research"
Q: What led you to work in IBD Research?
Maureen: "I have been in GI Research for 14 years, but IBD research is fairly new to me, and I am still learning a LOT about the disease and treatment. My focus of research was esophageal research before I took this position. I love that I am still learning after so many years working in GI"
Q: What is something you wish patients knew more about in regard to clinical trials?
Maureen: "I wish patients would be more open to doing studies for several reasons: They will gain access to investigational treatments, including new drug or therapies that are not yet available to the public. They will also receive more frequent and comprehensive health checkups and tests and 24/7 access to the research team. Finally, participating in a clinical trial can empower patients to take a more active role in managing their health and contribute to advancing medical research"
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to grow in clinical research?
Maureen: "There is a lot to learn -- you must be extremely organized and able to prioritize daily. My best advice is more general -- get to now your patients and that will be the most rewarding part of your job"
Q: If time and budget were not a factor, what is one clinical trial you would love to spearhead?
Maureen: "Hmmmmmm, probably something related to curing cancer, quickly!"
Q: If you could re-name your job title, what would you rename it to?
Maureen: "That's a tough one. I really love my job and position, but if it had to be different, I would say 'Research Nurse Patient Advocate', or something like that :)"
Here is what she had to say:
Q: What is your position here at Penn Medicine?
Maureen: "I am the Clinical Research Nurse Manager in GI Research"
Q: What led you to work in IBD Research?
Maureen: "I have been in GI Research for 14 years, but IBD research is fairly new to me, and I am still learning a LOT about the disease and treatment. My focus of research was esophageal research before I took this position. I love that I am still learning after so many years working in GI"
Q: What is something you wish patients knew more about in regard to clinical trials?
Maureen: "I wish patients would be more open to doing studies for several reasons: They will gain access to investigational treatments, including new drug or therapies that are not yet available to the public. They will also receive more frequent and comprehensive health checkups and tests and 24/7 access to the research team. Finally, participating in a clinical trial can empower patients to take a more active role in managing their health and contribute to advancing medical research"
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to grow in clinical research?
Maureen: "There is a lot to learn -- you must be extremely organized and able to prioritize daily. My best advice is more general -- get to now your patients and that will be the most rewarding part of your job"
Q: If time and budget were not a factor, what is one clinical trial you would love to spearhead?
Maureen: "Hmmmmmm, probably something related to curing cancer, quickly!"
Q: If you could re-name your job title, what would you rename it to?
Maureen: "That's a tough one. I really love my job and position, but if it had to be different, I would say 'Research Nurse Patient Advocate', or something like that :)"
HAPPY RETRACTION DAY
Retraction Day (February 2, 2010) marks the retraction of a 1998 paper published in The Lancet that incorrectly claimed a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism. Investigations later showed the study was scientifically flawed and ethically compromised, and it has since been discredited. Decades of high-quality research involving millions of children around the world have found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism, confirming that the vaccine is safe and effective. Retraction Day serves as a reminder of how medical misinformation can spread and cause real harm, as well as the importance of evidence, accountability, and correction in science. In the YouTube short below, our PI Dr. Bewtra explains what happened, why this retraction mattered, and what it teaches us about evaluating scientific claims today.
Penn I3 Presentations at DDW 2024 Convention
Mo1830 examining the need for washout periods when switching a patients biologic therapy.
The work showed that we do not need full biologic washouts to decrease infection risk when moving to new therapies in IBD treatments. |
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- Poster on impact of GLP1 agonist on inflammatory biomarkers in patients with IBD. Statistically significant decrease in CRP from baseline to 3 months on GLP1 therapy.
Collaboration spearheaded by @KHamiltonPhD with help from http://wwwi3study.org that determined epithelial pathogenesis in CD allowing greater disease understanding & potential new therapeutic targets
Tu1843 & Tu1844 multi-center PREVENT COVID work showing: patients with IBD have sustained effectiveness of the COVID19 vaccination and vaccine titers don't correlate with COVID19 risk in IBD
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MILESTONE-IBD is a national year-long educational program for Advanced IBD fellows across the country. They had their graduation reception at DDW! Congrats on their Graduation. They are the future of IBD care!