Beth A. Schrope, MD, PhD, FACS

Dr. Usama Ahmed Ali is a colorectal surgeon who has expertise in the whole gamut of colorectal surgery, including minimally invasive and open colorectal surgical procedures, anorectal operations, and colonoscopy. He completed his medical training at Utrecht University in the Netherlands in 2007. He then did colorectal research as a PhD researcher and was a colorectal research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic in 2011 under the guidance of Dr. Pokala Ravi Kiran. He trained in general and colorectal surgery at the University Medical Center Utrecht and the St. Antonius Hospital in The Netherlands after which he worked as a general and colorectal surgeon in Riverieland Ziekenhuis in Tiel until 2022. Dr. Ahmed Ali has an interest in a wide spectrum of colorectal conditions including benign colorectal conditions, diverticular disease, colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, polyposis and anorectal disorders such as hemorrhoids, abscesses and anal fistulas. Dr. Ahmed Ali trained extensively with Dr. Kiran and Dr. James Church. He works collaboratively with Dr. Church on complex fistula disease within the Anal Fistula Center and is part of the Hereditary Cancer and Familial Polyposis Center. He also works closely with Dr. Kiran in the management of various conditions including complex and reoperative colorectal surgery. Dr. Ahmed Ali has a double PhD in medicine, one of which is in the surgical treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. He also has a Masters in Evidence-Based Medicine from Oxford University. He is a Member of Dutch Society for Surgery and Dutch Society for Gastro-intestinal Surgery (2021).

Dr. Esther Kim is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Associate Program Director of the Dermatology Residency Program at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Kim received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her medical degree from the University of Central Florida. She completed her Transitional Year internship at the University of Central Florida, Osceola Regional Medical Center and completed her Dermatology residency at the University of Chicago where she was selected as Chief Resident.Dr. Kim is an active member of the American Academy of Dermatology and the Women’s Dermatologic Society. She has authored numerous publications and presented research at national and local conferences. She has a strong interest in medical dermatology and graduate medical education. Dr. Kim is committed to providing evidence-based care and the utmost compassion for her patients of all backgrounds.

James Church, MD is a colorectal surgeon who cares for all aspects of colorectal disease, with a particular focus on hereditary colorectal cancers and polyposis. Born and raised in New Zealand, Dr. Church did his medical school, postgraduate research and general surgical training in Auckland before training in colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and eventually joining the faculty there. Over the 34 years that followed, he played an instrumental role in developing what was widely considered the finest Department of Colorectal Surgery in the world. Dr. Church has been co-Investigator of the Collaborative Colorectal Cancer Family Registry, funded by a research grant from the National Cancer Institute. In addition, he has served as the Chairman of the Leeds Castle Polyposis Group and the International Collaborative Group on Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer and President of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer. These international societies are dedicated to the care of patients with inherited colorectal cancer and research into their disease. Dr. Church’s other areas of interests include colonoscopy, functional colorectal and anal problems including constipation and incontinence, perianal and perineal infections and inflammatory bowel disease. As head of the Section of Endoscopy at Cleveland Clinic, he helped develop several advances in the art of colonoscopy for the benefit of patients. He is also deeply commitment to education and is currently a Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, Costa Rican Society of Surgery, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, American College of Gastroenterology, American Surgical Association and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow.