Brittany Wise-Oringer, MD

Bo Shen, MD, is one of the world’s pre-eminent leaders in interventional inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and pouch-related disorders due to his specialized expertise and experience treating a wide range of these conditions. Dr. Shen is the director of the IBD Center at Columbia and co-director of Columbia’s Global Center for Integrated Colorectal Surgery and IBD Interventional Endoscopy. He is also the Vice Chair for Innovation in Medicine and Surgery and a Professor of Medicine (in Surgery) and Edelman-Jarislowsky Professor in Surgical Sciences. In addition to pouchitis and pouch diseases, Dr. Shen specializes in critical diagnostic evaluation, and medical and endoscopic management of IBD, GI endoscopy and imaging technology. Dr. Shen is known as a pioneer in interventional endoscopic therapy for IBD and ileal pouch disorders - this includes postponing or eliminating the need for surgery in some cases. Dr. Shen comes to Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian from the Cleveland Clinic, where he served as medical director for the Center of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and the Ed and Joey Story Endowed Chair, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute. While there, Dr. Shen established a subspecialty Pouchitis Clinic and Interventional IBD Unite - the first and largest of its kind in the United States. He also created an IBD Board, modeled after oncology tumor boards, to help manage the most challenging cases with multiple specialists. A prolific researcher in the field with more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Shen is funded by a number of government and philanthropic organizations, including the NIH, the American Gastroenterological Association, American College of Gastroenterology, the Broad Foundation, and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

Dr. Cassandra Simmons is the Chief of General Obstetrics & Gynecology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). In this role, Dr. Simmons directs clinical operations for the division of General Ob/Gyn, with the goal to deliver the highest quality of care to patients. Before joining the faculty at CUIMC, Dr. Simmons practiced as an Ob/Gyn in many states across the country, including California, Georgia, New Jersey, and the New York Metropolitan Area. This diverse breadth of professional experience has given her an idea of what Ob/Gyn care could, and should, look like for patients. Informed by these experiences, Dr. Simmons emphasizes the importance of building trusting patient-provider relationships and improving processes that support continuity of care. In her clinical and administrative roles, Dr. Simmons is passionate about addressing the myriad determinants of health that can shape outcomes for women and their families. Specifically, Dr. Simmons is focused on the accessibility of preventative care as a means for mitigating health disparities among vulnerable populations. Outside of her work at CUIMC, Dr. Simmons is a proud mother of three children.

Anuraag S. Parikh, MD is a fellowship trained head and neck surgeon scientist, with clinical expertise in the full breadth of head and neck surgical oncology and microvascular reconstruction. Dr. Parikh graduated from the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. He completed residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard University/Massachusetts Eye and Ear. During residency, he completed an additional two year postdoctoral research fellowship under an NIH T32 grant and was awarded the Jeffrey P. Harris, MD PhD Research Award for his work in tumor heterogeneity in head and neck cancer. He then completed fellowship in advanced head and neck surgical oncology and microvascular reconstruction at the Ohio State University/James Cancer Center. Dr. Parikh’s clinical interests include the treatment of benign and malignant conditions of the head and neck, including tumors of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, sinonasal tract, skull base, skin, salivary glands, thyroid, and parathyroid. Dr. Parikh specializes in transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for tumors of the oropharynx and microvascular free tissue transfer for reconstruction of the head and neck. Dr. Parikh also conducts basic and translational research aimed at understanding the role of tumor heterogeneity on treatment outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNSCC) and salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). His work utilizes novel techniques such as single cell sequencing, multispectral imaging, and 3D organoid modeling to model HNSCC and ACC tumors at the level of individual cells. Dr. Parikh is the author of many highly impactful peer-reviewed articles, including publications in Cell and Nature Biotechnology, and he has regularly presented his research at national meetings.