As gastroenterology enters the world of artificial intelligence (AI), Mount Sinai is leading an effort to use generative AI to extract and organize GI-related data from the electronic health record. This work, as detailed in the lead article of this Specialty Report, is initially focused on improving GI cancer screening and risk assessment, but could lead to broader efforts to use AI to enhance patient care and reduce clinician burnout.
Mount Sinai’s strength in inflammatory bowel disease has led to a profusion of new and promising therapies. One clinical trial, in part conducted here, led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve two new therapies—mirikizumab and guselkumab—for Crohn’s disease. Both drugs are interleukin-23 inhibitors, a new and promising approach for treating refractory Crohn’s disease.
We are also collaborating on a study to examine whether GLP-1 agonists, which mimic peptide hormones secreted by the intestine, can assist in healing the gut for patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC); to assess the use of popular wearable devices to predict IBD flares weeks in advance; and to investigate whether microplastic exposure may contribute to IBD.
With evidence emerging that some subgroups of Asian Americans, including Korean Americans, experience higher rates of certain GI cancers, Mount Sinai researchers are working to disaggregate “Asian American” data to better assess specific cancer risk in specific populations and capture related lifestyle, dietary, and cultural factors.
Our colleagues in GI Surgery have developed a rigorous new protocol to support same-day discharge for carefully selected patients undergoing uncomplicated colectomy. They have also performed a research project that directly challenges, but also partly confirms, published reports of disparities in the surgical treatment and outcomes of UC patients who belong to racial and ethnic minorities.
Mount Sinai’s new celiac disease program offers an integrated approach in which patients can meet with a gastroenterologist, GI nutrition physician, health psychologist, and dietitian specializing in celiac disease, ensuring their clinical, dietary, and social-emotional needs are met.
Finally, we profile one of our own, Brijen Shah, MD, who became a board member of the American Gastroenterological Association in June 2025. His career has played out at the intersection of gastroenterology with geriatrics, medical education, and quality improvement.
Thank you for reading this report. I hope you will consider listing us on your U.S. News & World Report ballots this year.
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Bruce E. Sands, MD, MS
Dr. Burrill B. Crohn Professor of Medicine; Chief, Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology