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Pending research to aid in fight against colon cancer
BETHESDA, MD, Aug. 16, 2005 — Shahnaz Sultan, M.D., a fellow at Duke University Medical Center, was
presented with the American College of Gastroenterology’s (ACG) Junior Faculty Development Grant Award.
Dr. Sultan will use the $150,000 award to support clinical research work focused on critical areas in gastrointestinal
(GI) disease, GI practice and colonoscopy. The award was presented by ACG in part from a
$2.5 million contribution received from TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. to help fund the ACG’s "Advancing
Excellence" capital campaign.
Through her research, Dr. Sultan will examine how health literacy influences patient adherence to
colonoscopy. Low health literacy has been shown to negatively affect patient and disease outcomes. Improving
adherence to colonoscopy is vital for patients referred for diagnostic evaluation since they are at
high-risk of having colorectal cancer.
“We are honored to present this year’s ACG Junior Faculty Development Grant Award to Dr. Sultan,”
said John W. Popp, Jr., M.D., FACG, president of the ACG. “Dr. Sultan was selected in a highly competitive
process among a large field of excellent proposals. Her work will greatly add to our effort in the fight
against colon cancer.”
The Junior Faculty Development Grant Awards are among the ACG’s largest and most prestigious
honors and a major priority of ACG’s Institute for Clinical Research & Education, an organization dedicated to
supporting young investigators in developing productive careers in clinical GI research.
The goals of the "Advancing Excellence" capital campaign include raising $12 million to support
innovative clinical research, patient education and gastroenterology practice excellence. The campaign
addresses issues such as improving knowledge through research, encouraging research career paths and
promoting education. TAP’s contribution to the campaign was the first one made by a corporate partner.
"We are thrilled that the ACG has chosen to recognize Dr. Sultan’s work for health literacy and
colorectal cancer screening, and are confident that her research will shed light on a better understanding of
adherence to colonoscopy," said Xavier Frapaise, MD, vice president of research and development at TAP.
"There is a tremendous opportunity to encourage the next generation of medical researchers to increase our
knowledge of digestive health issues, and young investigators such as Dr. Sultan deserve our complete
attention, admiration and support."
As part of her study, Dr. Sultan plans to develop a reliable and validated questionnaire on knowledge
of colonoscopy and colon cancer screening. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to identify and understand
barriers to undergoing colonoscopic evaluation.
"I want to thank ACG for this great honor. I feel truly privileged to receive the award," said Dr. Sultan.
"Understanding the relationship between literacy and adherence to medications, treatment or cancer surveillance
and screening recommendations should have tremendous impact on health outcomes. This research is
part of the larger goal of developing interventions to improve adherence to screening recommendations or
therapy."
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