Dr. Ellen Beswick, PhD, associate professor, has recently been notified of award of tenure in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition. She is currently the only woman in Gastroenterology to hold this title. She joined the GI Division as an Associate Professor in late 2018 and is the Associate Director of GI Research and the Director of the GI Tissue Bank.
Her research expertise spans chronic inflammation and novel therapeutic targets in inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal cancers. She holds a patent for targeting the MK2 pathway for gastrointestinal cancers resulting from work done in her lab in both human tissues and animal models. She has recently begun building a new pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor research program with Dr. Heloisa Soares, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the Division of Oncology using similar approaches for novel target discovery.
Dr. Beswick has also recently been working with the faculty of Molecular Medicine to expand this expertise to uncover the mechanism of cytokine response during COIVD-19 infection. The goal of this work is to gain knowledge in the pathogenic immune mechanisms during infection in order to consider new treatment approaches.
In addition to research, her other area of excellence required for tenure is education. Dr. Beswick has an extensive record of curriculum development and establishing group learning activities in Immunology and Cancer Biology at her previous university for both medical and graduate students. She served as the Education Chief for her department and co-directed multiple courses. Here, she has contributed extensively to recruitment and mentorship of junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows. She has been a critical force in career development and building multidisciplinary translational research teams in the GI Division. She is the primary research mentor for 7 faculty members and 3 postdoctoral fellows.
Please join us in congratulating her for being the first woman awarded tenure in the GI Division.