To mark World Health Day 2021, RELX’s Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, Dr Márcia Balisciano, talks to Dr Richard McCallum and Dr Erika Claud about the need for a fairer and healthier world for all.
Dr Richard McCallum is recognised internationally as a premier thought leader in the field of neurogastroenterology and gastrointestinal motility. He is professor and founding chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and chief of its Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. He is also director of the Center for Neurogastroenterology and GI Motility.
Dr McCallum pioneered the use of gastric electrical stimulation to treat gastroparesis, instigating a new direction of treatment for patients with nausea and vomiting. He is also a central figure in clinical research trials studying all the major prokinetics—drugs that enhance gastrointestinal motility—as well as antiemetics— agents working in the brain to block nausea. His scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals exceed 450, and he has edited more than a dozen scientific textbooks. He holds five patents.
Dr McCallum has also held several important leadership roles at the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society, and the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. He has held editorial responsibilities with several major journals and has been honored by Texas Tech University, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Diabetes Association, the Texas Medical Association, and the Southern Society for Clinical Research.
Dr Erika Claud specialises in neonatology, providing care to critically ill infants. She has an interest in the diagnosis and treatment of preterm infants and conditions of the immature digestive tract. Her research focuses on the role of the intestinal microbiome in preterm infant development and neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) as well as on intestinal epithelial biology as it relates to neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening inflammatory bowel disorder of unknown cause that afflicts premature infants.
Dr Claud's work has been funded by grants from prominent institutions, including the March of Dimes and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A dedicated educator and author, she has published several articles and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals and has written chapters in leading textbooks on pediatric gastrointestinal disease. In addition, she serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several scientific journals, such as the Journal of Pediatrics and Gastroenterology.
