Douglas A. Drossman, MD
Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry
Dr. Drossman is Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry (UNC School of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology) and Co-Director of the UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders. He has had a long-standing interest in the research and evaluation of difficult to diagnose and treat GI disorders. He established a program of research in functional GI disorders at UNC more than 25 years ago and has published more than 350 books, articles and abstracts relating to epidemiology, psychosocial and quality of life assessment, design of treatment trials, and outcomes of research in GI disorders. He has also published two books, a GI procedures manual, and a textbook on Functional GI Disorders (Rome I and Rome II editions, with Rome III in progress). In addition, he serves on six editorial boards in medicine, gastroenterology and psychosomatic medicine, is associate editor of Gastroenterology, and is GI section editor of the Merck manual.
Dr. Drossman received his MD degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1970, and completed his medical residency at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and New York University-Bellevue Medical Center. After his residency, he sub-specialized in psychosocial (psychosomatic) medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. George Engel and in gastroenterology at the University of North Carolina in 1976-1978.
Dr. Drossman has been involved in several national and international activities which include President of the Rome Foundation and Scientific Director and member of the Board of the International Foundation for Functional GI Disorders (IFFGD). He is a past president of the American Psychosomatic Society, immediate past Chair of the AGA Council on Motility and Nerve-Gut Interactions, and Founder/Past President of the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group of AGA. He is currently a member of the AGA Media Committee. Dr. Drossman is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. Most recently, he has been appointed a member of an Institute of Medicine committee to assess the effects of stress on veterans, and as an Ad Hoc Advisory Board member of the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).
As Medical Director of the UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders, Dr. Drossman sees patients in the Functional GI Clinic. He also precepts GI fellows and visiting gastroenterologists to develop their clinical skills in patient care and communication. He facilitates the learning of medical faculty and fellows, psychiatry residents and medical students with regard to the biopsychosocial care of patients with functional GI disorders. In 2004, Dr. Drossman received the AGA Distinguished Educator Award, recognizing an individual for achievements as an outstanding educator over a lifelong career.
Dr. Drossman’s educational and clinical interests in the psychosocial/behavioral aspects of patient care have led to the development of a series of videotapes to teach physicians and other healthcare professionals how to conduct an effective patient interview, carry out a psychosocial assessment, and enhance patient-doctor communication. He has taught numerous US and international workshops on this topic and was chair of the ACG Physician-Patient Relations Committee from 1994-1996. He is also a charter fellow of the American Academy on Physicians and Patients, a consortium of doctors teaching these skills to medical school faculty.
Dr. Drossman has an active research program that relates to the clinical, epidemiological, psychosocial, and treatment aspects of irritable bowel syndrome and the functional GI disorders. He has held several NIH grants, including a recent multi-center treatment trial of functional bowel disorders with cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants in addition to several pharmaceutical trials of new investigative agents for IBS. He has developed and validated several assessment and quality of life measures that are used worldwide for clinical research. Recently, he has begun looking at brain imaging (fMRI) in functional bowel disorders to determine if reported changes in the brain are responsive to treatment. He also consults with pharmaceutical companies and government agencies regarding treatment trials. In 1999, Dr. Drossman received the Janssen Award for Clinical Research in Digestive Diseases. In 2003, he received the Research Scientist Award for Clinical Research presented by the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group (FBG) during Digestive Diseases Week. That year, he also received the American Psychosomatic Society’s President’s Award. In 2005, Dr. Drossman received the AGA/Miles and Shirley Fiterman Foundation Joseph B. Kirsner Award in Clinical Research in Gastroenterology.
In addition to his clinical care, research and teaching responsibilities associated with the UNC School of Medicine and the Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders, Dr. Drossman has numerous involvements with leading national and international organizations:
Curriculum Vitae (PDF, 227KB)
Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry
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Dr. Drossman received his MD degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1970, and completed his medical residency at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and New York University-Bellevue Medical Center. After his residency, he sub-specialized in psychosocial (psychosomatic) medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. George Engel and in gastroenterology at the University of North Carolina in 1976-1978.
Dr. Drossman has been involved in several national and international activities which include President of the Rome Foundation and Scientific Director and member of the Board of the International Foundation for Functional GI Disorders (IFFGD). He is a past president of the American Psychosomatic Society, immediate past Chair of the AGA Council on Motility and Nerve-Gut Interactions, and Founder/Past President of the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group of AGA. He is currently a member of the AGA Media Committee. Dr. Drossman is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. Most recently, he has been appointed a member of an Institute of Medicine committee to assess the effects of stress on veterans, and as an Ad Hoc Advisory Board member of the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).
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Dr. Drossman’s educational and clinical interests in the psychosocial/behavioral aspects of patient care have led to the development of a series of videotapes to teach physicians and other healthcare professionals how to conduct an effective patient interview, carry out a psychosocial assessment, and enhance patient-doctor communication. He has taught numerous US and international workshops on this topic and was chair of the ACG Physician-Patient Relations Committee from 1994-1996. He is also a charter fellow of the American Academy on Physicians and Patients, a consortium of doctors teaching these skills to medical school faculty.
Dr. Drossman has an active research program that relates to the clinical, epidemiological, psychosocial, and treatment aspects of irritable bowel syndrome and the functional GI disorders. He has held several NIH grants, including a recent multi-center treatment trial of functional bowel disorders with cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants in addition to several pharmaceutical trials of new investigative agents for IBS. He has developed and validated several assessment and quality of life measures that are used worldwide for clinical research. Recently, he has begun looking at brain imaging (fMRI) in functional bowel disorders to determine if reported changes in the brain are responsive to treatment. He also consults with pharmaceutical companies and government agencies regarding treatment trials. In 1999, Dr. Drossman received the Janssen Award for Clinical Research in Digestive Diseases. In 2003, he received the Research Scientist Award for Clinical Research presented by the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group (FBG) during Digestive Diseases Week. That year, he also received the American Psychosomatic Society’s President’s Award. In 2005, Dr. Drossman received the AGA/Miles and Shirley Fiterman Foundation Joseph B. Kirsner Award in Clinical Research in Gastroenterology.
In addition to his clinical care, research and teaching responsibilities associated with the UNC School of Medicine and the Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders, Dr. Drossman has numerous involvements with leading national and international organizations:
- Chair of the Executive Committee (since 1989) and President (since 2003) of the Rome Foundation
- Editor of Rome II: The Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, 2nd edition; senior editor for Rome III to be published in 2006
- Member of the Board of Directors, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, and Chair of the Awards Committee of the International Foundation for Functional GI Disorders (IFFGD)
- Since 2003, chair of the Nerve-Gut Section of the AGA Council
- Founder and past chair of the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group (FBG) special interest section within the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)
- 1999 Chair of the Digestive Health Initiative on Functional GI Disorders sponsored by the American Digestive Health Foundation
- Past-president of the American Psychosomatic Society
- Fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP)
- Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)
- Charter fellow of the American Academy of Physician and Patient
- Since 2001, Associate Editor of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA
- Author of the AGA Clinical Teaching Project on IBS – Unit 13 (1997)
- Author of the AGA Gastroenterology Teaching Project (2003)
- Editor of the Manual on GI Procedures (now in its fourth edition)
- On the board of the medical website Medscape Gastroenterology
- Gastroenterology Section editor of the Merck Manual
Curriculum Vitae (PDF, 227KB)
