William E. Whitehead, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Dr. Whitehead is Professor of Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine and Co-Director of the UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders. He was recruited to UNC in 1993 to direct the Gastrointestinal Motility Program, and in 1994 he and Dr. Drossman founded the Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders (Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology). He has been involved in research on functional gastrointestinal disorders for 32 years and is recognized internationally for his research and teaching on constipation, fecal incontinence, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
In 1999, Dr. Whitehead also joined the UNC Division of Urogynecology as an adjunct faculty member to help develop a fellowship program in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Floor Surgery. He teaches surgery fellows in this fellowship program and heads a monthly case conference attended by the urogynecology faculty and fellows and GI motility team. Dr. Whitehead collaborates with several faculty in Gynecology in research on the role of obstetrical injury in the etiology of fecal incontinence, behavioral treatments for incontinence, and the role of reproductive hormones in IBS.
Dr. Whitehead received his PhD from the University of Chicago in clinical psychology and physiology in 1973 and did his dissertation research on the biofeedback conditioning of gastric acid secretion. After graduation, he joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and worked for seven years in the psychosomatic service where he began his research on visceral perception and IBS. In 1979, after a year as a visiting scientist at the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Dr. Whitehead was recruited to the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and established a15-year collaboration with a Dr. Marvin Schuster, which includes co-authorship of the text, Gastrointestinal Disorders: Behavioral and Physiological Basis for Treatment (Academic Press, 1985). He was chief of the Gastrointestinal Physiology Laboratory at the Bayview Medical Center, continued to evolve his research on IBS, and began research programs on the biofeedback treatment of fecal incontinence and on the understanding and treatment of rumination syndrome and failure to thrive.
Dr. Whitehead is a career investigator who has been continuously funded by NIH since 1977. He was supported by a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) research scientist award for 22 years and has received research support from NIDDK, NICHD, NIA, NINR, and NIMH. His 35 RO1 grants have included studies of (1) the causes and treatment of fecal incontinence in special populations such as spina bifida and elderly, (2) the causes and treatment of constipation, (3) treatment of rumination syndrome in developmentally disabled children, (4) the role of visceral perception in IBS, (5) comorbidity of IBS with other disorders, and (6) psychological and behavioral treatment of IBS. He has published over 200 journal articles, books, and book chapters and more than 200 abstracts on these topics.
Twenty-four research fellows, both psychologists and physicians, have completed predoctoral or postdoctoral training in Dr. Whitehead’s laboratory. Nineteen of these alumni are in academic positions, one is still in medical school, two are in private practice (gastroenterologists), and the jobs of two are unknown. Dr. Whitehead also organizes and participates in preceptorships and CME courses on a regular basis, in the U.S. and internationally.
In 1990, Dr. Whitehead was invited to join the steering committee of the Multinational Working Team Project to Develop Diagnostic Criteria for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders – known as the “Rome Committees.” He was also invited to chair the working committee on Anorectal Disorders. The steering committee later asked him to organize and chair the International Resource Committee, comprised of representatives from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD).
Dr. Whitehead is currently a member of the Executive Committee for the Rome Foundation. He was a co-editor of The Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders – Diagnosis, Pathology and Treatment, a Multinational Consensus (Rome I and Rome II). He is Co-Chair of the Design of Treatment Trials working team for the Rome III Committees, with Rome III to be published in 2006. Dr. Whitehead also had major responsibilities in the World Symposium in Vienna which was organized to develop a consensus on the definition of a “responder” in clinical trials for functional GI disorders. Dr. Whitehead has received awards and had significant involvements with a variety of leading national and international organizations: 0
Professor of Medicine
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In 1999, Dr. Whitehead also joined the UNC Division of Urogynecology as an adjunct faculty member to help develop a fellowship program in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Floor Surgery. He teaches surgery fellows in this fellowship program and heads a monthly case conference attended by the urogynecology faculty and fellows and GI motility team. Dr. Whitehead collaborates with several faculty in Gynecology in research on the role of obstetrical injury in the etiology of fecal incontinence, behavioral treatments for incontinence, and the role of reproductive hormones in IBS.
Dr. Whitehead received his PhD from the University of Chicago in clinical psychology and physiology in 1973 and did his dissertation research on the biofeedback conditioning of gastric acid secretion. After graduation, he joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and worked for seven years in the psychosomatic service where he began his research on visceral perception and IBS. In 1979, after a year as a visiting scientist at the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Dr. Whitehead was recruited to the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and established a15-year collaboration with a Dr. Marvin Schuster, which includes co-authorship of the text, Gastrointestinal Disorders: Behavioral and Physiological Basis for Treatment (Academic Press, 1985). He was chief of the Gastrointestinal Physiology Laboratory at the Bayview Medical Center, continued to evolve his research on IBS, and began research programs on the biofeedback treatment of fecal incontinence and on the understanding and treatment of rumination syndrome and failure to thrive.
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Twenty-four research fellows, both psychologists and physicians, have completed predoctoral or postdoctoral training in Dr. Whitehead’s laboratory. Nineteen of these alumni are in academic positions, one is still in medical school, two are in private practice (gastroenterologists), and the jobs of two are unknown. Dr. Whitehead also organizes and participates in preceptorships and CME courses on a regular basis, in the U.S. and internationally.
In 1990, Dr. Whitehead was invited to join the steering committee of the Multinational Working Team Project to Develop Diagnostic Criteria for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders – known as the “Rome Committees.” He was also invited to chair the working committee on Anorectal Disorders. The steering committee later asked him to organize and chair the International Resource Committee, comprised of representatives from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD).
Dr. Whitehead is currently a member of the Executive Committee for the Rome Foundation. He was a co-editor of The Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders – Diagnosis, Pathology and Treatment, a Multinational Consensus (Rome I and Rome II). He is Co-Chair of the Design of Treatment Trials working team for the Rome III Committees, with Rome III to be published in 2006. Dr. Whitehead also had major responsibilities in the World Symposium in Vienna which was organized to develop a consensus on the definition of a “responder” in clinical trials for functional GI disorders. Dr. Whitehead has received awards and had significant involvements with a variety of leading national and international organizations: 0
- Co-founder and past chair of Functional Brain-Gut Research Group (FBG) special interest section within the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)
- Head of the steering committee and chair of two multidisciplinary conferences on fecal incontinence sponsored by the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD) -- a third is being planned for next year (2006)
- Since 2000, Associate Editor of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA)
- Advisory Board for the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at the UNC School of Medicine
- Organized an international conference on the design of treatment trials for functional GI disorders
- Co-chair of the fecal incontinence subcommittee for the International Consultation on Incontinence
- FBG (Functional Brain-Gut Research Group) Research Scientist Award for Clinical Research in 1999
- IFFGD Award for Research Excellence in 2003
- Janssen Award for Outstanding Research in Gastroenterology in 2004.
