Colleen Schmitt
The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) announced the appointment of Colleen M. Schmitt, MD, MHS, FACG, FASGE, of the Galen Medical Group, Chattanooga, to president-elect.
Dr. Schmitt assumed her duties in May during Digestive Disease Week in Orlando, FL. Her term will continue through May 2014 at which time she will become president. She became a member of ASGE in 1994 and has served on a number of committees. From 2005-2009 she served as chairwoman of the Health and Public Policy Committee and was a member of the Research Committee for several years. Since e1994, Dr. Schmitt has been a reviewer for ASGE's peer-reviewed scientific journal GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and was a member of the Editorial Review Board from 1999 to 2004. She is also a Fellow of the ASGE.
Dr. Schmitt practices at the gastrointestinal specialty arm of Galen Medical Group which has expanded to include six adult GI specialists, one pediatric GI specialist and one hepatologist. She is also medical director at Memorial Research Center and was chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga Unit.
She attended Jacksonville State University where she graduated with a B.S. in Biology and earned her medical degree at the University of South Alabama. Dr. Schmitt completed her internship and residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston before going on to a fellowship in Gastroenterology at Duke University Medical Center and a joint fellowship in Health Services Research at the Durham VA Hospital, while finishing a Master's degree in Biometry and Informatics.
Dr. Schmitt has served on committees and boards for local and national organizations. She is a past president of the Tennessee Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and is current chair of the Chattanooga Hamilton County Medical Society Committee on Legislation and Public Policy. Dr. Schmitt also serves on the Board of Directors for the Chattanooga Hamilton County Medical Society.
She is the recipient of numerous honors, awards and grants, and has presented at over 100 scientific sessions and invited lectures. She has authored over 50 publications including scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals, invited chapters in books, reviews and summaries, and editorials. As Medical Director of Southeastern Clinical Research and Memorial Research Centers, Dr. Schmitt has been principal investigator or sub-investigator on over 200 clinical trials.
In her free time, she is active in her community and works with Volunteers in Medicine, Project Access, and teaches local leadership programs and high school Biology, Anatomy and Physiology classes.