Conference 2006

Speakers

Here are some of the speakers we will be hearing from at Celiacs in the City, May 26-28, 2006

Dr. Michelle Pietzak

Michelle Maria Pietzak, M.D. is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. She is boarded in both Pediatrics and Gastroenterology and practices as a Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

In her practice she cares primarily for children with autoimmune inflammatory bowel diseases (such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), short bowel syndrome, and those who have special nutritional needs requiring either intravenous nutrition or special formulas.

She has written several book chapters and scientific articles, both peer-reviewed and in the lay press, on these topics. Since 1995, she has been the director of the Center for Celiac Research-West, and has been a co-author on numerous papers and abstracts describing the prevalence of celiac disease in the United States, California and Los Angeles.

Dr. Pietzak is also the recipient of numerous grants, including from the NIH, to study autoimmune intestinal diseases, as well as the interactions of E. coli bacteria and the gastrointestinal tract.

Russell P. Hall III M.D.

J. Lamar Callaway Professor and Chief
Division of Dermatology
Department of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine

Chief of the Division of Dermatology and professor of immunology at Duke University Medical Center. (he has been at Duke since 1984).
"has been pursuing the secrets of DH intently for more than 25 years."
"has an extensive background with dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin manifestation of CD."
"Hall's research efforts are focused on pursuing the link between dermatitis herpetiformis and celiac disease."

Dr. Hall has been associated in various capacities with other organizations such as the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Chaitan Khosla

Dr. Chaitan Khosla, a leading Stanford University chemist and engineer, is the founder and president of the Celiac Sprue Research Foundation in Palo Alto, California. This science-driven, non-profit public charity seeks to improve the quality of life of celiac patients by promoting research and development.

"After helplessly watching the disease's debilitating impact on my son's early childhood and later discovering my wife was also a celiac, I decided to apply my knowledge of chemistry, biology and drug development to Celiac Sprue."

Danna Korn

Danna Korn, founder of GlutenFreedom, is considered one of the foremost experts on the gluten-free diet and medical conditions that benefit from it.

Author of "Wheat-Free, Worry-Free: The Art of Happy, Healthy, Gluten-Free Living," and "Kids with Celiac Disease: A Family Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy Gluten-Free Children," she appears frequently in national and local media, and has written dozens of articles on gluten-free living that have been published in national magazines and newspapers.

Danna has been researching celiac disease since her son, Tyler, was diagnosed with the condition in 1991. That same year, she founded R.O.C.K. (Raising Our Celiac Kids), a support group for families of children on a gluten-free diet. Today, Danna leads nearly 90 chapters of R.O.C.K. throughout the nation.

She speaks frequently around the country to health care professionals, celiacs, parents of celiacs, parents of autistic kids involved in a gluten-free/casein-free dietary intervention program, and others on a gluten-free diet.

Danna is a consultant for a celiac testing company, and founded a company called GlutenFreedom, which offers consultation services to natural food companies, dietitians and nutritionists, restaurants, and people newly diagnosed with gluten intolerance and celiac disease. She also coordinates the International Walk/Run for Celiac Disease each May in San Diego.