Professor of Medicine
Co-Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
Director, Nutrition Support Service

Dr. Binion is an internationally recognized expert on Inflammatory Bowel Disease basic science, translational and clinical investigation. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. His investigation has centered on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of human IBD, with a specific focus on the microvascular biology of chronic intestinal inflammation. His clinical work has centered on developing novel therapies and algorithms for treatment of patients with severe and refractory IBD.

University of Pittsburgh
Division Research Overview and Philosophy

The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition is based within a research university and has the fundamental purpose of discovering and teaching new knowledge about digestive diseases. The Faculty and staff of the Division continually evaluate the critical needs of patients with digestive diseases and utilize all available resources to support the highest qualified physicians to determine the exact medical problem faced by each patient, and to link them with outstanding scientists who are able to solve specific problems that currently have no answers.

The Division is not a freestanding organization. The strengths of the Division include partnership with the UPMC system, which provides state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and ancillary support. The Division's clinical faculty collaborate with world-class faculty from other divisions and departments who provide unique and complementary perspectives and abilities. The Division's research faculty are fully integrated into the enormous research enterprise of the University of Pittsburgh. However, the primary goal and strength of the Division is uniting the physicians and scientists to purposefully and systematically tackle the toughest problems in complex digestive diseases.

There are a number of important academic GI divisions throughout the United States, each with different strengths and focuses. The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh has chosen to concentrate of complex chronic disorders that involve gene-environment interactions, inflammation, neural maladaptation, and cancer development. Examples of these disorders include liver inflammation and cirrhosis, acute and chronic pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel diseases. The integrated programs systematically study the causes and complications of organ dysfunction including inflammation, fibrosis, organ dysfunction, pain, maldigestion and inadequate nutrient absorption, and cancer predisposition, development, prevention and early treatment.

Clinical trials are organized through one of the seven Center of Excellence. The basic science efforts are organized into Genetics, Immunology, Neurosciences, and Molecular Epidemiology. The major laboratories within the Division are listed below. In addition, the Division has joined the Departments of Anesthesiology and Neurobiology to form a new Comprehensive Pain Center, and helped recruit Professor Gerald Gebhart PhD as the first Center Director. A major focus will be the Visceral Pain and Inflammation Program - VIP Program - to work on digestive disorders characterized by pain.