Jean-Frédéric Colombel, MD, whose research has led to some of the most seminal discoveries in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—chronic inflammatory conditions that damage the gastrointestinal tract—was one of three national recipients of the 2018 Sherman Prize. The award, which recognizes individuals for pioneering achievements that have significantly transformed patient care, was presented by the Bruce and Cynthia Sherman Charitable Foundation at the Advances in Inflammatory Diseases conference Thursday, December 13, in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Colombel, Director of The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at Mount Sinai, was lauded for his highly collaborative work bringing together geneticists, microbiologists, epidemiologists, systems engineers, and clinicians to study new concepts in the causes, prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. He also was honored for mentoring and motivating the next generation of physician scientists.

Said Dr. Colombel: “It’s a long and difficult road ahead, and it will require great collaboration among the world’s top scientists and researchers, but I think we will be able, in the near future, to predict the onset of Crohn’s disease before the first symptom appears, which creates the possibility for one of medicine’s primary aims—preventing disease.”

The Rollin’ Colon, a 30-foot-wide inflatable model of a colon, was on display in Guggenheim Pavilion on Wednesday, March 7, during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month—the highlight of a community health fair that was organized by nurses at The Mount Sinai Hospital Endoscopy Center. Sponsored by the Endoscopy Center in partnership with the Colon Cancer Challenge Foundation, the walk-through model allowed visitors to see visual representations of common colon cancer symptoms. Mount Sinai physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and staff also distributed literature, answered questions, encouraged visitors to be screened, and handed out small prizes to attendees who correctly answered colorectal health-related questions.