Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is the main governing body responsible for meeting the GBPDC scientific objective of leveraging the potential role of the gastrointestinal tract in the pathogenesis and progress of Parkinson’s Disease to improve patient diagnosis, care, and outcomes.

Primary Functions

  • Design research activities and make major scientific decisions regarding core data
  • Establish priorities, subcommittees, and working groups
    • Provide charges and timelines; monitor progress
    • Act as the interim governing body if the appropriate committee has not been established, or if the Steering Committee has not established relevant subcommittees or working groups.
  • Develop common protocols and manuals, questionnaires and other data recording forms
  • Establish and maintain quality control among recipients
  • Review progress reports and recommend changes when needed
  • Monitor patient accrual
  • Coordinate and standardize data management
  • Cooperate on the publication of results
  • Document progress in written reports to the NIDDK Program Official and provide periodic supplementary reports upon request
  • Provide final approval of all consortium policy and procedures, final master protocol, final protocol implementation, subcommittee progress and reports
  • With input from the Executive Committee, serve as the scientific agenda planning committee for the GBPDC in-person meetings
  • After review by the Executive Committee, address questions and comments, especially about gaps in the GBPDC research activities, that interested parties (e.g., congressional staffers, influencers, Parkinson’s Disease organizations, news media, and participants) bring to the GBPDC. The Steering Committee collaborates with the Executive Committee and NIDDK Program Office on responses and changes these questions and comments may require.
  • Foster collaboration and interdisciplinary team science across GBPDC
  • Facilitate dissemination of GBPDC science across the Consortium

Committee Members

Ali Keshavarzian, MD, FRCP, FACP, MACG, AGAF, Rush University, Committee Chair 

Aleksander Videnovic, MD, MGH Harvard, Committee Chair

Laren Becker, MD, Stanford University

Adil Bharucha, MBBS, MD, Mayo Clinic Rochester

Eugene Chang, MD, University of Chicago

Diana Cummings, PhD, NIDDK

Christopher Goetz, MD, MPH, Rush University

Braden Kuo, MD, MGH Harvard

Kristin Newby, MD, MHS, DCRI

Kathleen Poston, MD, MS, Stanford University

Laurie Sanders, PhD, DCRI

Rodolfo Savica, MD, PhD, Mayo Clinic Rochester

Amol Sharma, MD, Rush University

Terez Shea-Donohue, PhD, NIDDK

Lisa Wruck, PhD, DCRI

Tao Xie, MD, PhD, University of Chicago

Committee Member Access