It’s deeply satisfying to be acknowledged by your peer group and professional association. It is more overwhelming when the recognition is from a prestigious global association such as ASGE. I take this opportunity to thank ASGE for awarding me with the International Service Award, and I am honored to accept it on behalf of the Indian GI fraternity. This award will motivate me to do more in the future.
Dr. Goenka is the director of the Institute of Gastrosciences and Liver Transplant at Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals in Kolkata, India. He is a fellow of ACG, AGA, ASGE and RCP (in Glasgow and London). He is the governor (India) of the American College of Gastroenterology. He also serves as the editor-in-chief for the Journal of Society of Gl Endoscopy of India.
Dr. Goenka’s enormous contribution to gastroenterology earned him numerous honors, including Sisco-Pentax oration by the Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India, the J. Mitra Award from the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Physicians of India, the IM Modi Award for Excellence in Medicine from the Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and the prestigious International Lectureship Award from ACG in 2020. Dr. Goenka has published more than 250 scientific articles and book chapters, and he is involved in collaborative works with institutes like Johns Hopkins and the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Goenka has been a medical teacher for the last 35 years, and he has been a mentor to both national board-enrolled students and short-term trainees from all over the world, including those in Europe, Africa, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the U.S. He is Convenor of Specialty Board of Medical Gastroenterology of India, thereby being instrumental in policy decisions of GI training in India. He has served as the national secretary and president of the Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India, and he was the president of Indian Society of Gastroenterology last year. He is an adjunct professor of gastroenterology at the Medical School of Wisconsin. Dr. Goenka has served on the International committees of ASGE and ACG. He was elected as the president of Asia-Pacific Digestive Week in 2019, and he organized the largest Asia-Pacific meeting of gastroenterology in 2019. He also serves on the Governing Council of the Asia Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE), and he is the chief editor of the periodical e-WGN from the World Gastroenterology Organization.
Overall, Dr. Goenka has made a difference in the medical field in general and gastroenterology and endoscopy in particular.