Page 18 - Revista FRONTAL Edição Especial iMed 12.0

SCIENTIFIC LECTURES

PROFESSOR LUÍS NOVAIS MD

CHAIRMAN

AUTHOR
PEDRO VILÃO SILVA

Professor Luís Novais, MD, is an Affili-
ated Professor at NOVA Medical School |
Faculdade de Ciências Médicas - Univer-
sidade Nova de Lisboa (NMS | FCM) and a
councillor to the Steering Committee of
the European Society of Neurogastroenter-
ology and Motility, in addition to research-
ing at the LNMD - Neurogastroenterology
and Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory
of NMS | FCM and being a practising Gas-
troenterologist. During his career, he has
worked closely with motility disorders of
the gastrointestinal tract, having done
extensive research on gastroesophageal
reflux disease (GERD), achalasia and oth-
er disturbances of esophageal motility, as
well as practical methods for diagnosing
and identifying these problems. tuguese Gastroenterology Society and the also got experience with multidisciplinary
Dr Novais completed his undergrad- Portuguese Digestive Endoscopy Society, work, having cooperated with cardiologists
uate studies in 1974, graduating from the among others. at Instituto do Coração to help influence
Medical College of Lisbon University. Fur- Notably, Dr Novais was also a mem- treatment and provide better and more in-
thermore, he was certified as a specialist ber of the Organising Committee and the depth care to cardiac patients, and to help
in Gastroenterology by the Portuguese Chair of the Local Organising Committee differentiate cardiac causes of chest pain
Medical Association in 1983. His career has for ESNM’s 4th Biennial Meeting and Post- from digestive causes.
spanned both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, graduate Course on Gastrointestinal Mo- Indeed, the field of neurogastroenter-
having worked not only at hospitals such tility, NeuroGASTRO 2019, held in Lisbon, ology is one which merits a closer look.
as Santa Maria Hospital, in Portugal, and Portugal. It is also noteworthy to point out As an advancing field of study in clinical
at the Section of Gastroenterology of Bow- that he is a member of the Centre of Neu- gastroenterology, research on the enteric
man Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Sa- rogastroenterology and Digestive Motility nervous system, its relation to somatomo-
lem, North Carolina (now-called Wake of the Portuguese Gastroenterology So- tor systems, the gut microbiota and even
Forest School of Medicine), but also having ciety, and was its president from 2007 to factors like psychological disturbances or
been a Gastroenterology Coordinator at 2009. In addition, he is currently a member alimentary choices has been able to give
Instituto do Coração, Carnaxide, Portugal, of the general assembly of Anemia Work- physicians, scientists and patients alike
since its inception in 1988, until 2018. In his ing Group Portugal. a new understanding of digestive motili-
work as Affiliated Professor at NMS | FCM, Dr Novais’s work in the field of neu- ty and its disturbances. In fact, this fertile
Dr Novais teaches classes on Pathophysi- rogastroenterology and gastrointestinal field has started to bring us answers to
ology to undergraduate medical students. motility has focused on the monitoring of some of gastroenterologists’ most pressing
He has also always been an active gastrointestinal tract functionality in order questions with regards to such originally
participant in various scientific societies, to provide patients with comfortable, ad- nebulous entities as “dysphagia” or “gastro-
such as the European Society of Neuro- equate and accurate diagnosis and stage esophageal reflux”. Scientific investigation
gastroenterology and Motility (ESNM, of their disorders. Indeed, he has written book in this field shows great promise, with the
whose Steering Committee he is a part chapters and published several peer-re- official journal of ESNM and ANMS steadily
of), the American Neurogastroenterology viewed articles on subjects ranging from receiving more and more submissions with
and Motility Society (ANMS), the Ameri- gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) every passing year.
can College of Gastroenterology, the Por- to pelvic floor dyssynergia. Dr Novais has

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