Yehuda Ringel, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Clinical Services-Functional GI / Motility
Coordinator, Brain Imaging Research Project
Clinical Trials in Functional GI Disorders
Dr. Ringel received his medical degree at the Technion -- The Israeli Institute of Technology. He completed his training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at Tel-Aviv Medical Center, and earned a Masters degree in Internal Medicine from Tel-Aviv University, where he served as a faculty member until coming to the United States. He completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the UNC Center under the mentorship of Drs. Drossman and Whitehead and has been a faculty member at UNC for the past five years.
Dr. Ringel is experienced in the theories and methodologies involved in research related to functional GI disorders, including the design and conduct of clinical trials, use of advanced GI physiology and motility research techniques, validating psychosocial research tools, and functional brain imaging. He has expanded the Center’s research and educational activities in GI tract sensation (e.g., visceral hypersensitivity) focused on physiological and psychological mechanisms in functional GI disorders. Dr. Drossman and he are leading a brain imaging project, which is looking at the role of the central nervous system in intestinal sensation and functional GI disorders using advanced imaging techniques with positron emission tomography (PET) and functional MRI (fMRI). Dr. Ringel is also investigating the effect of various physiological (intestinal smooth muscle tone/compliance, autonomic nervous system activity) and psychosocial (history of abuse) factors in upper and lower GI tract sensation, and he is involved in the design, evaluation and conduct of clinical trials evaluating new drugs and treatment approaches for functional GI disorders.
Over the last two years, Dr. Ringel has developed an independent interdisciplinary translational research project investigating the role of intestinal bacteria, inflammation and genetics in the pathophysiology of IBS. In this project, he is collaborating with other investigators at UNC, including Drs. Balfour Sartor and Young-Hyo Chang, as well as Dr. Todd Klaenhammer from the NCSU Departments of Microbiology, Genetics, and Food Science. Other areas of research interest include: (1) epidemiology of FGIDs, (2) mechanism of GI physiological responses to pain, and (3) design and evaluation of clinical trials. Dr. Ringel mentors medical students, residents and fellows on various research and writing projects.
Dr. Ringel’s research work has been recognized through the awards he has received, including: AGA/Solvay Award for Clinical Research in IBS/Motility awarded by the Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition; ACG Junior Faculty Development Award; and the Young Investigator Award of the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group (FBG). In 2005, he received a K-12 award for a project entitled “The Role of Intestinal Inflammation in the Pathophysiology of Functional GI Disorders”. He has also received a UNC Center seed grant for a project entitled “The association between intestinal microflora and mucosal inflammation and immune activation in patients with IBS–a pilot study”.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Clinical Services-Functional GI / Motility
Coordinator, Brain Imaging Research Project
Clinical Trials in Functional GI Disorders
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Dr. Ringel is experienced in the theories and methodologies involved in research related to functional GI disorders, including the design and conduct of clinical trials, use of advanced GI physiology and motility research techniques, validating psychosocial research tools, and functional brain imaging. He has expanded the Center’s research and educational activities in GI tract sensation (e.g., visceral hypersensitivity) focused on physiological and psychological mechanisms in functional GI disorders. Dr. Drossman and he are leading a brain imaging project, which is looking at the role of the central nervous system in intestinal sensation and functional GI disorders using advanced imaging techniques with positron emission tomography (PET) and functional MRI (fMRI). Dr. Ringel is also investigating the effect of various physiological (intestinal smooth muscle tone/compliance, autonomic nervous system activity) and psychosocial (history of abuse) factors in upper and lower GI tract sensation, and he is involved in the design, evaluation and conduct of clinical trials evaluating new drugs and treatment approaches for functional GI disorders.
Over the last two years, Dr. Ringel has developed an independent interdisciplinary translational research project investigating the role of intestinal bacteria, inflammation and genetics in the pathophysiology of IBS. In this project, he is collaborating with other investigators at UNC, including Drs. Balfour Sartor and Young-Hyo Chang, as well as Dr. Todd Klaenhammer from the NCSU Departments of Microbiology, Genetics, and Food Science. Other areas of research interest include: (1) epidemiology of FGIDs, (2) mechanism of GI physiological responses to pain, and (3) design and evaluation of clinical trials. Dr. Ringel mentors medical students, residents and fellows on various research and writing projects.
Dr. Ringel’s research work has been recognized through the awards he has received, including: AGA/Solvay Award for Clinical Research in IBS/Motility awarded by the Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition; ACG Junior Faculty Development Award; and the Young Investigator Award of the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group (FBG). In 2005, he received a K-12 award for a project entitled “The Role of Intestinal Inflammation in the Pathophysiology of Functional GI Disorders”. He has also received a UNC Center seed grant for a project entitled “The association between intestinal microflora and mucosal inflammation and immune activation in patients with IBS–a pilot study”.
