Taiwan: A CMGH Champion!

Figure 1. Professor Chiu and members of TASSID. Ithat Taiwan ranked fifth among non-US countries in terms of numbers of submissions. This makes Taiwan first among all countries, including the United States, on a per capita basis. We greatly appreciate the support of the vibrant gastrointestinal research community in Taiwan. We also recently learned that, similar to Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, an academic gastrointestinal organization in Taiwan completed its first year earlier in 2015. The Taiwan Association for the Study of Small Intestinal Diseases (TASSID) was officially founded on March 9, 2014, in Taipei, with Cheng-Tang Chiu, MD, as the first President (Figure 1). The Association grew from the Taiwan Small Intestinal Study Club, which existed from 2006 to 2014, and grew into a 100-person group of passionate gastroenterology physicians, researchers, and dietitians, who are dedicated to the advancement of small intestinal medicine in Taiwan. As a nonprofit academic organization, TASSID embraces the mission to enhance the quality of patient care, to train young fellows, to promote high-quality research in small intestinal diseases, and to develop friendship through regular convention and education programs. TASSID also serves as a platform to facilitate communication and collaboration with international experts and societies. TASSID has organized multicenter clinical studies in small intestinal medicine in Taiwan and published an English version “Atlas of Small Intestinal Disorders: Integrated Case Presentation” in 2014. TASSID is now organizing the first Asian Pacific Inflammatory Bowel Disease Single-Topic Forum on the topic of tight junctions in the diagnosis and treatment of