AstraZeneca will provide a $1 million grant to the American Gastroenterological Association to continue the AGA-AstraZeneca GI Health Care Partnership. The partnership that began in 2000 underwrites new educational programs and funds continuing projects for the AGA's clinician and research constituencies.

The new grant will benefit clinicians by providing funding for three additional highly successful AGA GI Practice Management Skills Workshops in fall of 2002 and a one-year renewal of the monthly AGA Practice Management & Economics Newsletter, which appears in print and online.

Thanks to the grant, the AGA-AstraZeneca Fellowship/Faculty Transition Award program will continue through 2003. This award provides support for gastroenterology trainees so that they may gain additional research training in their field. Researchers will also benefit from an AGA Academic Skills Workshop with funds provided by the grant.

The partnership also will provide funding for several other projects: The AGA Spring Postgraduate Course CD-ROM and Audience Response System in 2003, AGA Invited Speaker lectures on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) on CD and online and two projects relating to IBD.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with AstraZeneca again this year," says AGA president Jon I. Isenberg, MD. "This partnership has been very successful in the last two years, and we hope to continue its success in the future."

Founded in 1897, the American Gastroenterological Association is one of the oldest medical specialty societies in the United States. Its members include physicians and scientists who research, diagnose and treat disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. Representing more than 12,000 gastroenterologists worldwide, the AGA serves as an advocate for its members and their patients, supports gastroenterology practice and scientific needs, and promotes the discovery, dissemination and application of new knowledge, leading to the prevention, treatment and cure of digestive and liver diseases.