Dr. Mark Bennett Pochapin obtained his M.D. from Cornell
University Medical College and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical
honor society. He served as Chief Medical Resident at The New York
Hospital / Cornell Medical Center after completing a fellowship in gastroenterology
at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. During
residency training, he received The Richard C. Bowman Award, in recognition
of “human warmth, scientific endeavor, and dedication to medicine,” and
The Housestaff Teaching Award. In 1998, he received The Elliot Hochstein
Teaching Award for “compassion, skill and distinction as a physician and
teacher” by vote of the graduating medical school class and the 1998 Humanism
in Medicine Award (NBI HealthCare Foundation). In addition, he has
been recognized with The Second Year Teaching Award (1996, 1998) and the
Cornell Medical College Senior List Award (1996, 1997, 1998). Presently,
Dr. Pochapin serves as Associate Chairman of Education Affairs, Assistant
Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program and as Director
of the Endoscopy Suite. He is an expert in EUS (endoscopic ultrasound)
which aids in early cancer diagnosis and staging for the pancreas, esophagus,
stomach and rectum. A frequent guest on the Today Show, Dr.
Pochapin has spoken on colon cancer and performed a colonoscopy on television.
He also participated in the Colorectal Cancer Initiative at the White House
in September 1998.
As principal investigator, Dr. Pochapin is currently
leading the TUMMY clinical trials (Trial Using Medicinal Microbiotic Yogurt),
which focuses on replacing and supporting the normal healthy bacteria in
the intestine with a probiotic, a nonpathogenic organism related to yogurt
cultures, called Lactobacillus GG (LGG), in order to help prevent Clostridum
Difficile diarrhea and its recurrence. Dr. Pochapin is also
the primary investigator of a study using a new COX-2 inhibitor (Celebrex)
to prevent colon polyps and cancer.
