Dr. Anthony J. DiMarino, Jr. , is the William Rorer Professor and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical College.  Dr. DiMarino was born and raised in Southern New Jersey, the son of a prominent physician in Southern New Jersey. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from Hahnemann Medical College, where he was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Society. He completed his internal medicine residency and fellowship in gastroenterology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and served on its full-time faculty after training. From 1986 to 1996, Dr. DiMarino served as the Chief of Gastroenterology and Director of the Gastrointestinal Institute at Presbyterian/University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, as well as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In April of 1996, Dr. DiMarino was named the William Rorer Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Jefferson.

Dr. DiMarino is the author of over eighty original papers.  As the lead author his papers have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation, The American Journal of Physiology, Gastroenterology, The American Journal of Gastroenterology, and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Dr. DiMarino is editor-in-chief, along with Stanley Benjamin, M.D., (Chief of Gastroenterology at Georgetown University), of Gastrointestinal Disease: An Endoscopic Approach, an original two-volume textbook which is currently in its second edition.   

Considered a preeminent consultative gastroenterologist, Dr. DiMarino has been honored previously as “Physician of the Year” by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Crohn’s Colitis Foundation of America and as a “Top Doc” in Philadelphia Magazine in 1991 through 2006. In 2006, Dr. DiMarino received the largest number of nominations from a poll of 2,000 physicians in the Delaware Valley Consumer’s Check Book magazine. In 2006, he was named by Castle and Connolly as one of America’s “Best Doctors”.

Dr. DiMarino’s research interests have primarily been in the area of esophageal, gastric and small intestinal motility, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and the safety of gastrointestinal endoscopy. He is the author of the “White Paper”, which is currently still in use as the standard for reprocessing endoscopic gastrointestinal instruments to protect patient safety between patient procedures.

Dr. Robert Coben (Assistant Professor of Medicine) graduated from Bowdoin College magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1981.  In 1985, he graduated from Temple University Medical School and completed an Internal Medicine Residency at the Medical College of Pennsylvania where he was Chief Medical Resident in 1989, and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha.  Dr. Coben completed his gastroenterology fellowship and advanced interventional endoscopy training in 1991 at Presbyterian/University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.  Prior to the completion of his training, Dr. Coben won the Simon A. Komarov Prize for excellence in gastrointestinal research.  From 1992 to 1996, Dr. Coben held the position of Academic Coordinator of the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program at Presbyterian /University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.

Since joining the Jefferson faculty in 1996, Dr. Coben has held the position of Academic Coordinator of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship Program and has been an integral teacher in the interventional endoscopy training program.  He has been awarded the Gastroenterology Fellow’s Teaching Award and most recently the Dean’s Citation for significant contributions to the advancement of education at Jefferson Medical College.  Dr. Coben is a past President of the Philadelphia Gastroenterology Training Group and is currently the President of the Gastroenterology Research forum.

Dr. Coben’s clinical/research interests and publications include management of benign and malignant gastrointestinal tumors.  He has particular interest in hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies, with expertise in interventional endoscopy having performed over 2000 pancreaticobiliary endoscopies (ERCP) and more than 2500 endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) procedure

Dr. Mitchell Conn, MBA , is a graduate of the NYU Medical School class of 1980.  He completed a three year internal medical residency at North Shore University Hospital/Memorial Sloan Kettering in 1983 and specialty training in Gastroenterology at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia in 1985.  He was a Henry L. Bockus Fellow in 1986 focusing on research in experimental pancreatitis in mice.  From 1986-1987 he spent a year at the Middlesex Hospital in London England, developing expertise in therapeutic pancreaticobiliary endoscopy under the guidance of Dr. Peter B. Cotton.  From 1987 to 1991 Dr. Conn was a member of the full time faculty at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City.  In addition to being one of the primary pancreaticobiliary endoscopists at Mt. Sinai, he also served as the Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program from 1989 to 1991.  From 1991 to 1996 Dr. Conn was a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and served as the Chief of Endoscopy at Presbyterian Hospital/University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.  Dr. Conn joined Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1996 as an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.  He presently serves as the Director of Endoscopic Training for the Fellowship Program.  Dr. Conn has performed over 2500 pancreaticobiliary endoscopies, including biliary manometry.  His major interests have been in the endoscopic management of biliary obstruction, biliary dyskinesia/sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and biliary complications post liver transplant.  Dr. Conn has co-authored several publications involving endoscopic technology and has been a section editor for one of the definitive endoscopic textbooks.  Dr. Conn recently received an MBA degree in healthcare from Temple University and has a special interest in the economic impact of new medical technology.  Dr. Conn has served on many local and national committees, and is presently the President of the Delaware Valley Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.     

Dr. Anthony Infantolino , (Associate Professor of Medicine) is the Clinical Director of Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) and Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), Co-Director of the Jefferson Gastrointestinal Bleeding Center and CME (Continuing Medical Education) coordinator, for the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He received his medical degree from UMDNJ (University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) in 1985. He completed his Residency training in Internal Medicine at Jefferson in 1988 and his gastroenterology training at The Graduate Hospital, which was affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, in 1990. There he became Chief of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and received advanced training at the University of Indiana with Robert Hawes, M.D. a pioneer in the development of EUS at the University of Indiana. Dr Infantolino was one of the first to perform this procedure in Philadelphia and has performed over 4000 EUS procedures since 1993. He was recruited to the GI faculty at Jefferson in 1998. Dr Infantolino has special interest in GI cancer staging utilizing EUS with fine needle aspiration (FNA) for pancreatic and biliary cancers. He has research interests in pancreatic cyst and cystic neoplasms of the pancreas utilizing DNA analysis of the fluid to help predict risk for cancer. He has additional interest in Barrett’s esophagus and gastrointestinal bleeding. He has been a Philadelphia “Top Doc” and is recognized as one of America’s “Top Physicians” by the consumer research council and one of “The Best Doctors in America”.

Dr. Thomas E. Kowalski , is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Medical Director of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy at Thomas Jefferson University. 

Dr. Kowalski completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction.  Dr. Kowalski received his M.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha and graduated Summa Cum Laude.  Dr. Kowalski performed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and completed his Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Kowalski went on to complete additional fellowship training at the University of Pennsylvania in advanced endoscopic procedures. 

Dr. Kowalski’s interests are diseases of the pancreas, diseases of the bile ducts, gastrointestinal oncology, and advanced endoscopic procedures.  Dr. Kowalski’s procedural expertise focuses primarily on ERCP and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS).  Dr. Kowalski has more than 60 publications in his fields of interest.  He is a co-editor of the textbook Gastrointestinal Disease: An Endoscopic Approach and a reviewer for the journals Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.  Dr. Kowalski has been named Top Doc by Philadelphia Magazine and has been selected for inclusion in Best Doctors in America and Who’s Who in America.  Dr. Kowalski travels nationally teaching and lecturing on pancreatic diseases and advanced endoscopic procedures.

Dr. David Loren (Assistant Professor of Medicine) graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine.  He completed his internal medicine training at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Loren then pursued an additional year of pancreaticobiliary and interventional endoscopy training at Thomas Jefferson University. Subsequently, Dr. Loren joined the faculty of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Thomas Jefferson University, where he is the Director of Endoscopic Research.

Dr. Loren has a dedicated interest in the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal malignancies including cancers of the pancreas, bile ducts, esophagus, stomach and colon. He works with families who carry genes predisposing to the development of these cancers. His procedural expertise encompasses endoscopic ultrasound, ERCP, mucosal resection, and mucosal ablative therapies.