Meet Dr. Barbara Jung

Dr. Jung

About Dr. Jung

Dr. Jung is a practicing gastroenterologist with expertise in gastrointestinal diseases and has a clinical focus in hereditary GI diseases. Dr. Jung’s research interests include both clinical and basic GI approaches, and she has a strong record of fostering collaboration between basic, translational and clinical research. Her laboratory centers on TGFβ and activin A signaling in a variety of GI diseases including colorectal cancer, pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Understanding the changes in pro-metastatic cell signaling pathways in colorectal and pancreatic cancer is critical to the development of new therapeutic approaches and for the development of individualized treatment regimens. Dr. Jung is an academician at heart and passionate about leading with empathy and through the empowerment of others. She is dedicated to training the next generation of diverse clinicians, educators, scientists and leaders. Dr. Jung has been funded numerous times by the NIH and the Department of Defense and has over 67 original research papers and reviews articles that have been cited many times in high impact journals such as Gastroenterology, Gut, and Scientific Reports.

Her research interests are:

Colorectal cancer
Mechanisms of tumor progression
Molecular pathology
Activin A signaling and tumor progression
Chemoprevention of colorectal cancer
Tumor genetics and clinical outcomes
Acute pancreatitis
Spontaneous premature birth
Gestational diabetes

Awards & Honors

02/24 Association of Professors of Medicine (APM) Council
05/23 American Gastroenterologists Association (AGA) President
05/22 AGA Vice President
06/22 Burton Shatz Invited Lecturer, Washington University, MO
01/22 Rustgi Visiting Professorship, University of Pennsylvania
10/21 Fred B Thomas Memorial Lecturer, Ohio State
03/21 AGA Vice President-Elect
09/19 Robert G. Petersdorf Endowed Chair in Medicine
05/19 Nominated for President’s Executive Leadership Program (PELP)
11/18 Invited participant at World Executive Forum – Healthcare Systems
10/16 Thomas J. Layden Endowed Professorship
03/16 Selected as UIC Healthy City Collaborative Researcher of the Month
10/16 Hugh Butts Professorship, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
04/15 College of Medicine Team Member Servant Leadership Award, UIC
02/15 Selected Participant in AGA Women’s Leadership Conference
12/12 AGA Fellow
07/11 AGA/Medscape CME Section Editor
06/11 Pritzker-Innovation/Development/Progress Scholar
03/11 Selected Participant in Kellogg School of Management Course for University Leaders
05/10 Invited Roundtable Discussant, AGA Women’s luncheon, DDW 2010, New Orleans, LA
09/07 Invited participant, German Academic International Network (GAIN), September 2007, San Francisco, CA
07/06-06/07 Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award (UCSD Division of Gastroenterology)
04/06 San Diego Padres “Medical All Star”
07/05-06/10 Recipient of NIH-K08 Award
09/04 Selected participant in the 3rd Japan GRG/AGA Symposium in Kanagawa, Japan.
04/04 Selected participant in the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) Young Investigator Conference in Huntington Beach, CA
03/04 Selected participant in the “Academic Skills Workshop: Training and Academic Opportunities for Junior Faculty and Trainees in Gastroenterology” organized by the AGA in Washington, DC.
11/03 Merit Award to attend the 2004 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium organized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and AGA.
05/03 GRG travel award for DDW.
03/03 Selected participant in the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) Young Investigator Conference in Phoenix, AZ.
06/02 Selected participant in the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) National Fellows Forum in Vail, CO.
01/01 AGA fellowship to participate in Keystone Symposia “The Molecular Medicine of Colorectal Cancer.”
02/98 American Cancer Society (ACS) fellowship alternate.
06/97 Invited participant in the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) workshop “Molecular Biology in Clinical Oncology” in Aspen, CO.