Co-President
Ilayda Sen is an incoming senior who is majoring in Neuroscience, minoring in Spanish, and is on the pre-med track. She is the co-president of Conversations to Remember, a Student Leadership Advocate, and a Neuroscience Ambassador. In her free time, she enjoys conducting research, volunteering, playing tennis, and hiking!
Co-President
Aylah Khan is an incoming junior majoring in Neuroscience and is on the pre-med track. She is the co-president of Conversations to Remember. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, watching dramas, conducting research, and playing badminton!
Treasurer
Communications Chair
Social Media Chair
Advisor
Anita Afzali, MD, MPH, FACG
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Medical Director, OSU Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
Abercrombie & Fitch Endowed Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, OH
Anita Afzali, MD, MPH, FACG, is an Associate Professor of clinical medicine and a gastroenterologist that specializes in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Afzali is the Medical Director of the OSU Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and holds the Abercrombie & Fitch Endowed Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. She received her medical degree and completed her internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. While in fellowship, Dr. Afzali worked in outcomes research and epidemiology and graduated with a master’s degree in public health (MPH). Her subspecialty training includes a 1-year advanced IBD fellowship at the University of Washington, prior to becoming faculty at the University of Washington – Harborview Medical Center, where she served as Director of the IBD program and Associate Medical Director of the gastroenterology clinics. She is currently pursuing another master’s degree at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to obtain a Master’s in Healthcare Management (MHCM).
Dr. Afzali’s research interests include clinical outcomes and association of bowel and joint disease, the influence of the metabolic syndrome, and impact of race/ethnicity in IBD, as well as pharmacoeconomics, pediatric-to-adult transition, and women of childbearing age with IBD. She is extensively involved in IBD clinical trials research and OSU site principal investigator in nearly 30 clinical trials. Dr. Afzali has extensive peer-reviewed publications and invited lecturer of national and international programs. She serves on several advisory boards and committees, including co-Chair of the Crohn’s & Colitis National Professional Education Committee, Board Member of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation – Central Ohio, Board Member of the Ohio Gastroenterology Society as well as Member of the Oversight Committee for Promoting Access and Care Through Centres of Excellence (PACE) program for Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. Dr. Afzali is also a member of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Minority Affairs and Cultural Diversity Committee and ACG Education Committee.
She serves as the Associate Editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, Associate Editor of the Current Treatments Options in Gastroenterology Journal, and the Co-Editor of the World Gastroenterology Organization quarterly newsletter, e-WGN.