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We greatly appreciate the positive sentiments expressed by Drs Maria Abreu and Patrick Okolo pertaining to our commentary. We are delighted to learn that the AGA and ASGE are partnering to develop programs that highlight the career opportunities in gastroenterology to medical students and residents of underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds. Of note, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced an RFA (RFA-OD-10-013) “to encourage exceptionally creative individual scientists to develop highly innovative and possibly transforming approaches for promoting diversity within the biomedical research workforce” (available at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OD-10-013.html). The peer review for these grants will take place in July 2010.

Another consideration is to support local involvement of academic and community gastroenterologists in high schools to promote not only good health practices, but also gastroenterology and medicine as careers. This meshes well with the recent call by Dr Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, to “mak[e] sure that the kids in our communities get a solid science education and experience the excitement of what it means to be a scientist.” To that end, the NIH has created the NIH Science Education Nation web site (available at: http://science.education.nih.gov/nihsciednation). A joint effort by the GI societies to promote medicine and gastroenterology at high schools with a high percentage of URM enrollments may be another worthy investment to consider. We predict that many gastroenterologists would be willing to participate in such an important activity, particularly if it is well organized by a collective society effort. One can also imagine that it may attract donor financial support.

We thank our colleagues, Drs Abreu and Okolo, for their interest and enthusiasm.