IBD Qorus: Leadership Team
The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation has the distinct privilege of working with the finest experts in the field of IBD in order to fulfill our mission of curing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and improving the quality of life of children and adults affected by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Alan Moss, MD
Chief Scientific Officer, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
Dr. Moss is a clinician-scientist who has focused his career on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. As the Foundation's Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Moss is responsible for all mission-related activities, including research efforts and patient and provider support and education programs. His prior roles include serving as the Director of the Crohn’s & Colitis Program at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Professor of Medicine at Boston University (BU). In his clinical practice, Dr. Moss has cared for IBD patients from underserved, immigrant, and unhoused populations.
Prior to his time at BMC and BU, Dr. Moss was an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an IBD physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) where he was also the Director of Translational Research. Dr. Moss also spent time as an Associate Investigator at both Mass General Hospital and MIT. He received his medical education and training in Ireland before coming to the U.S. for fellowship at BIDMC.
Previously, Dr. Moss has collaborated with the Foundation in several capacities, including as the Deputy Editor of Crohn's & Colitis 360, the Foundation’s open-access online journal. He also served on the Foundation’s Professional Education Committee within the National Scientific Advisory Committee, and on the New England Chapter Advocacy Committee. His research, some of which has been funded by the Foundation, spans microbial therapeutics, mucosal immunology, and clinical outcomes. Dr. Moss has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles.
Gil Y. Melmed, MD, MS
Co-Chair of IBD Qorus
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Dr. Melmed is the Co-Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, and Master’s of Science in clinical research from UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Melmed has authored or coauthored more than 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals and several book chapters. Dr Melmed has served as Associate Editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, and clinical research editor for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. His research interests include clinical outcomes and quality of care in IBD, as well as translational prognostic and therapeutic strategies to improve inflammation and clinical outcomes. He has lectured nationally and internationally on various topics related to inflammatory bowel disease. He is a current or past committee member of several professional organizations, including the American Gastroenterology Association, American College of Gastroenterology and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, where he serves as co-chair of the IBD Quality of Care committee. He has led or participated in the development of quality indicators for IBD with the American Gastroenterology Association, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, the National Quality Forum, and the Canadian Crohn’s and Colitis organizations.
Corey A. Siegel, MD, MS
Co-Chair of IBD Qorus
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Dr. Siegel is the Section Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Co-Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He is a Professor of Medicine and of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts and completed his residency in internal medicine at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He completed a fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Siegel’s research interests include understanding risk/benefit tradeoffs in IBD, developing models to predict outcomes in Crohn’s disease, creating tools to facilitate shared decision making, expanding telemedicine services to patients with IBD living in rural locations, and improving the quality of care delivered to patients with IBD. He has been funded by the NIH, AHRQ, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, and the Helmsley Charitable Trust for this work. He has lectured nationally and internationally and published numerous journal articles and book chapters on this and other topics in IBD. Dr. Siegel is the founder of the BRIDGe group, an international research collaborative of IBD investigators. He has served as the co-chair of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Professional Education Committee, and is currently the co-chair of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Quality of Care Program (IBD Qorus). Dr. Siegel was inducted into the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD) in 2013.
S. Alandra Weaver, MPH
Associate Vice President, Clinical Quality and Research Innovation
Alandra Weaver is the Associate Vice President of Clinical Quality and Research Innovation at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. In this role, she established and led the development of IBD Qorus, the Foundation’s national quality of care program designed to improve outcomes for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. More recently, she has led a nationwide expansion effort aimed at growing IBD Qorus from 30 to 60 participating sites. In addition to leading IBD Qorus, Alandra oversees the strategic planning and organization of the Foundation’s clinical research networks.
Alandra holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the Hunter College School of Urban Public Health in New York City.
James Testaverde, MPA
Senior Director, IBD Qorus Implementation
James Testaverde re-joined the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation in March 2021 as Senior Director of IBD Qorus Implementation. In this role he is responsible for overseeing the implementation of clinical best practices that drive higher quality of care at participating IBD Qorus sites. Prior to this role, he served as the Foundation’s Senior Director of Patient Education and Support for more than five years. James has 20 years of experience creating, managing, and evaluating public health initiatives focused on patient education, patient support, and healthcare provider education across a variety of medical conditions, including HIV/AIDS, lymphoma, and inflammatory bowel disease.
James holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Binghamton University in New York State, and a Master’s of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management from Baruch College in New York City.
Ridhima Oberai
Senior Manager, IBD Qorus Clinical Operations
Ridhima Oberai joined the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation in October 2015 as Coordinator of IBD Qorus. Prior to joining the Foundation, Ridhima spent over three years on clinical trial coordination in areas such as hypertension, diabetes, sleep and dementia. In her current role, Ridhima is managing and evaluating program related activities with a focus on streamlining and efficiency. In particular, she is supporting the infrastructure for data collection and working on the operational activities that are involved within the program. She remains 100% dedicated to the goals set forth for the success of IBD Qorus and is always looking for ways to improve the quality of care for patients with IBD.
Ridhima holds a Bachelors of Science in Biology with a minor in Psychology from Syracuse University in upstate New York.
Laura Lohnes
Senior Research Coordinator, Regulatory and Business Engagement
Laura joined the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation in March 2021 as a Research Coordinator of Regulatory and Business Engagement. In this role, she serves as a liaison between sites and the IBD Qorus Leadership team. Before joining the Foundation, Laura spent nearly five years coordinating research studies in the Department of Neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is a Certified Clinical Research Professional through the Society of Clinical Research Associates and holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the College of Charleston.
Taylor Weyers
Research Coordinator, Program Engagement
Taylor joined the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation in February of 2023 as a Research Coordinator of Program Engagement. In this role, she is primarily focused on disseminating IBD Qorus program impact, identifying ways to bolster site engagement, and recruiting new sites. Prior to joining the Foundation, Taylor spent four years in management consulting where she conducted project-centric support for professional service clients. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing with a minor in Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship from Montana State University.