Dr. Edward Loftus is a world-renowned gastroenterologist and leading authority in inflammatory bowel diseases with extensive experience as both clinician and researcher. He currently serves as the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Professor of Gastroenterology Specifically in IBD at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester, Minnesota, where he also holds a professorship in medicine and co-directs the Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease Fellowship program. After earning his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he completed his internal medicine residency at Temple University Health Sciences Center and served as a general medical officer in the Indian Health Service before undertaking his gastroenterology fellowship at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. Dr. Loftus has been a member of the Mayo Clinic consulting staff since 1995 and served as Director of the IBD Interest Group at Mayo Rochester from 2008 to 2019, establishing himself as a pivotal figure in the field of IBD research and treatment.
Dr. Loftus has made seminal contributions to understanding the epidemiology and natural history of inflammatory bowel diseases through his development and characterization of the Olmsted County population-based cohort of patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease between 1940 and 2019. His rigorous research has yielded over 500 peer-reviewed original articles and more than 750 abstracts that have significantly advanced knowledge of IBD risk factors, complications, and outcomes across diverse patient populations. As principal investigator on numerous funded studies, he has systematically investigated the epidemiology of IBD, including risks of lymphoma, cardiovascular conditions, and fractures, as well as the impact of obesity and complications in Crohn's disease. Dr. Loftus has also played a critical role in therapeutic advancement, participating in multiple phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials for novel IBD treatments and serving as local principal investigator for numerous clinical trials of investigational agents.
Beyond his research achievements, Dr. Loftus has received prestigious recognition including the American Gastroenterological Association's Distinguished Clinician Award and the Research Mentor Award from the Immunology, Microbiology & Inflammatory Bowel Diseases section in 2019, alongside the Mayo Department of Medicine Outstanding Mentorship in Research Award. He serves on the steering committees of several clinical development programs in IBD and has held significant editorial positions, including Associate Editor for Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology since 2022, following previous editorial roles with The American Journal of Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. A dedicated educator, he was named Teacher of the Year by Mayo gastroenterology fellows in 2010-2011 and has mentored numerous trainees who have gone on to successful careers in gastroenterology. Dr. Loftus continues to influence the field through his ongoing research into the epidemiology of IBD and participation in cutting-edge clinical trials, maintaining his position at the forefront of advancing understanding and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
