Jürgen Schölmerich is Director of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Regensburg. Previous positions include Medical Director of the University Medical Centre of Regensburg and Visiting Professor at the University of California, San Diego. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Nature Clinical Practice: Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and has been a member of the Editorial Board of various other journals, including Gastroenterology, Digestive Diseases and Inflammatory Bowel Disease; he was also Associate Editor of Gut from 2002 to 2005. Dr Schölmerich is Chairman of the International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD). His publications include over 590 original papers and case reports, 63 monographs and chapters and 400 reviews, editorials and lectures. He received his MD and PhD from the University of Freiburg, and is board-certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology and intensive care medicine for internal medicine.