Michael R. Gold, MD

Garth R. Swanson, MD, MS, AGAF, is a Professor of Medicine and currently serves as the Division Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He is a practicing gastroenterologist and physician-scientist with a specialty in managing complex patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Swanson's overall translational research program is primarily focused on the impact of environmental factors, like alcohol or circadian misalignment, on the gastrointestinal barrier homeostasis, gut-derived inflammation, and the microbiome. He completed a K23 grant in which the focus was the interaction between alcohol consumption and circadian disruption on intestinal barrier function in alcoholics and night shift workers. Dr. Swanson currently has two R01s examining the impact of circadian misalignment and chronotherapy in Inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Swanson is an active mentor to residents, fellows, masters, and Ph.D. students who rotate in his lab. Dr. Swanson was instrumental in establishing the Rush Crohn's and Colitis Center at RUMC in 2018, which includes the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Multidisciplinary (IBD) Clinic, which he used to Co-Direct with Surgery and multidisciplinary (combined medical and surgical) inpatient consults in IBD service. The establishment of this multidisciplinary clinic in Inflammatory Bowel Disease has helped advance state-of-the-art and cutting-edge treatments in a coordinated care center for patients facing a complex medical and surgical disease. He completed a Master's in Clinical Research at Rush University, was formally the Director of the Rush Crohn's & Colitis Center, the Director of the Clinical Chronobiology Unit and the Associate Director of the Rush Center for Integrated Microbiome and Chronobiology Research at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL.

Dr. Balachandran is a board certified cardiologist. She specializes in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. She was born in Lincolnshire, England and moved to Connecticut, where her family still lives. She pursued a Bachelors in Science at Boston University in Human Physiology, and completed her Doctor of Medicine at the University of Connecticut. She completed her Internal Medicine training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital. She moved to Houston Texas, to the Texas Heart Institute for her general cardiology training, and finally to Los Angeles, CA at Cedars Sinai Medical Center for her advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology training. As a member of the American College of Cardiology and the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, Dr. Balachandran contributes to medical research and has published numerous papers. Dr. Balachandran welcomes new patients and referrals.

Dr. Alexander J. Podboy is a board-certified gastroenterologist and interventional endoscopist at MUSC Health. He completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, followed by a gastroenterology fellowship at Stanford University and an advanced endoscopy fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Through this training, he developed expertise in complex therapeutic endoscopy, motility disorders of the esophagus and stomach, and minimally invasive endobariatric procedures. Dr. Podboy cares for adult patients with a wide range of gastrointestinal and pancreatobiliary conditions, including achalasia, esophageal motility disorders, gastroparesis, complex strictures, gastric outlet obstruction, and diseases of the pancreas and bile ducts. He specializes in advanced minimally invasive procedures such as POEM and G-POEM for motility disorders, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty and revision of prior bariatric surgery, ERCP, cholangioscopy, EUS, and advanced techniques for removing precancerous or early cancerous tissue. He has a particular interest in achalasia, foregut motility disorders, and complex pancreatic and biliary disease. His care approach emphasizes minimally invasive treatment options and individualized plans tailored to each patient's needs. Before joining MUSC, Dr. Podboy was on faculty at the University of Virginia, where he helped develop multidisciplinary programs in advanced endoscopy, bariatric endoscopy, and esophageal motility care. His ongoing research aims to better understand the immune mechanisms that drive achalasia and gastroparesis, using advanced tools such as single-cell sequencing and machine-learning models to improve diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Podboy remains committed to providing high-quality, patient-centered care supported by a collaborative team of specialists dedicated to achieving the best outcomes for individuals with complex gastrointestinal conditions.