Medical student Kevin Cofer presents at the 2017 Academic Surgical Congress.Congrats to Kevin Cofer, a rising third-year medical student at UAB, for receiving an American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons Medical Student Research Initiation Grant for his research pertaining to ERAS— enhanced recovery after surgery, a perioperative surgical protocol. Cofer will work with the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery’s Daniel Chu, M.D., to study the effects of ERAS on surgery outcomes for black patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

“The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease is growing among the African-American population and disparities in surgical outcomes are emerging,” Cofer said. “The hope is that this study could lead to further development and adoption of improved care models for African-American patients who suffer from IBD.”