Dr. Douglas Drossman, founder and president of the Rome Foundation for almost 3 decades stepped down May 2019 to shift his focus towards educational and creative pursuits, including teaching.

At the annual Rome Foundation event, Digestive Diseases Week, Dr. Drossman was honored for thirty years of service. While no longer president, Drossman will stay on with the Board of Directors, and continue as President Emeritus and Chief of Operations for the foundation.

Projects of interest to Drossman include teaching communication skills to enhance the patient-provider relationship and developing new educational resources including books, online programs and intelligent software.