A Night of Magic Raises $395,000 for IBD Care

From left to right: Dr. Peter Lakatos, Ryan Abrams, Marcy Seidman, Matthew Stotland, Stephanie Riddell, Dr. Alain Bitton

Magic and mind games reigned at A Night of Magic, the annual fundraising event of the McGill IBD Research Group in partnership with the Montreal General Hospital Foundation (MGHF). This entertaining evening took place at Porsche Prestige, where magicians and mentalists mingled with the crowd for tricks and illusions.

Thanks to our generous donors, the event raised $395,000 – surpassing its fundraising goal. These funds will support patient care at the IBD clinics of three McGill University Heath Centre (MUHC) teaching hospitals: the MUHC IBD Centre at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH), and the IBD clinics at the Montreal Children’s and Jewish General Hospitals.

Dr. Alain Bitton is honoured with the Dr. Ernest Seidman Award in IBD Excellence

Dr. Alain Bitton addresses the crowd upon being honoured with the Dr. Ernest Seidman Award in IBD Excellence.

This year’s recipient of the Dr. Ernest Seidman Award in IBD Excellence is Dr. Alain Bitton, Director of the McGill Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and one of the forces behind the MUHC’s IBD Centre at the MGH, who spoke at the event. Dr. Peter Lakatos, Director of the IBD Centre, presented Dr. Bitton with this prestigious award.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Alain Bitton is the recipient of the prestigious Dr. Ernest Seidman Award in IBD Excellence this year,” says Stephanie Riddell, President & CEO of the MGHF. “Dr. Bitton is truly an exemplary clinician-scientist with an empathic, patient centered approach, treating and following-up his patients with this chronic condition for many decades, caring for them as extended family, which aligns with our Foundation’s commitment to proudly support transformative patient care.”

Caring for patients like extended family

Dr. Bitton has always been driven to establish optimized and standardized care in view of improving the health of IBD patients. One of his proudest achievements is championing the creation of the (MUHC) IBD Centre, which physically and conceptually links clinical care with research and academia. He has conducted population-based studies describing the epidemiology of IBD in Quebec as well as identifying prognostic factors predictive of IBD course and recurrence, among many other invaluable contributions. His focus on producing and cultivating state-of-the-art research and teaching, while spearheading a cutting-edge environment of superior clinical IBD care, has led to his recognition as a leader in the field.

“My research also focused on assessing the impact of psychosocial well-being on the disease,” he explains. “Teaching and mentoring have been a constant in my professional life,  promoting the health sciences through my students. I have had the rewarding experience of mentoring junior staff who have trained at leading institutions around the world.”

Every year, the McGill IBD Research Group Committee of volunteers (Matthew Stotland and Ryan Abrams are committee co-presidents), collaborates with our Montreal General Hospital Foundation for this IBD fundraiser. The event takes place in November, Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Month.

Thank you to all our donors!

Special thanks to our Diamond Partners: The Abrams family, Ansky-Coulson Private Wealth Management, Pharmacie Michael Assaraf, KAINOS, and the Stotland family.