The International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus (ISDE) is pleased to announce Dr. Adam Frankel of the Princess Alexandra Hospital Clinical School, Australia, as the winner of the 2025 Young ISDE Sharks Tank, held during the ISDE World Congress in Brisbane. His winning proposal, “Minimum Dataset for Surgical Management of Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease,” aims to establish a standardized data collection framework to improve clinical practice, streamline research, and support global collaboration in the surgical management of GERD.
The Young ISDE Sharks Tank—formerly the Dragon’s Den—is designed to empower early-career clinicians and researchers by providing a platform to present innovative research ideas to senior experts. The competition continues to highlight the next generation of leaders advancing esophageal science and care.
2025 Finalist Proposals
This year’s competition featured five high-quality and forward-thinking proposals:
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Minimum Dataset for Surgical Management of Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease – Adam Frankel, Princess Alexandra Hospital Clinical School, Australia
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Oligometastatic Disease for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma – Motoo Nomura, Kyoto University Hospital, Japan
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Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy vs. Perioperative Chemotherapy for Gastro-Esophageal Cancer: An International Multidisciplinary Delphi Consensus Study – Hidde Overtoom, Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands
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Deep-IO-Eso: A Deep Learning Model for Predicting Pathological Response to Neoadjuvant Immuno-Chemotherapy in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Using Pre- and Post-Treatment H&E Images – Chunji Chen, Shanghai Chest Hospital, China
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A Prospective Randomised Study Comparing Prophylactic Endolumenal Vacuum Therapy with a Sponge vs. Prophylactic Endolumenal Vacuum Therapy with a Fenestrated Drain for Oesophageal Anastomoses – Scott Whiting, Townsville University Hospital, Queensland Health, Australia
Sharks Panel 2025
The expert Sharks who evaluated the proposals this year included Yin-Kai Chao (Taiwan), Daniela Molena (USA), Anh Nguyen (USA), and Kongjia Luo (China).
The judges commended all finalists for their creativity, scientific rigor, and commitment to advancing patient care.
About the Winning Proposal
Dr. Frankel’s proposal stood out for its clarity, feasibility, and potential global utility. Establishing a minimum dataset for GERD surgery will help harmonize outcomes reporting, enable more robust multicenter studies, and support the development of evidence-based guidelines.
ISDE congratulates Dr. Frankel and extends appreciation to all finalists for contributing to another outstanding edition of the Young ISDE Sharks Tank. Learn more about the program at the ISDE research projects page.
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