About Us

Current Full Members

Seema S. Aceves, MD, PhD Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD saceves@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Aceves conducts clinical and translational investigations on the impact and mechanisms of tissue remodeling in eosinophilic esophagitis, a disease of increasing worldwide prevalence. She uses primary human esophageal cells as in vitro model systems to understand the mechanisms of epithelial, fibroblast and smooth muscle changes in the disease.
Veeral Ajmera, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD v1ajmera@health.ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Ajmera's research interest includes non-invasive assessment of disease severity in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. His primary focus is risk factors and biomarkers associated with the development and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Janelle Ayres, PhD Associate Professor, Helen McCloraine Developmental Chair Institution: The Salk Institute for Biological Studies jayres@salk.edu Research Interests: Dr. Janelle Ayres has been exploring the complex multi-directional interactions that occur between different body functions and resident microbes in the intestinal tract and other organs. She is particularly focusing on metabolic dysregulation that occurs during intestinal infection and inflammation and how this can be manipulated to impact host defenses.
Lars Bode, PhD Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Divisions of Neonatology & Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD lbode@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Bode’s research is on Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMO) and comparative glycobiology that is relevant to the understanding of the differences between human and bovine milk. His studies have shown that HMO play an important role in the control of inflammation in the gut.
David Brenner, MD Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology. Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences Institution: UCSD dbrenner@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Brenner’s laboratory investigates the molecular pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and new strategies for therapy, using a range of in vivo and in vitro models of hepatic fibrosis and collagen expression that are relevant to human liver disease.
John Chang, MD Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD jtc007@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Chang is investigating the control of helper T cell differentiation and its importance in regulating intestinal inflammation.
Hilde Cheroutre, PhD Professor and Division Head, Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology; Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, UCSD Institution: La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology hilde@lji.org Research Interests: Dr. Cheroutre focuses on T cell development and selection, effector and memory T cell differentiation, and protective immunity versus immune regulation. She explores the functional repertoire of CD4+ T cells and their potential contributions in beneficial or pathogenic immune processes and inflammation at intestinal surfaces and systemic sites.
Hiutung Chu, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology Institution: UCSD hic011@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Chu investigates how polymorphisms in host genes such as ATGL16L1 and NOD2 promote inflammation through defects in sensing protective signals from the microbiome, defining a potentially critical gene-environment etiology for inflammatory bowel diseases.
Sheila E. Crowe, MD Professor, Department of Medicine; Director of Research, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD secrowe@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Crowe has a primary research focus on the interactions of luminal contents, including microbes, with the gastrointestinal mucosa that can lead to inflammatory disease and associated epithelial diseases. She is particularly interested in the redox-mediated control of gene transcription and DNA integrity in the context of gastrointestinal inflammation and the pathogenesis of gastric infections with Helicobacter pylori.
Soumita Das, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology Institution: UCSD sodas@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Das focuses on the crosstalk between gastrointestinal epithelial cells, immune cells and pathogenic microbes such as Helicobacter pylori and Vibrio cholera. She examines gut barrier dysfunction induced by microbes, toxins, and other microbial products, which can result in intestinal inflammation and chronic disease.
Parambir Dulai, MD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD pdulai@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Dulai has published over 30 peer-reviewed publications in Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Gut in high impact JAMA and GMJ. His contribution to science includes but not limited to personalization of treatment decision in IBD based on safety and efficacy, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy for hospitalization of UC flares.
Lars Eckmann, MD Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD leckmann@health.ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Eckmann has a long-standing research interest in mucosal immunology, epithelial cell biology, regulation of inflammatory responses in the intestinal tract, and microbial pathogenesis. His laboratory has employed a range of animal and cell culture models to discover immune defenses, new therapeutics, and preventive strategies against clinically important mucosal microbes, including pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella, pathogenic Escherichia coli) and protozoan parasites (Giardia, Entamoeba histolytica, Trichomonas vaginalis).
Peter B. Ernst, DVM, PhD Professor, Department of Pathology. Co-Director, UC Veterinary Medical Center, Director, Center for Veterinary Sciences and Comparative Medicine, Head, Division of Comparative Pathology and Medicine Institution: UCSD pernst@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Ernst is a mucosal immunologist who has studied immune/epithelial interactions in the digestive tract for over 30 years. In particular, he has investigated the mechanisms controlling host responses to gastroenteric bacteria including Helicobacter pylori and several food- and water-borne pathogens, and the functions of adenosine receptors in T cell differentiation and intestinal inflammation.
Ronald Evans, PhD Professor, March of Dimes Chair in Molecular and Developmental Biology; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Institution: The Salk Institute for Biological Studies evans@salk.edu Research Interests: Dr. Evans is known for establishing the first molecular blueprint of steroid receptors, the isolation of the first orphan receptors and proposing the existence of a supergene family of nuclear receptors. He has worked extensively on orphan ligand identification and linked nuclear receptors to the regulation of fatty acid, cholesterol, glucose and xenobiotic metabolism.
Ariel Feldstein, MD Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Institution: UCSD afeldstein@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Feldstein focuses on dissecting the biochemical pathways of cell death triggered by over-accumulation of fatty acids and other lipids in NAFLD and NASH. He is also interested in hepatocyte-adipocyte crosstalk, their role in metabolic syndrome and NASH, and identification of novel diagnostics for these conditions.
Gen-Sheng Feng, PhD Professor, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, and Molecular Biology Institution: UCSD gfeng@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Feng’s research program aims at understanding the dynamic interplay between signaling pathways in different cell types in health and disease. His current focus is on elucidating the anti-oncogenic effects of classical oncoprotiens in liver cancer. Elucidating the previously unrecognized complexity in mechanisms of liver tumorigenesis will lead to a paradigm shift in understanding the initiation and development of liver cancer that is now a most deadly malignant disease worldwide.
Pradipta Ghosh, MD Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD prghosh@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Ghosh's laboratory studies the cell biology of signal transduction with a special emphasis on the identification and characterization of novel modulators of heterotrimeric G proteins. Over the years, her group has systematically pursued in depth the mechanism and biological implications of an intracellular heterotrimeric G protein system and revealed along the way how G protein signaling via guanine exchange modulator (GEM) is fundamentally distinct from the conventional G protein signaling from the cell surface by G protein-coupled receptors.
Jack Gilbert, PhD Professor, Department of Pediatrics Institution: UCSD jagilbert@health.ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Gilbert’s research is focused on understanding how to apply advances in microbiome research into the clinic. A key aspect of this work is appropriate screening of microbiome profiles from various environments, such as biopsies. His primary research foci are gut microbiome and lung microbiome, where mucosal biopsies present with major human DNA contamination.
Samir Gupta, MD Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD s1gupta@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Samir Gupta’s research focuses on the prevention and screening of colorectal cancer and polyps. He has led randomized clinical trials as well as numerous observational studies of the clinical and molecular epidemiology of digestive system cancers and neoplasia, including colorectal, hepatocellular, and pancreatic cancer.
Michael Karin, PhD Distinguished Professor, Departments of Pharmacology and Pathology, Cancer Center Institution: UCSD mkarin@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Karin has spent his career investigating stress and inflammation signaling covering the entire gamut of research approaches from basic biochemistry through molecular cell biology to animal pathophysiology. Many of his recent and current studies have focused on epithelial proliferation and transformation in the colon and liver in response to chemical and inflammatory insults.
Randal Kaufman, PhD Professor and Director, Degenerative Disease Research Program Institution: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute rkaufman@sbpdiscovery.org Research Interests: Dr. Kaufman’s laboratory investigates the mechanisms of protein folding under normal and stress conditions and its effects on cell death and inflammation, particularly in the liver, which is the major site of protein synthesis in the body.
Tatiana Kisseleva, MD, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Surgery Institution: UCSD tkisseleva@mail.ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Kisseleva examines the cellular origin of cells contributing to fibrosis in the liver. In addition, she has been exploring the role of IL-17 signaling, and the effect of therapeutic inhibition of IL-17-producing Th17 in chronic liver diseases, NASH and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Rob Knight, PhD Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Computer Science & Engineering; Director, Center for Microbiome Innovation Institution: UCSD rknight@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Knight is a leader in studies of mammalian microbiomes, including the gastrointestinal tract and liver. He developed software for interpreting and understanding the vast flood of DNA sequence data that comprises our comprehension of the human microbiome, for understanding how the human microbiome develops over the course of one’s lifetime, and for placing the human microbiome in the context of other microbial communities in the overall environment.
Mitchell Kronenberg, PhD President & Chief Scientific Officer, La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology; Professor of Biology and Dean for Immunology, UCSD Institution: La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology mitch@liai.org Research Interests: Dr. Kronenberg’s laboratory studies the functions of T cells in intestinal inflammation and defense including models of IBD. He has explored the T cell receptor (TCR) diversity of donor-derived T cells in the intestine of inflammation-prone SCID recipients by immunoscope (CDR3 length) analysis and sequencing of TCR beta chains.
Vipin Kumar, PhD Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD vckumar@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Kumar focuses on NKT cells and their immune regulatory role in inflammation. He initiated both preclinical and clinical studies related to understanding the role of different NKT cell subsets (type I NKT and type II NKT)-based innate and adaptive mechanisms involved in alcoholic steatohepatitis and NASH.
Cristina Llorente, PhD Assistant Adjunct Professor, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD allorenteizquierdo@health.ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Llorente’s research focus is to disentangle the role of intestinal stem cells, their proliferation, and differentiation into various intestinal cells for the development of alcohol-induced liver illnesses. Alcohol-associated liver disease is an understudied disease. Although the importance of the microbiota and bacterial translocation are known for alcohol-related liver disease, the exact mechanism of how they contribute to disease is unknown. By using various intestinal epithelial cell-specific knockout mice, it was noted that ISC differentiation to goblet cells play an important role in the development of alcohol-induced liver disease through the regulation of the immune system.
Rohit Loomba, MD Professor, Department of Medicine; Vice Chief and Director of Hepatology, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD roloomba@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Loomba’s research focuses on all aspects of NAFLD including aging, epidemiology, genetic and environmental predisposition, natural history and treatment of NASH. He utilizes diverse epidemiologic and outcomes research methodologies to answer clinically relevant questions. Examples of the research conducted include patient-oriented clinical research based upon patients seen in NAFLD clinic, clinical trials, population-based cohort studies, twin studies and clinical decision making by utilizing meta-analytic approaches. He is also undertaking multi-omics approaches to tease out the genetic and environmental determinants of NAFLD and hepatic fibrosis.
Ravinder Mittal, MD Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD rmittal@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Mittal’s laboratory investigates the sensory and motor functions of the esophagus. These studies include basic research in cell culture and animal models, as well as investigations of motility in humans with varying degrees of upper gastrointestinal inflammation.

David Pride, MD, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Pathology. Director of Molecular Microbiology, Associate Director of Microbiology Institution: UCSD dpride@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Pride’s laboratory has been pioneering work on the human virome in the oral cavity and intestine. He investigates how viral communities, particularly bacteriophages, alter human bacterial communities by either killing their bacterial hosts or providing them with potentially beneficial gene functions. He is deciphering the role of the vast viral communities in altering inflammation in gastrointestinal disease in humans.
Manuela Raffatellu, MD Professor, Department of Pediatrics Institution: UCSD mraffatellu@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Raffatellu investigates the complex interplay between gut pathogens, mucosal immunity and inflammation, and the gut microbiota, with the long-term goal of discovering therapeutic targets for controlling infection. She has a long-standing interest in the host response to mucosal pathogens such as Salmonella.
Eyal Raz, MD Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Inflammation Institution: UCSD eraz@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Raz investigates the interaction of innate immunity with microbial agents. In particular, he studies the role of microbial products in the activation and inhibition of mucosal inflammation. He has characterized the immune profiles induced by Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, such as LPS, lipopeptides or bacterial DNA at mucosal sites and analyzed the impact of these ligands on experimental colitis.
Jesus Rivera-Nieves, MD Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD jriveranieves@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Rivera-Nieves’ laboratory investigates pathogenic pathways in spontaneous, chronic mouse models (e.g. SAMP1/Yit, TNFΔARE) of Crohn’s-like ileitis that closely recapitulate the human disease. This work has been instrumental in developing novel concepts about leukocyte trafficking and the role of cytokines in the initiation and perpetuation of IBD.
William Sandborn, MD Professor, Department of Medicine; Chief, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD wsandborn@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Sandborn conducts clinical and translational research and clinical trials in inflammatory bowel disease.
Bernd Schnabl, MD Professor, Department of Medicine; Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD beschnabl@health.ucsd.edu Research Interests: Trained as a physician scientist, Dr. Schnabl is particularly interested in translational approaches to better understand the mechanism of chronic liver disease. His laboratory pioneered work on characterizing the intestinal bacterial microbiome, fungal mycobiome and virome associated with non-alcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Aleem Siddiqui, PhD Professor, Department of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center Institution: UCSD asiddiqui@ucsd.edu Research Interests: The research in Dr. Siddiqui’s laboratory is concerned with the pathogenesis of liver disease caused by infections with hepatitis viruses (HBV, HCV). In particular, he is interested in how infection alters cellular metabolism.
Siddharth Singh, MD Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD sis040@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Singh’s research interests are twofold: (a) population health management and value-based care in IBD, including comparative effectiveness research, guideline development and implementation and (b) identifying modifiable predictors of disease course and response to therapy in IBD.
Claude Sirlin, MD Professor, Department of Radiology Institution: UCSD csirlin@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Sirlin is investigating the use of non-invasive imaging for the diagnosis, characterization, and monitoring of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, other diffuse liver diseases, and liver cancer.
Mamata Sivagnanam, MD Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Institution: UCSD mengineer@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Sivagnanam’s research program focuses on how mutations in Epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (EpCAM) lead to intestinal epithelial cell dysfunction and thus, clinical manifestations of congenital tufting enteropathy (CTE). Her studies have relevance, not only to this disease, but also to gain further understanding of epithelial homeostasis, intestinal failure and diarrheal diseases.
Nicholas J.G. Webster, PhD Senior Research Career Scientist, Professor of Medicine Institution: UCSD nwebster@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Webster’s research goal is to understand the mechanisms of signal transduction and gene regulation in different developmental and disease contexts. His laboratory found that deletion of SRSF3 impairs splicing of selected RNA isoforms results in inhibition of hepatocyte maturation, impairment of lipid and glucose metabolism, and generation of endoplasmic reticulum stress.
Rena H. Yadlapati, MD Associate Professor, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology Institution: UCSD ryadlapati@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Yadlapati’s research focus is to determine personalized care pathways for reflux associated laryngeal symptoms through patient-centered clinical trials and consensus development. One of her long-term objectives is to develop novel paradigms for diagnostic testing and healthcare delivery for esophageal conditions.
Amir Zarrinpar, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD azarrinpar@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Zarrinpar investigates the role of diet and metabolism on the microbiota and inflammation. His laboratory has designed engineered bacteria to explore the functional role of the gut microbiota on host physiology, obesity, NAFLD and NASH.
Karsten Zengler, PhD Professor, Department of Pediatrics Institution: UCSD kzengler@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Zengler’s research is investigating the interactions of microorganisms with their environment and host using experimental, computational and systems biology tools. His focus is on the role that the microbiome plays in health and disease by linking microbial activity in skin and gut to host immune responses.

Current Associate Members

Kim Barrett, PhD Distinguished Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD kbarrett@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Barrett is elucidating basic mechanisms that underlie digestive disease states such as inflammatory bowel diseases, infectious diarrhea, and peptic ulcer disease. Her current research centers on a dissection of the pathophysiological correlates of diarrheal symptoms in a novel mouse model of salmonellosis, with a particular focus on the roles played by altered expression and/or localization of specific ion transport proteins as well as epithelial immaturity that is driven by infection. Her group is also studying the bases for therapeutic efficacy of probiotics as well as basic signaling mechanisms that regulate the transport and barrier functions of the intestinal epithelium.
Brigid Boland, MD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD bboland@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Boland is a translational researcher in the field of inflammatory bowel disease. She is developing methodologies for mechanism-of-action studies and early proof-of-concept trials in inflammatory bowel disease. With her clinical and basic science research experience, she is uniquely positioned to develop appropriately designed and powered translational studies to address both clinical and basic science questions in inflammatory bowel diseases.
Shujuan Chen, PhD Assistant Professor, Pharmacology Department Institution: UCSD s18chen@health.ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Chen’s research focus is on elucidating the role of NCoR1 in maintaining the healthy host-commensal interactions and barrier function, which might be associated with NCoR1-mediated regulation of colonic stem cell proliferation and differentiation. The results of these studies will provide a mechanistic understanding of the loss of NCoR1 repressive activity as a pathological factor in facilitating colitis.
Todd Coleman, PhD Professor, Department of Bioengineering, UCSD Institution: UCSD tpcoleman@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Coleman’s research ranges from applied mathematics, neuroscience, and bio-electronics - to (a) understand intra-organ and inter-organ function (e.g. brain, heart, lungs) in terms of a complex interacting stochastic network and (b) developing novel ways to quantify and/or combat illness. He is developing physiologically guided multiple waveform signal processing and optimization of a miniaturized multi-electrode monitoring system to advance non-invasive ways to measure electrophysiologic aspects of GI motility. His long-term goal is to transform the assessment of GI motility from a subjective approach to a non- invasive, objective approach.
Debanjan Dhar, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine Institution: UCSD ddhar@health.ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Dhar’s research interest is to conduct basic and applied research with a focus on liver diseases such as Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Dr. Dhar’s goal is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying NASH development and HCC initiation and devise new therapeutic strategies.
David Gonzalez, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology School of Medicine and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy Institution: UCSD djgonzalez@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Gonzalez’s research platform breaks the mold of traditional host-microbe research by utilizing innovative approaches in quantitative proteomics to rationalize further bench-top experimentation. Starting from a systems scale and narrowing to a single target approach. Dr. Gonzalez’s lab is examining bacterial pathogenesis, host responses to infection, and the impact of the microbiome on health and disease.
Hiroshi Kiyono, DDS, PhD Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD hkiyono@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Kiyono’s contributions for the understanding of the gut mucosal immune system has been in intestinal mucosa, epithelial, mesenchymal, and immune cells which form a multi-ecological system in concert with the gut microbiota to create and maintain homeostasis. While building on the foundation of Mucosal Immunology through basic research, his research team has also actively facilitated the development of oral and nasal vaccines which hold promise as next-generation vaccines.
Christian M. Metallo, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering Institution: UCSD cmetallo@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Metallo’s laboratory develops experimental tools to study mammalian metabolism and its relevance to disease. These tools are applied to understand how dysfunctional metabolic pathways can be targeted to mitigate tumorigenesis and/or metastasis. His laboratory also studies how metabolic dysfunction in adipocytes contributes to obesity, with a focus on branched chain amino acid catabolism and the de novo lipogenesis of specific fatty acids (e.g. saturated, mono-unsaturated, and branched-chain fatty acids).
Niels Vande Casteele, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Institution: UCSD nvandecasteele@ucsd.edu Research Interests: Dr. Vande Casteele is a clinical pharmacologist in the field of chronic inflammatory diseases and drug development, therapeutic drug and immunogenicity monitoring of biologics, including bioanalytical method development, population pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacometrics, and disease-specific outcome measures and biomarkers. He has a strong interest in precision medicine and trial design for inflammatory bowel disease.