San diego digestive diseases

Learn about the GI system , including important role of organs such as the esophagus, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, small intestine, colon and rectum. News and World Report for gastroenterology and GI surgery. Our fellowship-trained GI specialists care for patients throughout San Diego and beyond, providing access to leading-edge therapies and research.

The process of digestion begins in the mouth after we consume food or a beverage, and ends in the anus, where highly specialized muscles help release solid waste. In between are important and complex organs that keep the digestive process moving along: the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, small intestine and the colon and rectum which together make up the large intestine. Most of us will experience gastrointestinal discomfort, such as heartburn or constipation, at some point in our lives.

We can often anticipate these symptoms and learn to manage them with lifestyle changes or over-the-counter medication. Scripps offers the best of both worlds. Scripps is a recognized leader in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology for several reasons, including:. Scripps is also proud to offer our patients access to a number of clinical trials. Many of our gastroenterologists and hepatologists participate in clinical research.

Some examples of their areas of study include:. 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. He is also interested in hepatocyte-adipocyte crosstalk, their role in metabolic syndrome and NASH, and identification of novel diagnostics for these conditions. His group is also interested in manipulating the microbial assemblages in the gut as a novel therapeutic for human disease.

A major direction of his laboratory has been to define the genome-wide locations and functions of these proteins through the use of assays that are based on massively parallel DNA sequencing. The combination of these technologies with molecular, genetic, lipidomic and cell-based approaches is providing new insights into mechanisms that regulate macrophage gene expression and function that are relevant to inflammatory diseases that include diabetes, atherosclerosis and neurodegenerative diseases.

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. 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.

Kisseleva examines the cellular origin of cells contributing to fibrosis in the liver. In addition, she has been exploring the role of IL signaling, and the effect of therapeutic inhibition of ILproducing Th17 in chronic liver diseases, NASH and hepatocellular carcinoma. Knight is a leader in studies of mammalian microbiomes, including the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

Kumar focuses on NKT cells and their immune regulatory role in inflammation. 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.

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.

His particular interest is the impact of hypoxia, as it occurs during obstructive sleep apnea OSA , for the development of NAFLD and other metabolic derangements. 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.

Associate Professor, Department of Pathology. 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. 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. This work has been instrumental in developing novel concepts about leukocyte trafficking and the role of cytokines in the initiation and perpetuation of IBD.

Research Interests : Trained as a physician scientist, Dr. Schnabl is particularly interested in translational approaches to better understand the mechanism of chronic liver disease. Give Now.

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