In the News

Jennifer M. Kolb, MD, MS, receives 2024 ACG Junior Faculty Development Award

The ACG Junior Faculty Development Award is a three-year award of $450,000 to support a junior faculty member of outstanding promise in establishing an independent, productive career in gastroenterology or hepatology. Dr. Kolb’s project is titled Preventing Post-Endoscopy Esophageal Adenocarcinoma in Barrett’s Esophagus. She is a health sciences assistant professor of medicine. (2024)

Adarsh M. Thaker, MD, performs first duodenal mucosal resurfacing procedure as part of clinical trial designed to free patients from the insulin dependence

Dr. Thaker, health sciences assistant clinical professor of medicine, performed the division’s first duodenal mucosal resurfacing (DMR) procedure at the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center as part of the Revitalize-1 clinical trial to treat type 2 diabetes. UCLA is primed to be a national leader in this pivotal multicenter trial. The purpose of the study is to assess the efficacy of DMR versus sham treatment in improving glycemic, hepatic and cardiovascular endpoints for patients with type 2 diabetes who are inadequately controlled with insulin therapy. The study is actively recruiting participants. Click here for more information on the study (2024)

Jennifer Kolb, MD, MS, receives Early Career Clinician-Scientist Award from American Foregut Society

The award is bestowed to an early career clinician-scientist demonstrating excellence in scientific inquiry, including basic science, clinical/translational medicine, device development or educational research. Dr. Kolb (pictured on right) is a health sciences assistant professor of medicine and an associate editor for the Foregut Journal.

Danny Issa, MD, GIE: Gastroenterology Endoscopy author interview

Dr. Issa, health sciences assistant clinical professor of medicine, discusses his article, Clinical outcomes and learning curve for ERCP during advanced endoscopy training: A comparison of supine versus prone positioning, published in the October 2023 issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (GIE). Watch interview on YouTube (2023)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, appointed Leon J. Tiber, MD, and David S. Alpert, MD, Chair in Medicine 

The endowed position was established in 1982 with a gift from the Wilshire Foundation to support teaching and research of the chairholder. The chair was named for Dr. Leon Tiber, who headed the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Cedars-Sinai; and Dr. David Alpert, who attended UCLA before finishing his undergraduate and medical degree at UC San Francisco and worked at LA County Hospital and Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Muthusamy, who joined the division faculty in 2011, is a professor of clinical medicine and the medical director of endoscopy at UCLA Health. (2023)

UCLA GI interventional endoscopists make Super Doctors and Rising Stars Southern California 2024 list

Selection of Super Doctors is a rigorous multi-step process designed to identify health care providers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Super Doctors is a selective yet diverse listing of outstanding doctors, representing consumer-oriented medical specialties. Rising Stars employs the same selection process as Super Doctors, recognizing physicians active and fully licensed to practice for approximately 10 years or fewer.

Super Doctors - V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS

Rising Stars - Danny Issa, MD; Stephen Kim, MD; Alireza Sedarat, MD; Adarsh M. Thaker, MD

Danny Issa, MD, named an ACG Institute Early Career Leadership Scholar

The Early Career Leadership Program, formerly the Young Physician Leadership Scholars Program, develops future leaders in clinical gastroenterology by providing leadership and policy training to early-career physicians. Participants are immersed in coursework covering effective leadership, impactful networking, emotional intelligence, group dynamics and team building. Dr. Issa is a health sciences assistant clinical professor of medicine. (2023)

Danny Issa, MD, new Gastrointestinal Endoscopy editorial review board member

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy publishes original, peer-reviewed articles on endoscopic procedures used in the study, diagnosis, and treatment of digestive diseases. Articles report on outcomes research, prospective studies and controlled trials of new endoscopic instruments and treatment methods. Dr. Issa, health sciences assistant clinical professor of medicine, was recently named editor board review member. (2023)

Jennifer M. Kolb, MD, MS, participated in AGC EBGI podcast

Dr. Kolb, health sciences assistant professor of medicine and staff physician at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care, discussed how over-the-scope clips can decrease non-variceal upper GI bleeding in selected patients in the recent Evidence-Based GI: An ACG Publication (EBGI) podcast. Listen here (2023)

Adarsh M. Thaker, MD, AGA Inside Scope podcast

Dr. Thaker, health sciences assistant clinical professor of medicine, co-hosted the debut episode of the American Gastroenterological Association’s (AGA) new Inside Scope podcast series: Innovation in Duodeoscope Design. He joined Shani Haugen, PhD, USFDA, for a conversation on how the FDA is addressing duodenoscope-related infection issues, what FDA’s safety communications mean for gastroenterologists, what has been learned from 522 studies and what we still have to learn. Listen to podcast (2023)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, elected AGA vice chair of the Pancreatic Disorders (PAN) section

The American Gastroenterological Associate (AGA) Institute Council elected Dr. Muthusamy to a two-year term as vice chair of the Pancreatic Disorders (PAN) section. He will serve alongside section chair Dr. Vikesh Singh. Dr. Muthusamy is the director of endoscopy for UCLA Health and professor of clinical medicine. (2023)

Danny Issa, MD, interviewed in Medscape
The age-adjusted incidence of pancreatic cancer is increasing in young women in the United States, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down, according to a new study published in Gastroenterology. Between 2001 and 2018, there was a greater than 200% difference in the incidence trend between men and women for ages 15-34. Dr. Issa, UCLA Health interventional endoscopist, provided commentary on this new study. (2023)

What's the future of single-use endoscopes?
Dr. V. Raman Muthusamy, director of endoscopy at UCLA Health, was asked, What’s the future of single-use endoscopes? In the interview with GI & Hepatology News, he discussed the safety of endoscopic procedures as well as improved procedural access and enhanced ergonomics of single-use devices, and also addressed reductions in cost, refining their indications, and developing recycling programs to minimize their environmental impact. (2022)

Danny Issa, MD, nominated to ASGE member engagement committee
The ASGE member engagement committee works to incorporate membership development activities; increase membership of underrepresented groups in ASGE based on ongoing assessment of member needs, trends and demographic changes; and provide strategic suggestions to the Governing Board on membership needs and retention. Dr. Issa is an interventional endoscopist and health sciences assistant clinical professor of medicine. (2022)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, leads study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology on single-use duodenoscope
Dr. Muthusamy and colleagues published the article Clinical evaluation of a single-use duodenoscope for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology on a single-use duodenoscope. The disposable instrument may reduce outbreaks of infections associated with endoscope reuse. Dr. Muthusamy was also the first to use the instrument to perform a successful cannulation in a study animal and the first to use it in a human case in Spring of 2019. The single-use scope, the EXALT™ Model D Single-Use Duodenoscope, has been FDA approved for use in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures, and was granted Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA to ensure patients and healthcare providers have timely access to this device. (2020)

Lead AGA News – Automated endoscope drying cabinets reduce bacterial growth – V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, and Ryan Perumpail, MD
Healio (2/26, Young) reports on research showing, "Storing endoscopes in a cabinet with an automated drying system reduced the time needed to dry the external surfaces and internal channels of the scopes while reducing bacterial growth." In order "to test drying times, researchers took reprocessed bronchoscopes, colonoscopes and duodenoscopes and stored them in either an automated drying cabinet or a standard cabinet," assessing dryness at 30 minutes, one hour, two hours, three hours and 24 hours using cobalt chloride paper. The findings were published in the American Journal of Infection Control. (2020)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, serves as course director of ASGE’s Quality and Safety Course in Chicago
Dr. Muthusamy has served as the course director of ASGE’s Improving Quality and Safety in Your Endoscopy Unit course since it was first held in Fall of 2008. The course serves as a vital primer on defining and measuring quality and discussing techniques to safely make endoscopy more efficient. The content of this course is dynamic, addressing the fundamentals as well as emerging trends and evidence in GI quality and safety. Dr. Muthusamy also currently serves as a member of the ASGE Quality Assurance in Endoscopy Committee, which aims to expand practice support to meet the evolving needs of gastroenterologists and healthcare teams by providing essential tools, education, guidance and services pertaining to quality improvement; delivering high-quality, safe, patient-centered care; and reimbursement. (2019)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, leads AGA's Annual Tech Summit in San Francisco
Dr. Muthusamy, the current chair of the American Gastroenterological Association’s (AGA) Center for GI Innovation and Technology, is also the chair of the Annual Tech Summit’s planning committee. The two-day, summit bridges the divide between a growing need for new clinical tools and the ability to move innovative solutions to market. By bringing together and fostering collaboration among innovators, clinicians, MedTech companies, regulatory agency representatives and venture capitalists, AGA is helping to ensure a pipeline for GI innovation that ultimately will improve delivery of care and patient outcomes. (2019)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, and Ani Kardashian, MD, lobby on Capitol Hill for measures to improve GI care
Drs. Muthusamy and Kardashian attended the ACG Legislative Fly-In for the ACG Governors and Young Physician Leadership Scholars on Capitol Hill to lobby for measures to improve GI care. They met with California house representatives and senators to advocate for policy changes to reduce barriers to colorectal cancer screening. They also educated congressional leaders and health-policy staff on the administrative and regulatory burdens facing practicing gastroenterologists and emphasized the importance of providing high-quality patient care. (2019)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, Leads an American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) conference on improving colorectal cancer screening and surveillance
The AGA convened a two-day conference of colorectal cancer and technology experts to develop recommendations on improving colorectal cancer screening and surveillance. “This is a retreat of many of the foremost experts in colorectal cancer screening prevention. We will spend two days evaluating how we screen patients, and asking how we can push ourselves to do even better. Artificial intelligence, emerging endoscopic technologies, the microbiome and diagnostic markers are all on the table for discussion,” says Dr. Muthusamy, director of endoscopy for UCLA Health System and chair of the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology. The conference took place in Washington, DC in early December. (2018)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, publishes book – Clinical Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 3rd Edition
Clinical Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 3rd Edition, by Drs. V. Raman Muthusamy, Vinay Chandrasekhara, Mouen Khashab and B. Joseph Elmunzer is now thoroughly up-to-date both in print and online. This all-new editorial team makes this reference an easy-to-use source of reliable information on a full range of topics, including anatomy, pathophysiology and therapeutic management options, in addition to the latest GI procedures and technologies. It also includes updated videos and revised photographs, anatomical drawings and other images. (2018)

V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, selected incoming chair of the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) recognizes that innovation and the development of new technologies are integral to advancing the science and practice of gastroenterology and improving patient care and health outcomes for digestive diseases. AGA has established the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology to support the development of technologies that can improve patient care under the guidance of evidence-based standards. The center will serve as an objective, GI-specific resource to assist members; GI researchers; entrepreneurs; and the medical device, therapeutics and investment communities in their work to bring new technologies to the marketplace. Dr. Muthusamy has been selected as the incoming chair and will serve a three-year term. (2017)

Dennis Jensen, MD and V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, named Helio Gastroenterology 200 Innovators in gastroenterology and hepatology
The editors and publisher of Healio Gastroenterology compiled the inaugural Healio Gastroenterology 200, a list of gastroenterology and hepatology professionals we identified as leading innovators across the specialties from inflammatory bowel disease to endoscopy, from hepatitis C virus to esophageal disease. The list is a compilation of physicians who either work to educate their colleagues; conduct research into new and novel technologies to advance the profession; or innovate the unique aspects of gastroenterology and hepatology. View full list  (2016)

Dr. Muthusamy elected ACG Governor
V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, MAS, director of interventional and general GI endoscopy, was elected American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) governor for the region of Southern California A. His three-year term begins after the annual meeting in October 2016. (2016)

Unusual bowel issues may be linked to pancreatic insufficiency
Stephen Kim, MD, interventional endoscopy, was featured July 22 in Everyday Health, about the importance of having a frank discussion with your doctor about unusual bowel issues that may be linked to pancreatic insufficiency. (2016)

GI trade website covers new guidelines

A Jan. 21 article on Healio: Gastroenterology about new guidelines cautioning the preventive use of antibiotics before GI endoscopy procedures, featured comments from Dr. V. Raman Muthusamy, director of interventional and general endoscopy and health sciences clinical professor of medicine, division of digestive diseases. (2015)