Berkeley Limketkai, MD, PhD
Director of Clinical Research, UCLA Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
Dr. Limketkai received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati. He subsequently completed his internal medicine residency, gastroenterology fellowship, and PhD education at Johns Hopkins University. His doctoral dissertation explored the role of vitamin D in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis and severity. Given his clinical and research interests in IBD and nutrition, Dr. Limketkai pursued advanced training as the Theodore M. Bayless Fellow in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at Johns Hopkins University and clinical nutrition training through the Nestlé Nutrition Institute.
Dr. Limketkai’s research focuses on the relationship between [mal]nutrition and IBD, identifying novel treatment approaches for IBD, and developing evidence-based frameworks for precision nutrition. His other focuses include analyzing large data on clinical outcomes and health services utilization, and applying technology for nutrition and gastroenterology.
Melissa Corson, MD
Gastroenterology Fellow
Dr. Corson graduated from Gonzaga University with a bachelor of science in biochemistry. She then returned back home to Hawaii to attend medical school at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. She continued her training at UCLA where she completed her internal medicine residency and is now pursuing her gastroenterology fellowship. She has a research interest in IBD and is leading a series of studies on the effect of malnutrition on the gut microbiome and IBD outcomes.
Vivy Cusumano, MD
Gastroenterology Fellow
Dr. Cusumano graduated from UCLA with a bachelor of science degree in biology. She then attended medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine before returning to UCLA to complete an internal medicine residency and continue her fellowship in gastroenterology. Her research interests include evaluating biologic response and failure in the management of patients with IBD.
Andrew Weber, MD
Gastroenterology Fellow
Dr. Weber graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor of arts degree in biology with highest distinction. He attended medical school at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His internal medicine residency training was completed at UCLA Medical Center. He is currently a fellow in the UCLA GI fellowship program. Research interests of Dr. Weber’s include IBD mortality, surgical management and nutrition. He is currently leading a series of projects on perioperative nutrition in IBD.
Jessica Su, MD
Gastroenterology Fellow
Dr. Su graduated from Yale University with a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering. She then attended medical school at Stanford University before returning to Yale to complete her internal medicine residency. She is currently a fellow in the UCLA gastroenterology fellowship program. Her research interests include psychosocial determinants and outcomes in IBD, including fatigue, sleep disturbances, and physical limitations.
Nancee Jaffe, MS, RDN
Lead UCLA GI Dietitian
Nancee earned a master’s of science degree in nutrition from California State University Los Angeles. She completed her dietetic internship at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and at UCLA, where she was mentored by Dr. Lin Chang, co-director of the UCLA G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience. She is currently studying the reintroduction phase of the low FODMAP diet with Dr. Chang. In our lab, she has been studying how different types of diets affect disease activity in IBD. She is also one of the core investigators on the team investigating the nutritional, immune, and microbiome effects of an LA-based diet on ulcerative colitis.
On the national level, she leads an effort to formalize a the GI-specific dietitian group jointly housed under the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND).
Neha Shah, MPH, RD
Dietitian
UC San Francisco
Neha earned a bachelor of science in nutrition from California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo) and a master's in public health nutrition from Loma Linda University. She was previously at Stanford Health Care, where she built nutrition services for the Digestive Health Center. She led the development of the Outpatient Nutrition Support and Intestinal Rehabilitation Programs. Neha is now at UC San Francisco specializing in inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal failure.
In addition to patient care, Neha provides her expertise to research studies and has authored publications related to nutrition and inflammatory bowel disease. Neha co-chairs the publication committee through an alliance between the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). She is also a member of the Crohn's and Colitis Medical Advisory Committee of Northern California and the Advisory Board of the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD). She is dedicated to the advancement of nutrition care and research.
Anoushka Dua, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Dr. Dua graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor of science in physiology. She then spent two years in Camden, New Jersey as a 9th grade biology teacher and utilized her experience in education and working with underserved communities during her time at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she served as an administrative leader at the student-run free health clinic and engaged in a number of educational initiatives for medical students and residents. She is currently an internal medicine resident at UCLA in pursuit of a career as an IBD specialist in gastroenterology. She is currently investigating the impact of NAFLD on IBD disease course and complications and is also engaged in a project assessing the influence of nutritional status on the gut microbiome in IBD patients.
Cameron Henneberg, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Dr. Henneberg graduated from Princeton University with a degree in anthropology and a minor in global health and health policy, completing a capstone senior thesis on how societal perceptions of body weight impact the doctor-patient relationship. He obtained his MD from Boston University School of Medicine and is currently continuing his training as a resident physician in internal medicine at UCLA. His research interests include nutrition, obesity and the effect of chronic disease on patient's wellbeing. He is currently investigating the relationship between weight and biologic therapies for inflammatory bowel disease.
Christina Jeon, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Dr. Jeon received her bachelor of science in biology at Cornell University and her medical degree at Yale School of Medicine. She is currently an internal medicine resident at UCLA. She has been engaged in GI research as a Fulbright Research Scholar, medical student and now as a resident. She currently works to investigate the clinical implications of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in IBD patients.
Kush Fansiwala, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Dr. Fansiwala graduated from New York University with a degree in economics and minors in chemistry and public health. He obtained his MD from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he engaged in research around population-level risk factors for gastric cancer and optimal antibiotic regimens for abscess treatment in Crohn's disease. He moved to UCLA to continue his training as an internal medicine resident. His current research interests explore healthcare utilization amongst a spectrum of gastrointestinal disorders.
Lauren DeDecker, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Dr. DeDecker graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor of science degree in nutrition science biochemistry. She then worked as a nutritionist and technology-driven health coach for a primary care practice in San Francisco. She later worked at a start up with the aim of providing remote scribing services to physicians using Google Glass and AI. She graduated from UC Irvine School of Medicine with her MD and honors in research. Throughout medical school, she conducted research on the microbiome of patients with precancerous colorectal polyps and was funded by the American Cancer Society. She is continuing her training as a resident physician at UCLA in internal medicine. She is passionate about nutrition, microbiome, and IBD. She now works on a project assessing the influence of nutritional status on the gut microbiome of IBD patients.
Shaya Noorian, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Dr. Noorian is an internal medicine resident at UCLA from Los Angeles, California. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of California, Santa Barbara and received his MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Shaya’s research interests are centered around IBD, and specifically the intersection between IBD and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. After residency, he plans to pursue a career in gastroenterology.
Preeti Prakesh, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Dr. Prakash graduated from Rice University with a BA in cognitive sciences and received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. She is currently an internal medicine resident at UCLA. In medical school, she studied disparities in colon cancer outcomes. Her clinical interests include inflammatory bowel disease and optimization of screening practices for GI malignancies. After residency, she hopes to pursue a career in gastroenterology. She currently studies the factors that guide medical vs. surgical management in IBD.
Joseph Ebriani
Medical Student
Joseph is a first-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He first became interested in IBD after a personal experience with the disease during his college years. He subsequently interned for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and volunteered as a counselor for Camp Oasis, a camp dedicated to kids diagnosed with IBD. In order to gain a better understanding of the pathogenesis of IBD, he then joined the Jacobs Laboratory at UCLA to study the relationship between stress and the brain-gut-microbiome axis in Crohn’s disease patients. Moving forward, Joseph is excited to continue his work in the Limketkai Laboratory and further his understanding of the relationship between nutrition and IBD. In the future, Joseph hopes to draw on both his personal and research experiences in order to provide multidisciplinary, patient-centered care, while also bringing a smile to the faces of his patients.
Thu Nguyen, MPH
Medical Student
Thu is a fourth-year medical student at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Before attending medical school, she graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in biological sciences and went on to earn an MPH at Loyola University Chicago with a focus in epidemiology. She worked as a research program manager and assisted in epidemiological evaluations for a HUD-funded asthma study, which assessed the effectiveness of community health workers in asthma management. Once in medical school, she became more interested in GI as a specialty. Her research interests include nutrition in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and the use of dietary therapy as a primary or adjunct treatment.
Ankur Patel
Medical Student
Ankur is a fourth-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He holds a bachelor's degree in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley. He spent a year working at LifeLong Medical Clinic as a clinical care assistant prior to entering medical school. Ankur is currently leading a multi-center cohort study focused on gastrointestinal manifestations of COVID-19. He plans on pursuing a residency in internal medicine and subsequently a fellowship in gastroenterology in the future.
Troy Sanders, MMS
Medical Student
Troy is a second-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Troy completed a master’s of medical sciences at Boston University and attended Western New England University for his bachelor degree where he studied chemistry and biology. At Boston University, he worked on research involving the transcription factor Ikaros and its effect on T cells’ cytokine expression. Troy is currently working on a project that evaluates the influence of biologic therapy on weight in inflammatory bowel disease and another project investigating gastrointestinal manifestations of COVID in hospitalized patients.
Aasna Shah
Medical Student
Aasna is a second-year medical student at Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has received her bachelor’s degrees in human biology and clinical psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 2019. Her first exposure to the world of clinical research was as a gastroenterology clinical research intern in 2016 at Stanford Medicine, where she designed a research project, under the mentorship and guidance of Dr. Berkeley Limketkai, regarding vitamin D levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. After graduation, she worked as a registered behavior technician for kids with autism through Easterseals Northern California and has been volunteering as a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line since 2017. She is currently involved in leadership positions for several medical clubs at Touro Nevada and hopes to combine her passion for patient care and clinical medicine in her future specialty.
Anastasia Amundson
Graduate Student
Annie joined our laboratory as an undergraduate student at UCLA and recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in physiological science. In the lab, she has been involved in a study to characterize how foods that patients with IBD eat are associated with disease activity, symptoms and other relevant clinical outcomes. She is also assisting with a project to develop an AI system for nutrition. Annie aspires to become a physician.
Maral Daneshpazhouh
Undergraduate Student
Maral is a fourth-year UCLA undergraduate student from Dubai, UAE, who is pursuing a degree in microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. She is also double minoring in Iranian studies and theater studies. Working at the UCLA Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Maral is involved in several research projects exploring nutrition and IBD outcomes. Maral plans to attend medical school and pursue a career as a plastic surgeon.
Mohamed Hamideh
Undergraduate Student
Mohamed is an undergraduate at UCLA pursuing a degree in molecular, cell and developmental biology. Before transferring to UCLA, Mohamed conducted research on the interplay between antigen affinity and human memory B cell fate via transcriptome analysis at the National Institutes of Health. There, Mohamed was responsible for isolating memory B cells from human blood, planar lipid bilayer synthesis, tissue culturing and RT-PCR techniques. It was at the NIH that he got to delve into the beautifully complex field of immunology. With this foundation set, Mohamed felt ready to dive even deeper into his interest in the interplay between diet and IBD at UCLA. Mohamed is more recently studying dietary patterns among patients with IBD and performing a systematic review of biological therapies in Crohn’s disease of the pouch. After completing his degree, Mohamed plans to pursue an MD with a specific interest in treating IBD.
Isha Maniyar
Undergraduate Student
Isha is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in molecular, cell, and developmental biology. As a patient with Crohn's disease herself, Isha is interested in learning more about IBD from a scientific perspective and contributing to existing research on the condition. Working in the UCLA Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases as an undergraduate research assistant, she is involved in studying the intersection between IBD, malnutrition, and the gut microbiome. Isha is excited to further her understanding of IBD and in the future, pursue a career as a physician.
Jonathan Perumpail
Undergraduate Student
Jonathan is an undergraduate student at Seton Hall University pursuing his degree in biology with a minor in medical humanities. He is particularly interested in clinical research and is currently exploring the use of immunosuppressive therapies in treating Crohn’s disease of the pouch. After completing his undergraduate degree, Jonathan hopes to attend medical school and pursue his MD.
Freida Raj
Undergraduate Student
Freida is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in human biology and society at UCLA. As a research assistant in the lab, she has worked on one of the studies of dietary patterns in patients with IBD and currently works on the project utilizing artificial intelligence in nutrition
Rishabh Shah
Undergraduate Student
Rishabh is a fourth-year undergraduate student at UCLA from Cerritos, California, majoring in psychobiology. He is particularly interested in the impact of lifestyle choices and other behavioral decisions on the progression of chronic disease. As a clinical research assistant at the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Rishabh contributed to an investigation on the association between malnutrition and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in the IBD population. More recently, he leads a study on IBD patients' perspectives on their treatment and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
