Adarsh M. Thaker, MD

Dr. Thaker is an advanced endoscopist with particular interest in bariatric and metabolic endoscopy as well as other minimally invasive endoscopic procedures which help fill the gap between medical management and traditional surgery. He is co-leading the bariatric endoscopy program at UCLA, which is now among the busiest endoscopic weight loss centers on the west coast. He frequently coordinates with a multidisciplinary team in the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and the Center for Obesity and METabolic Health (COMET). Dr. Thaker performs endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) for weight loss as well as gastric revision procedures, such as transoral outlet reduction (TORe) and sleeve revision, for patients who have regained weight after prior gastric surgery. He is also co-principal investigator on an innovative new procedure called Duodenal Mucosal Resurfacing (the Revitalize-1 Trial) to treat type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. He also performs the transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) procedure, which is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of acid reflux.

In addition, Dr. Thaker has specialized training in other advanced therapies, including endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of large polyps; radiofrequency ablation for Barrett's esophagus and early esophageal cancer; stricture dilation; endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP); cholangioscopy; endoluminal stent placement; single and double-balloon enteroscopy; endoscopic suturing, fistula and leak closure; and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for cancer staging, fine needle aspiration/biopsy, EUS-guided gallbladder drainage, and other interventions.

Dr. Thaker is board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine. Dr. Thaker's research has focused on weight loss and metabolic therapies, eliminating endoscope-related infections to improve patient safety, helping to develop and implement the use of the world's first available disposable duodenoscope. He has multiple published multiple research studies, literature reviews, editorials, and chapters on these topics.

Dr. Thaker serves on the national committee for the American Gastroenterological Association's (AGA) Center for GI Innovation and Technology (CGIT), which supports innovation and the development of new technologies for use in gastroenterology, hepatology, nutrition and obesity management. He is also co-chair of the AGAs educational program on Innovations in Duodenoscopes. He completed his undergraduate training in chemical engineering at UCLA before attending medical school at New York Medical College. He completed his internal medicine residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, followed by gastroenterology fellowship and advanced endoscopy fellowship training at UCLA. In additional to performing procedures at UCLA Health campuses in Westwood and Santa Monica, Dr. Thaker performs advanced procedures in other Southern California locations.