Current and Past Fellows

Current GI Fellows

First Year Fellows

Abhishek Dimopoulos-Verma, MD

Medical School: University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
Residency: New York University Grossman School of Medicine

Christina Dimopoulos-Verma, MD

Medical School: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Residency: Yale Traditional Internal Medicine Residency

Abel Joseph, MD

Medical School: Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences and Research India
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Foundation

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

I chose Stanford for its robust clinical training and research opportunities. The flexible curriculum allows me to tailor my training to my interests. The friendly atmosphere, approachable attendings, and camaraderie among fellows stand out. I appreciate the ample time to develop my academic and clinical interests. Living in the Bay Area is a delightful experience, with constant warm weather, and abundant outdoor activities at my doorstep.

Ashley Ott, MD

Medical School: University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

There are many reasons why I chose to complete my gastroenterology fellowship at Stanford. The program is incredibly flexible and the ‘front loaded’ model provides you with the opportunity to use the second two years of fellowship to create your own academic path within gastroenterology. Fellows are able to identify an area of interest that excites them and pursue independent research, a master’s degree or audit Stanford courses to help gain the tools required to pursue it. Regardless of what you choose, program leadership is incredibly supportive, and the mentorship is unparalleled. Additionally, the ability to rotate at three hospitals allows you to work with a diverse patient population and to learn how other hospital systems function. Finally, the people at Stanford from the attending physicians, the nurses, endoscopy technicians and my co-fellows, are incredibly supportive and down-to-earth which makes a busy workday that might lighter!

Raul Vazquez-Reyes, MD

Medical School: University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
Residency: Stanford Health Care

Second Year Fellows

Seren Gedallovich, MD

Medical School: Washington University School of Medicine
Residency: McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco, Hospice and Palliative Medicine

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

There is a culture of support and care for one another amongst the fellows, and a sense that the program administration genuinely cares about our well-being. I also appreciate exposure to very diverse patient populations and hospital systems through our rotations at Stanford Hospital (academic, tertiary/quaternary care referral center), Santa Clara Valley Hospital (county hospital, underinsured/uninsured population, safety-net), and the VA (veteran population, nationalized care model).

Michael Pimienta, MD

Medical School: University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine
Residency: LAC + University of Southern California

Mai Sedki, MD

Medical School: Wayne State University School of Medicine
Residency: Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami & Kaiser Permanente San Francisco

John Wang, MD

Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School At Dallas
Residency: Stanford Health Care

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

There are so many great aspects of our GI fellowship but there are three that really stand out to me. First and foremost, my co-fellows and the attendings in the division are incredible and pleasant to work with. Secondly, the flexibility in the second and third year of fellowship allow for you to plan your career in whichever way you want. And finally, we work at three different hospital systems that allow you to see how different practices work. Lastly, the bay area is an amazing place to live with great whether and being part of the Stanford community comes with its own benefits.

Wendy Zhou, DO

Medical School: Touro University College Of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
Fellowship: Stanford Neuro-Uncs: Autonomic Disorders (Neurogastroenterology)

Third Year Fellows

Nakia Chung, MD

Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine
Residency: University of Illinois at Chicago

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

I love so many things about Stanford's GI fellowship. The thing I love most about the program are the people. I truly feel like my colleagues are my family. GI fellowship is difficult; however, working with such kind and compassionate people truly makes fellowship much more enjoyable. I also love the fact that there are a wealth of resources for research. It seems that regardless of what a fellow's research interests are, there are multiple faculty members who are willing to serve as mentors, assist fellows in identifying available research resources/opportunities, or point fellows in the direction of others who can help. At Stanford, fellows can be confident that they will have the resources for their research ideas to be transformed into a successful research project/program. I feel blessed to be a part of this fellowship program.

Ofer Fass, MD

Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Residency: NYU Langone Health

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

The people at Stanford are the greatest strength of the program. My co-fellows are amazing doctors who are always available to help each other out. The faculty is diverse and comprises dedicated teachers, academic leaders, and mentors. Equally as important are the endoscopy techs and nurses that help you develop into an excellent endoscopist. Another strength is the ability to personalize the program to your interests. During training, fellows may pursue a master’s degree, independent research, additional endoscopy training, or audit any Stanford course of interest. Whatever your goals may be, there is someone at Stanford that can help you work towards achieving them.

Spencer Frost, MD

Medical School: George Washington University School of Medicine
Residency: Stanford University Medical School

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

The people at Stanford. Everyone from the faculty, nurses, co-fellows, and support staff are simply fantastic individuals striving to provide the best patient care while being understanding of you as a person. I did my residency at Stanford and couldn’t imagine anywhere else being so supportive. Our leadership in GI exemplifies this and truly does what is best for the fellows.

Chiraag Kulkarni, MD

Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School Of Medicine
Residency: Stanford University Medical School

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

My co-fellows are the best part of the program. My co-fellows are always willing to help out and lend a hand which makes tough clinical days manageable. The program directors genuinely care about the fellows. The program also provides ample time for research in the 2nd and 3rd year, allowing fellows to form their own academic niche. I really enjoy the outdoors and there is no better place than the Bay.

Paul Shao, MD

Medical School: University of CA, Los Angeles, Geffen School Of Medicine
Residency: UCLA Medical Center

What do you love about Stanford GI Fellowship?

I chose Stanford for its amazing well-rounded clinical training and research opportunities. The curriculum is super flexible and allows fellows to customize their training to their interests and career goals. Personally, I am still undifferentiated but have a wide array of interests including population-based health system research, colorectal cancer prevention and medical technology. I am excited for the ample opportunities to be involved in different research projects. One thing Stanford GI stood out to me was its friendly laid-back atmosphere and supportive culture. The attendings are super approachable and really help me improve and hone in my endoscopy skills. People in the GI department are easy to get along with and seem to be genuinely interested in me as a person to help me grow personally and professionally. Living in Palo Alto has been an amazing experience as well. We are spoiled with the warm and sunny weather all year round for outdoor adventures and there are tons of beautiful hiking trails and red wood forest nearby!

Past GI Fellows

2023

Pradeep Siddappa, MD. Currently: Advanced Endoscopy Fellow, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
Rani Berry, MD. Currently: Gastroenterologist. Current Employer: Sutter Health
Margaret Zhou, MD, MS. Currently: Advanced Endoscopy Fellow, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
Aurelia Fu, MD. Currently: Gastroenterologist. Current Employer: Palo Alto Medical Foundation Mountain View, CA
Aaron Yeoh, MD. Currently: Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA

2022

Alexa Weingarden, MD, PhD. Currently: Basic Life Research Scientist Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
Grant Barber, MD. Currently: Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
Chiazotam Ekekezie, MD. Currently: Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
Mike Wei, MD. Currently: Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
Andrew Li, MD. Currently: Instructor Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA

2021

Yan Jiang, MD. Currently: Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
John Gubatan, MD. Currently: Instructor, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
Ed Pham, MD, PhD. Currently: Instructor, Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA
Branden Tarlow, MD, PhD. Currently: Gastroenterologist. Current Employer: The Oregon Clinic Portland, OR

2020

Vasiliki Aivaliotis, MD. Current Title: Gastroenterologist. Current Employer: Kaiser Permanente
Alexander Podboy, MD. Current Title: Assistant Professor. Current Employer: University of Virginia
George Cholankeril, MD, MSc. Current Title: Assistant Professor of Medicine. Current Employer: Baylor College of Medicine
Sean Spencer MD PhD. Current Title: Instructor Division of GI and Hepatology, Stanford University, CA

2019

Steven Hendler, MD. Current Title: Assistant Professor. Current Employer: Loyola University Medical Center
Robert Lerrigo, MD. Current Title: Associate Chief. Current Employer: Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated) (SCVMC) Stanford University
Aarti Rao, MD. Current Title: Gastroenterologist. Current Employer: Sutter Health
Thomas Zikos, MD. Current Title: Gastroenterologist. Current Employer: Kaiser Permanente

2018

Jessica Yu, MD, MS. Current Title: Assistant Professor of Medicine. Current Employer: Oregon Health & Science University
Monique Theresa Barakat, MD, PhD. Current Title: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine. Current Employer: Stanford University
Allison Kwong, MD, MS. Current Title: Instructor. Current Employer: Stanford University
Andres Carlos Blackmore Gottfried, MD. Current Title: Instructor. Current Employer: Stanford University

2017

2016

Edward Sheen MD, MBA, MPH. Current Title: Assistant Professor. Current Employer: Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis. Adjunct Professor Stanford University
Oliver Lin MD, MS. Current Title: Gastroenterologist. Current Employer: Kaiser Permanente
Kirsten Regalia, MD. Current Title: Gastroenterologist. Current Employer: Kaiser Permanente
Irene Sonu, MD. Current Title: Clinical Assistant Professor. Current Employer: Stanford University
Jennifer Y. Pan. Current Title: Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated) (VAPAHCS) Current Employer: VA Palo Alto Health System

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Current and Past Fellows

Current GI Fellows

Abhishek Dimopoulos-Verma, MD

Christina Dimopoulos-Verma, MD

Abel Joseph, MD

Ashley Ott, MD

Raul Vazquez-Reyes, MD

Seren Gedallovich, MD

Michael Pimienta, MD

Mai Sedki, MD

John Wang, MD

Wendy Zhou, DO

Nakia Chung, MD

Ofer Fass, MD

Spencer Frost, MD

Chiraag Kulkarni, MD

Paul Shao, MD

Past GI Fellows

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