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Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology

header-title-decorationGastroenterology

Harbor-UCLA Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Viktor Eysselein

Viktor Eysselein, MD
Health Sciences Clinical Professor
Associate Chief, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Email: veysselein@dhs.lacounty.gov

 

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Sofiya-Reicher

Sofiya Reicher, MD, FACG, FASGE
Health Sciences Clinical Professor
Chief, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Director of Endoscopy
Email: sreicher@dhs.lacounty.gov

 

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Rome-Jutabha-MD

Rome Jutabha, MD, FACP, FASGE
Professor of Clinical Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Director, Digital Health and Innovation

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Nati-Zilberstein

Netanel Zilberstein, MD, MS, DABOM
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Director of Endobariatrics and Metabolic Endoscopy Program

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Contract Physicians

Neal Moller MD
Avanish Patel, MD
Robert Webman, MD

Welcome to Harbor-UCLA Gastroenterology and Hepatology

The Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center provides a very busy clinical service.  We perform over 5000 procedures a year and have over 2,200 outpatient and 2,400 inpatient consults per year.  The eConsult system (over 1,700 per year) provides expedited access for our referring physicians.  Our faculties cover general and advanced endoscopy and hepatology.  We are dedicated to colon cancer prevention and detection and have active research projects in this area.  A highlight of our Division is advanced endoscopy.  We were the first Center in the LA area performing endosonography starting in the year 1996.  We have established a successful GI fellowship in advanced endoscopy for GI fellows who already graduated in gastroenterology.  Our Division developed into a Referral Center for advanced endoscopic procedures helping our other LA County Hospitals.  We participate in the yearly Symposium of the Association of Woman Endoscopists (Sofiya Reicher, MD) which attracts over 400 participants.  Below are details of our activities.

Training

Harbor-UCLA Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

  • Member of the Affiliated UCLA Training Program: one rotating UCLA GI fellow per month, additional UCLA GI fellows during electives.
  • Advanced Endoscopy GI fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center: Two 4th year fellows (regular GI fellowship completed) per year.
  • Training of Harbor-UCLA and UCLA Surgical Residents in Endoscopy.
  • Member of Affiliated Cedars Sinai GI Fellowship Program.

Publications

Harbor-UCLA Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

  • Bell M., Wang K, Feng J, Chow K, Reicher S, Eysselein VE: “Integrated Molecular Pathology as a Predictor of Malignant Transformation of Pancreatic Cysts with up to 11-Year Follow-Up“. J. Pancreas, in press.
  • Gisi C, Wang K, Khan F, Reicher S, Hou L, Fuller C, Sattler J, Eysselein VE (2021). Efficacy and patient satisfaction of single-session transoral incisionless fundoplication and laparoscopic hernia repair. Surg Endosc 2021; 35(2):921-927.
  • Ku, L., M.A. Shahshahan, L.A. Hou, V.E. Eysselein, S. Reicher. Improved diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound-fine needle biopsy with histology specimen processing. World Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 12(8): 212-219, 2020.
  • Yoo, T., A. Adnan, L.A. Hou, S. Gukovsky-Reicher, K.T. Chen, V.E. Eysselein. Endoscopic vacuum therapy in the repair of upper GI perforations and leaks: A case series.
    Journal of Gastrointestinal Disorders 2:1-5, 2019.
  • Ku L, Hou LA, Eysselein VE, Reicher S. Endoscopic ultrasound quality metrics in clinical practice. Diagnostics 2021;11(2):24
  • –Standardization of quality indicators in Endoscopy Research
    (N. Srivastava,MD,  in preparation)
  • Tayek JA, Stolz AA, Nguyen DV, Fleischman MW, Donovan JA, Alcorn JM, Chao DC, Asghar A, Morgan TR; Southern California Alcoholic Hepatitis (SCAH) Consortium. A phase II, multicenter, open-label, randomized trial of pegfilgrastim for patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis. 2022 Oct 12;54:101689. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101689. PMID: 36267499; PMCID: PMC9576807.
  • Garg K, Boupapanh K, Zilberstein N, Wang TJ, Kakked G, Al-Sabti R, Mehta NA, Chapman CG, Waxman I, Singh A. The use of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle biopsy for the diagnosis of microcystic serous cystic neoplasms of the pancreas. Pancreatology. 2025 Jun;25(4):594-596. Epub 2025 May 27. PMID: 40456665.
  • Zilberstein N, Garg K, Maniak A, Kakked G, Mehta NA, Singh A, Chapman CG, Waxman I. A novel out-of-the-box method for EUS-guided gastrojejunostomy in Billroth II anatomy. Gastrointest Endosc. 2025 Mar;101(3):682-683. doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2024.10.024. Epub 2024 Oct 16. PMID: 39424004.
  • Zilberstein N, Bhavsar-Burke I. A Roadmap to a Successful Job Search for Gastroenterology Trainees. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Mar;23(4):503-506. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2024.10.013. Epub 2024 Dec 4. PMID: 39645232.
  • Zilberstein NF, Engen PA, Swanson GR, Naqib A, Post Z, Alutto J, Green SJ, Shaikh M, Lawrence K, Adnan D, Zhang L, Voigt RM, Schwartz J, Keshavarzian A. The Bidirectional Effects of Periodontal Disease and Oral Dysbiosis on Gut Inflammation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. J Crohns Colitis. 2025 Apr 4;19(4):jjae162. doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjae162. PMID: 39447062; PMCID: PMC12041420.
  • Post Z, Zilberstein N, Keshavarzian A. The Circadian Rhythm as Therapeutic Target in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcag/gwae027
  • Zilberstein N, Godbee M, Mehta N. A, & Waxman, I. Advanced endoscopic imaging for detection of Barrett’s esophagus. Clinical Endoscopy, 2024;57(1), 1–10. PMID: 38178326
  • Calzadilla N, Zilberstein N, Hanscom M, et al. Serum metabolomic analysis in cirrhotic alcohol-associated liver disease patients identified differentially altered microbial metabolites and novel potential biomarkers for disease severity. Digestive and Liver Disease. Published online 2023. PMID: 37923598
  • Zilberstein NF, Mehta NA. Suprapapillary stenting for malignant hilar obstruction: Is it feasible in the West? Gastrointest Endosc. 2023;98(2):222-224. PMID: 3745505
  • Saini P, Adeniji OS, Bordoloi D, Kinslow J, Martinson J, Parent DM, Hong KY, Koshy J, Kulkarni AJ, Zilberstein NF, Balk RA, Moy JN, Giron LB, Tracy RP, Keshavarzian A, Muthumani K, Landay A, Weiner DB, Abdel-Mohsena M. Siglec-9 Restrains Antibody-Dependent Natural Killer Cell Cytotoxicity against SARS-CoV-2. mBio. 2023;14(1):e0339322. PMID: 36728420
  • Giron LB, Peluso MJ, Ding J, Kenny G, Zilberstein NF, Koshy J, Hong KY, Rasmussen H, Miller GE, Bishehsari F, Balk RA, Moy JN, Hoh R, Lu S, Goldman AR, Tang HY, Yee BC, Chenna A, Winslow JW, Petropoulos CJ, Kelly JD, Wasse H, Martin JN, Liu Q, Keshavarzian A, Landay A, Deeks SG, Henrich TJ, Abdel-Mohsen M. Markers of fungal translocation are elevated during post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 and induce NF-κB signaling. JCI Insight. 2022;7(18):e164813. Published 2022 Sep 22. PMID: 35727635
  • Zilberstein, NF and Weiss G. Gluten-Sensitive Lymphocytic Gastritis: Two Novel Case Reports and a Review of Literature. UCLA Proceedings. 2021 (25)
  • Adeniji OS, Giron LB, Purwar M, Zilberstein NF, Kulkarni AJ, Shaikh MW, Balk RA, Moy JN, Forsyth CB, Liu Q, Dweep H, Kossenkov A, Weiner DB, Keshavarzian A, Landay A, Abdel-Mohsen M. COVID-19 Severity Is Associated with Differential Antibody Fc-Mediated Innate Immune Functions. mBio. 2021 Apr 20;12(2):e00281-21. PMID: 33879594
  • Giron LB, Dweep H, Yin X, Wang H, Damra M, Goldman AR, Gorman N, Palmer CS, Tang HY, Shaikh MW, Forsyth CB, Balk RA, Zilberstein NF, Liu Q, Kossenkov A, Keshavarzian A, Landay A, Abdel-Mohsen M. Plasma Markers of Disrupted Gut Permeability in Severe COVID-19 Patients. Front Immunol. 2021 Jun 9;12:6862 PMID: 34177935
  • Pan AY, Zilberstein NF, Farnan JM, McConville JF, Mikolajczyk AE. Recently Graduated Medical Students Lack Exposure to and Comfort with Chronic Liver Diseases. Dig Dis Sci. 2021 Aug 7. PMID: 34365534.
  • Mikolajczyk AE, Zilberstein N, McConville JF, Pan A, Aronsohn AI, Te HS, Reddy G, Paul S, Pillai A, Charlton M, Farnan JM. Mandatory Hepatology Education for Internal Medicine Residents: Long-Term Effects and Implications for Workforce Needs. Hepatol Commun. 2021 Nov;5(11):1953-1963. PMID: 34558840
  • Garfinkel D, Ilin N, Waller A, Torkan-Zilberstein A, Zilberstein N, Gueta I. Inappropriate medication use and polypharmacy in end-stage cancer patients. Isn’t it the family doctor’s role to de-prescribe earlier? International Journal of Clinical Practice. 2018, Apr; 72(4). PMID: 29359381
  • Zilberstein NF, Madungwe NB, Feng Y, Bopassa JC. Critical Role of Mitochondrial ROS is Dependent on their Site of Production on the Electron Transfer Chain in Ischemic Heart. American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease. 2016, Sept; 6(3):93-108. PMID: 27679744
  • Published Thesis
    Zilberstein, N (2023). The Bidirectional Effect of Periodontal Disease and Oral Dysbiosis on Intestinal Inflammation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease [Master of Science Thesis]. Rush University Medical Center, Graduate College

Office Hours & Location

  • Location
    1000 West Carson Street
    Box 406
    Torrance, CA 90509

  • General Contact
    Phone: (424) 306-4270 | Fax: (310) 212-7837

  • General Hours
    8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.

Applying to the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology – 3-Year Combined GI Fellowship

The Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is affiliated with Cedar Sinai General GI Fellowship Program which handles all applications for the 3-year combined GI fellowship for the site. Please contact Kavya Reddy, MD (Kavya.Reddy@csmc.edu)

Applying to the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology – 1-Year GI Fellowship

The Division of Gastroenterology at Harbor-UCLA has an one year GI fellowship for Advanced Endoscopy and Endosonography for GI fellows who have finished their training. This program is outside ACGME. For applications please contract Viktor Eysselein, MD (veysselein@dhs.lacounty.gov).