Welcome to the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. We are part of Penn Medicine, an integrated organization that includes the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Since the development of the Division in 1926, it has been one of the premier centers in the world for digestive and liver research, education, and clinical care. Our mission is that together we will pursue excellence in the care of individuals with digestive and liver diseases, excellence in the education of the next generation, and to seek innovative solutions to digestive and liver diseases. Our purpose is to enrich the lives of patients with GI and liver disease by leveraging our research, educational, and clinical excellence to challenge our current approaches.
Today, we are a vibrant and large Division with over 75 physicians, 24 fellows and over 200 staff across several sites that include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Medicine at Radnor, and the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center. There is close collaboration with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The Division provides clinical care in programs dedicated to General Gastroenterology, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Esophagus, Advanced Interventional Endoscopy, General and Transplant Hepatology, Gastrointestinal Genetics and Nutrition. We are fortunate that these programs are staffed by internationally recognized faculty.
The education of the next generation is an important aspect of our mission. Our gastroenterology fellowship is supported by 2 NIH T32 grants, one for basic science and the other in clinical epidemiology. We offer a clinical gastroenterology fellowship as well, and our faculty are leaders in the education and training of future gastroenterologists.
Our research program has grown over the years and our total sponsored program awards were an impressive $20 million for fiscal year 2024. The centerpiece of our research program is our NIH/NIDDK P30 UPenn Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases, one of only 17 in the nation. Our faculty continue to make discoveries that challenge current paradigms.
I hope that you continue to learn about our storied Division, and more importantly, I am truly excited about our future.
Jorge Marrero, MD, MS, (CRDSA), MSHCM
Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
T. Grier Miller Professor of Medicine
Division of Gastroenterology today
The Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the Department of Medicine at Penn is a robust academic unit, with 75 full-time faculty members whose clinical and scientific expertise covers the spectrum of areas within modern gastroenterology. There are 25 fellows in training and more than 200 staff members across five primary sites, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania-Cedar Avenue, and Penn Medicine at Radnor.
The clinical focus of the Division includes inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Hepatology and liver transplantation, gastrointestinal oncology, gastrointestinal motility and physiology, esophagology, nutrition, advanced interventional endoscopy, and general gastroenterology. In recent years the Division has seen robust growth in the number of patients awaiting liver transplantations and obtaining liver transplants; increased numbers of endoscopic procedures in the setting of a rigorous quality assurance program; and an increasingly complex mix of GI and Hepatology subspecialty consultations in IBD, upper GI disorders, nutrition, and motility/physiology from local, regional and national referral partners. The division includes a significant health systems research group and has been a leader in the development of innovative approaches to providing care.
The Division participates actively in the education and training of undergraduate students, medical and graduate students, combined degree students, medical residents, and GI/Hepatology fellows and advanced fellows. The fellowship is supported through two NIH T32 training grants, one in basic sciences and the other in clinical epidemiology. Medical students are encouraged to participate in both basic science and clinical curricula, as are undergraduates; the division holds two NIH R25 training grants for undergraduates, one for bench research training and one for epidemiology training.
Sponsored program awards and proposals have grown impressively over the years. Among the GI faculty of 75 members, there are 19 physician-scientists and research faculty engaged in NIH-funded research, and many of the clinician-educators have funded research programs. Total sponsored programs awards were over $20 million in FY24, impressive in this current competitive funding environment. The Division has witnessed the rapid emergence of multidisciplinary research-funded efforts that have nurtured collaborative relationships across the Penn campus and worldwide. Within the Division and beyond, GI and Hepatology research at UPenn is supported by the NIH/NIDDK UPenn Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases (P30), co-directed by Gary Wu, MD (Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology) and Klaus Kaestner, PhD (Department of Genetics). The center, one of only 17 in the United States, includes more than 40 members and associate members coming from five schools at the University of Pennsylvania as well as the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It provides access to research core facilities, an annual symposium, weekly research seminars, and other enrichment events. Visit The Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases for more information.
Within the Division and beyond, GI and Hepatology research at UPenn is supported by the NIH/NIDDK UPenn Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases (P30), Directed by Gary Wu, MD (Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology).
Mission
We will pursue excellence in the care of individuals with digestive and liver diseases, pursue excellence in the education of the next generation; and we will seek innovative solutions to digestive and liver diseases. By working together to accomplish the mission, we will achieve our goal to be the best of ourselves.
Vision
To enrich the lives of patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases by challenging the limits of current approaches.
Values
Our mission will be guided by these core values:
Excellence
We will perform all aspects of the mission at the highest of standards
Trust
We will promote a culture of trust, respect, and transparency
Teamwork
We will work collaboratively as a team by using our diverse backgrounds, talents and ideas
Equity and Accountability
We allocate resources to ensure equity becomes deeply rooted in our decision-making. We will be accountable to each other in order to achieve our goals.
Meet the Leadership Team of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Administration
- Jorge Marrero, MD
Chief, Division of Gastroenterology - Nuzhat Ahmad, MD
Vice Chief of Clinical Affairs - Rebecca Wells, MD
Vice Chief of Research - Octavia Pickett-Blakely, MD
Clinical Director, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine (PCAM) - James D. Lewis, MD, MSCE
Clinical Director, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) - Frederick A. Nunes, MD
Clinical Director, Pennsylvania Hospital (PAH) - Robert Stein, MD
Clinical Director, Penn Medicine at Radnor (PMR) - Steven F. Solga, MD
GI Fellowship Director - David Jaffe, MD
Director, GI Education -
Joseph Milano, MBA
Director of Division Administration
Division of GI and Hepatology
Endoscopy leadership
- Gregory G. Ginsberg, MD
Executive Director, Endoscopic Services - Nuzhat A. Ahmad, MD
Associate Medical Director of Endoscopy, HUP and PCAM - Robert Stein, MD
Medical Director of Endoscopy, PMR - Frederick A. Nunes, MD
Medical Director of Endoscopy, PAH - Kashyap V. Panganamamula, MD
Director of Therapeutic Endoscopy, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
Program directors
- Nuzhat A. Ahmad, MD and
Shivan Mehta, MD, MBA, MSHP
Co-Directors, GI Quality (QUIDS) - Laurel Fisher, MD
Director, Women in GI Committee - Gary R. Lichtenstein, MD
Director, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) Center - James D. Lewis, MD, MSCE
Associate Director, IBD Center
Director, Gastroenterology/Hepatology Clinical Research Program - Kristle Lynch, MD
Director, GI Clinical Physiology Lab - K. Rajender (Raj) Reddy, MD
Director of Hepatology
Medical Director of Liver Transplantation
Director, Viral Hepatitis Center - Octavia Pickett-Blakely, MD
Director of the GI Nutrition, Celiac Sprue and Obesity Program (NCOP)>
Clinical staff
- Joseph Milano, MBA
Director of Division Administration
Division of GI and Hepatology - Kerri McGuckin
Administrator of Practice Operations
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine - Bernadette Muccie
Practice Manager
Pennsylvania Hospital - Bernadette Muccie
Practice Manager
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center - Susan Vogt
Practice Manager
Penn Medicine Radnor - Christina Brancato
Practice Manager
Penn Medicine Radnor
Research staff
- Lee Taggart
Manager, Administration & Finance, Division of Gastroenterology and The Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases
954 Biomedical Research Building II/III
215-573-4264
215-898-0573 (fax) - Tannaz Fakheri
Grants Manager
953 Biomedical Research Building II/III
215-573-8557
215-898-0573 (fax) - Stephanie Kotloff
Grants Manager, Division of Gastroenterology
909 Biomedical Research Building II/III
215-573-1883
215-898-0573 (fax) - Jessica Monkoski
Program Coordinator, PennCHOP Microbiome Program
908 Biomedical Research Building II/III
215-573-4970
215-898-0573 (fax) - Kristi Taverno
Administrative Assistant to Gary D. Wu, MD
918 Biomedical Research Building II/III
215-573-4117
215-898-0573 (fax)