Course Directors
Jack Brandabur, M.D. and Kunjali T. Padhya are reunited again to bring attendees another outstanding program this year.
Jack Brandabur, M.D.
Providence Swedish
Interventional Endoscopy Group
Sacred Heart Medical Center
Spokane, WA
Dr. Brandabur is currently part of the Interventional Endoscopy group at Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane, Washington. Dr. Brandabur pursued his undergraduate studies at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He attended Medical School at the University of Cincinnati. He then completed Internal Medicine residency at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. He subsequently trained in Gastroenterology and Advanced Endoscopy at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He currently serves as the Co Executive Director, Providence Cancer and Digestive Health Institute. Clinical interests include Interventional Endoscopic procedures, Inflammatory Bowel disease, GI malignancies, and esophageal disease.
Kunjali T. Padhya, M.D.
Medical Director-Endoscopy
Providence Swedish Medical Center
Seattle, WA
After growing up in central Illinois, Dr. Padhya attended the University of Illinois at Chicago for her undergraduate studies, and then the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria, Illinois. She completed internal medicine residency at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) followed by gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. A quest for fresh air and nature brought her to Swedish Medical Center in Seattle in 2015. Since then, she has been fortunate to serve as Director of Endoscopy for our Swedish sites, and the American College of Gastroenterology governor for Washington state. Dr. Padhya is interested in physician wellbeing, technology and quality metrics in endoscopy. In her free time, she enjoys spin class, Pilates, paddleboarding, and entertaining/experimenting in the kitchen. She is grateful for the opportunity to co-direct SPENC for the last several years with her colleague and mentor Dr. Brandabur. Connecting with staff across the region and country is the best part of the course!
Speakers
Matthew S. Berger, M.D.
Adult Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition, Providence Medical Group
Dr. Matthew Berger is a Gastroenterology Specialist in Spokane, Washington. Dr. Berger received his medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine, where he graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into the Iota Epsilon Alpha international Medical Honor Society. He completed his internal medicine residency at Stony Brook University, clinical nutrition fellowship at The University of Chicago and gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship at University of Rochester. He has a particular interest in inflammatory bowel disease, short bowel syndrome and colon cancer screening and prevention. His training in clinical nutrition provides him with a unique perspective and skillset for treating patients with short gut syndrome, post bariatric surgery ailments and malabsorption issues. He is passionate about patient education, providing them with the knowledge and care they deserve, to allow for shared decision making and patient centered care.
Christopher J. Carlson, M.D.
Swedish Health Services
Dr. Carlson attended SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine, then completed internal medicine residency at the University of Michigan and gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Washington, where he was elected fellows representative. Dr. Carlson enjoys practicing all aspects of gastroenterology, and has particular interests in therapeutic endoscopy and inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Carlson believes that people need to be able to trust their healthcare providers, and strives to help patients understand their medical issues and to know what to expect with any proposed interventions. He combines an investigative approach to patient care while staying current with new technology and guidelines.
Naomi D. Chou, M.D.
Swedish Health Services
Dr. Naomi Chou practices patient-centered care as a general gastroenterologist at Swedish Health Services in Issaquah. Her passion of practicing up-to-date, science-driven care started during her internal medicine residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the birthplace of UpToDate. She further developed her interest in colon cancer screening and methods of early detection during her GI fellowship at the University of Washington, where she was mentored by physician scientists at the Seattle VA Medical Center and Fred Hutch Cancer Institute. She is pleased to discuss the recent changes in colon cancer screening guidelines and the science that is driving these changes.
Jennifer K. Kennedy, M.D.
General Gastroenterology
Swedish Health Services
Dr. Kennedy finished gastroenterology fellowship at University of California - Irvine in 2022 and joined Swedish Gastroenterology later that year. She practices general gastroenterology and hepatology with a focus in esophageal and bowel motility disorders.
Divyanshoo R. Kohli, M.D.
Providence
Div Kohli is an interventional endoscopist working at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, WA. Prior to his current position, he served as the Director of Endoscopy at the Kansas City VA Medical Center, MO and as an adjunct faculty for the Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship program at Kansas University School of Medicine, KS. His clinical and research interests include advanced endoscopic interventions, gastrointestinal oncology, endo-hepatology, and modalities for enteral access.
Glen A. Lutchman, M.D., MHsc
Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology, Swedish Health Services
Dr. Lutchman received his medical degree from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad, West Indies. He completed his residency at the University of New York, SUNY Downstate, Brooklyn, NY. In medical school he would never have imagined that he would choose Hepatology as a specialty. However, Dr. Lutchman was fortunate to train at the National Institutes of Health and UCSF and was mentored by some of the preeminent Hepatologists in the world. As such he has developed a great interest in liver disease and liver transplant. He finds great satisfaction in making a difficult diagnosis and seeing his patients transform after their liver transplant. Dr. Lutchman’s
research interests are viral hepatitis and liver cancer.
Jiten D. Patel V, M.D.
Swedish Health Services
Dr. Patel is truly privileged to do what he does. He believes that every individual deserves the best possible care and has a personal history to share. He immensely enjoys getting to know his patients and being a partner in their healthcare to improve patient's quality of life. He has a sub-specialty interest in pulmonary oncology and vascular lung disease. Dr. Patel completed his post-graduate training at the Oxford University, followed by a combined Internal Medicine and Pediatric residency training at the University of Kansas. Dr. Patel continued on at Kansas University to finish with fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine.
Travis Piester, M.D.
Director of Endoscopy, Director Pancreas Program, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Associate Professor, University of Washington
Dr. Piester obtained his medical degree from the University of Iowa. He then completed pediatric residency at the University of California, Irvine and Gastroenterology fellowship at Stanford University. After GI fellowship, he completed his Interventional Endoscopy fellowship with Dr. Sandeep Patel at Baylor College of Medicine, San Antonio. After interventional endoscopy training, Dr. Piester became the Director of Advanced and Therapeutic Endoscopy at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and provided interventional endoscopy support to Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno, California. In February 2023, he became Director of Endscopy and Director of the Pancreas Program at Seattle Children’s Hospital. In Seattle, he is developing a pediatric bariatric endoscopy practice within the Metabolic Weight Management Program at SCH. His clinical interests include pancreatobiliary endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, and bariatric endoscopy – specifically endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty for adolescents.
Nishant Puri, M.D.
Dr Puri is working as an interventional endoscopist at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane since 2014. He earned his medical degree from Government Medical College Chandigarh in India and completed his residency and fellowship training at Loma Linda University California. He is currently serving as the physician lead of the Providence Liver and Pancreas group. His clinical interests include pancreatic and biliary disorders, advanced endoscopic interventions, endoscopic ultrasound, endohepatology and gastrointestinal oncology. He is a recipient of the Providence Exemplary Performance award. He is an active member of several GI societies and has been elected as a fellow of the ACP, ACG, ASGE and AGA. He has multiple peer reviewed publications in academic journals. He also serves as an Associate Professor at the Elson S Floyd School of Medicine, Spokane and Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
Rohit Sharda, M.D.
Swedish Health Services
Dr. Sharda has worked as a GI Hospitalist at Swedish Medical Center, where he has enjoyed taking care of complex patients since 2017. He also serves on the ACG Public Relations Committee, as well as the
Procedural Sedation and Medicine Quality Review committees at Swedish. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis, basketball, and devotes an unhealthy amount of time reading
about electric cars and NBA news.
Harry L. Teicher, M.D.
Swedish Health Services
Dr. Teicher completed his residency at UW Medical Center, and Chief Residency at Seattle WA. He completed a GI/Hepatology Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and UW Medical Center. Dr. Teicher is currently a gastroenterologist at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. He is active in the community and served as President of the Pacific Northwest Gastroenterology Society for two terms, and is currently the Director of the Board. Dr. Teicher is a Clinical Assistant Professor at UW Division of Gastroenterology. He partners closely with his patients to achieve the best health care for them. His job is to be an avid listener, an up to the minute educator, to be there whenever needed, and to be as comforting a presence as possible. Being a physician is more about building trust and personal relationship than science and technology.