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Meet The Faculty

Advanced Esophageal Diseases Fellowship program director Jennifer Horsley-Silva, M.D., talks with a patient.

The Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases of the digestive tract and liver. It is a large practice with state-of-the-art facilities.

The division is organized around specialty groups oriented toward disease processes, organ systems, procedures, and patient groups. Clinical expertise is integrated with the newest forms of established and experimental diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Patient care is provided by teams of physicians and other health care staff with broad expertise in all forms of gastroenterological and hepatobiliary diseases.

Patients with esophageal disorders are treated by the Esophageal Interest Group and the Esophageal clinic, with a staff of five physicians. They are supported by a physician assistant, world-class motility lab, and work in close collaboration with thoracic and general surgeons, pathologists, and radiologists. Patients seen weekly in clinic have conditions that span the entire spectrum of esophageal diseases.

Because high-quality care depends upon scientific discovery, major research programs at the basic, applied, and translational levels exist to generate new knowledge that ultimately improve patient care.

Faculty

Marcelo Vela, M.D.

Marcelo Vela, M.D.

Program Director

Medical school: Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Residency: Internal medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Fellowship: Gastroenterology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH

Interests:

  • GERD
  • Dysphagia
  • Barrett's esophagus
  • Achalasia
  • Eosinophilic esophagitis
  • Non-cardiac chest pain
  • Esophageal motility disorders
  • Reflux monitoring
  • Esophageal manometry
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Jennifer Horsley-Silva, M.D.

Jennifer Horsley-Silva, M.D.

Assistant Program Director

Medical school: University of Nevada, Reno, NV

Residency: Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL

Fellowship: Gastroenterology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ

Interests:

  • Diagnosis, surveillance, and management of eosinophilic esophagitis
  • Achalasia
  • Barrett's esophagus
  • Esophagitis
  • GERD
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Francisco Ramirez, M.D.

Francisco Ramirez, M.D.

Professor of Medicine

Medical school: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru

Residency: Internal medicine, Southern Illinois University, Carobondale, IL

Fellowship: Gastroenterology, Therapeutic Endoscopy, and Clinical Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Interests:

  • Esophageal disorders
  • Therapeutic endoscopy
  • New methods
  • Colorectal cancer/screening/surveillance
  • Advanced endoscopy
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Allon Kahn, M.D.

Allon Kahn, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Medical school: University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ

Residency: Internal medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ

Fellowship: Gastroenterology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ

Interests:

  • Barrett's esophagus and early esophageal cancer
  • Endoscopic therapy of Barrett's esophagus-related neoplasia
  • Advanced imaging in Barrett's esophagus
  • Benign refractory esophageal strictures
  • GERD
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Michael Crowell, M.D.

Michael Crowell, M.D.

Professor of Medicine

Doctorate: University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS

Postdoctoral fellowship: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Interests:

  • Neuromuscular disorders of the GI tract
  • Visceral pain/hypersensitivity
  • Autonomic nervous system dysfunction in ingestive disorders
  • Mind-body/brain-gut interactions
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In addition to caring for patients in their clinical practices, Mayo Clinic's faculty members are committed to teaching and facilitating the growth of medical knowledge. Many of our faculty have published and lectured extensively and are highly regarded in their fields.