Priya Kathpalia, MD

Associate Professor

Dr. Priya Kathpalia is a gastroenterologist and Medical Director of Motility at UCSF Health, specializing in the diagnosis and management of esophageal motility disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), eosinophilic esophagitis, and other complex foregut conditions. In addition to upper endoscopies and colonoscopies, she performs advanced diagnostic modalities including esophageal manometry, Bravo, pH-impedance, EndoFLIP, and mucosal impedance (MiVu) studies.

Dr. Kathpalia earned her medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and completed her residency in internal medicine at Loyola University Medical Center, where she also served as Chief Resident. She pursued her gastroenterology fellowship at UCSF, receiving advanced training in esophagology under the guidance of international experts in the field.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Kathpalia is deeply passionate about medical education and curricular development, and she serves as the Program Director for UCSF's GI fellowship training program. She is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association, and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), where she contributes to the Training Committee. Dr. Kathpalia also serves on the Clinical Practice Committee of the American Foregut Society and the editorial board of Gastroenterology. Additionally, she is the Co-Chair of the UCSF Medical Staff Committee on Professionalism.

Education
2020 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training, UCSF
2017 - Gastroenterology Fellowship, UCSF
2014 - Internal Medicine Chief Residency, Loyola University Medical Center
2013 - Internal Medicine Residency, Loyola University Medical Center
2010 - MD, Loyola University Chicago - Stritch School of Medicine
2006 - BA, Northwestern University
Honors and Awards
  • AztraZeneca Senior Fellow Award, American College of Gastroenterology
  • Honors in Bioethics, Loyola University Chicago - Stritch School of Medicine
  • Margaret Raiford Hano Memorial Scholarship Award, Loyola University Chicago - Stritch School of Medicine
  • Cum Laude, Northwestern University
  • Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, Northwestern University
  • Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators Member, UCSF
  • UCSF Division of Gastroenterology Inaugural Teaching Award, UCSF
Publications
  1. Njie C, Richman C, Rebhun J, Achalu S, Kamal AN, Otaki F, Leiman DA, Kathpalia P. Identification of gaps in the delivery of high-quality care of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis. Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus 2024. PMID: 39007698


  2. Salvador R, Pandolfino JE, Costantini M, Gyawali CP, Keller J, Mittal S, Roman S, Savarino EV, Tatum R, Tolone S, Zerbib F, Capovilla G, Jain A, Kathpalia P, Provenzano L, Yadlapati R. The Role of High-Resolution Manometry Prior to and Following Antireflux Surgery: The Padova Consensus. Annals of surgery 2024. PMID: 38606560


  3. Wang CW, Lees CR, Ko MS, Sewell JL, Kathpalia P. Implementation and Analysis of a 5-Year Online Esophageal Motility Curriculum for Gastroenterology Fellows. Digestive diseases and sciences 2024. PMID: 38507124


  4. Kamal AN, Kathpalia P, Leiman DA, Bredenoord AJ, Clarke JO, Gyawali CP, Katzka DA, Lazarescu A, Pandolfino JE, Penagini R, Roman S, Savarino E, Vela MF, Otaki F. Quality Indicator Development for the Approach to Ineffective Esophageal Motility: A Modified Delphi Study. Journal of clinical gastroenterology 2024. PMID: 38227852


  5. Leiman DA, Kamal AN, Otaki F, Bredenoord AJ, Dellon ES, Falk GW, Fernandez-Becker NQ, Gonsalves N, Hirano I, Katzka DA, Peterson K, Yadlapati R, Kathpalia P. Quality Indicators for the Diagnosis and Management of Eosinophilic Esophagitis. The American journal of gastroenterology 2022. PMID: 36599135


  6. Romanoff E, Zhuo J, Huang AC, Amador D, Otaki F, Kamal AN, Kathpalia P, Leiman DA. Achalasia Quality Indicator Adherence. Digestive diseases and sciences 2022. PMID: 36459295


  7. Erin Libuit, Nathan Alhalel, David Nagle, Connie W. Wang, Priya Kathpalia, Myung S. Ko. Low Use of First-Line Agents for Constipation by Primary Care Providers in Patients Referred to Gastroenterology Clinic for Chronic Constipation. Gastroenterology 2022. PMID:


  8. Wang CW, Mclean I R, Cheng YW, Kim S, Terdiman J, Kathpalia P, Beck KR. Racial Disparities in Endoscopy Cancellations During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Digestive diseases and sciences 2022. PMID: 35732970


  9. Kraft C, Kim RG, Kathpalia P. Recurrent Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding due to a Cholecystocolonic Fistula. 2021. PMID: 33606381


  10. Huppert LA, Hsiao EC, Cho KC, Marquez C, Chaudhry RI, Frank J, Goglin SE, Hsu G, Kathpalia P, Khanna R, Kompala T, Rao MN, Bower BA, Trafas V, Santhosh L, Schwartz BS, Babik JM. Virtual Interviews at Graduate Medical Education Training Programs: Determining Evidence-Based Best Practices. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges 2020. PMID: 33298691


  11. Stein E, Sloan J, Sonu I, Kathpalia P, Jodorkovsky D. GERD for the nongastroenterologist: successful evaluation, management, and lifestyle-based symptom control. 2020. PMID: 32944973


  12. Holmes I, Ko MS, Kouanda A, Singh A, Nett A, Kathpalia P. Epiphrenic diverticula: An added source of complexity in achalasia management. Neurogastroenterology and motility : the official journal of the European Gastrointestinal Motility Society 2019. PMID: 31777144


  13. Han S, Obuch JC, Keswani RN, Hall M, Patel SG, Menard-Katcher P, Simon V, Ezekwe E, Aagaard E, Ahmad A, Alghamdi S, Austin K, Brimhall B, Broy C, Carlin L, Cooley M, Di Palma JA, Duloy AM, Early DS, Ellert S, Gaumnitz EA, Goyal J, Kathpalia P, Day L, El-Nachef N, Kerman D, Lee RH, Lunsford T, Mittal M, Morigeau K, Pietrak S, Piper M, Shah AS, Shapiro AB, Shergill A, Sonnier W, Sorrell C, Vignesh S, Wani S. THE EFFECT OF INDIVIDUALIZED FEEDBACK ON LEARNING CURVES IN EGD AND COLONOSCOPY: A CLUSTER RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. Gastrointestinal endoscopy 2019. PMID: 31715173


  14. Kraft C, Kathpalia P, Baumgardner JM, Pandolfino JE, Sewell JL. How to Incorporate Esophageal Manometry Teaching in Your Fellowship Program. Gastroenterology 2019. PMID: 31028777


  15. Carlson DA, Kathpalia P, Craft J, Tye M, Lin Z, Kahrilas PJ, Pandolfino JE. The relationship between esophageal acid exposure and the esophageal response to volumetric distention. Neurogastroenterology and motility : the official journal of the European Gastrointestinal Motility Society 2017. PMID: 29098750


  16. Mukhtar NA, Kathpalia P, Hilton JF, Lau G, Yu A, Grumbach K, Nguyen TT, Chan D, Khalili M. Provider, Patient, and Practice Factors Shape Hepatitis B Prevention and Management by Primary Care Providers. Journal of clinical gastroenterology 2017. PMID: 27811627


  17. Velayos F, Kathpalia P, Finlayson E. Changing Paradigms in Detection of Dysplasia and Management of Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Is Colectomy Still Necessary? Volume 152 of Issue 2. Gastroenterology 2016. PMID: 27765687


  18. Kathpalia P, Smith A, Lai JC. Underutilization of palliative care services in the liver transplant population. World journal of transplantation 2016. PMID: 27683638


  19. Kathpalia P, Kane S, Mahadevan U. Detectable Drug Levels in Infants Exposed to Biologics: So What? Gastroenterology 2016. PMID: 27215654


  20. Kathpalia P, Bhatia A, Robertazzi S, Ahn J, Cohen SM, Sontag S, Luke A, Durazo-Arvizu R, Pillai AA. Indwelling peritoneal catheters in patients with cirrhosis and refractory ascites. Internal medicine journal 2015. PMID: 26122531


  21. Kathpalia P, Ahn J. Assessment of jaundice in the hospitalized patient. Clinics in liver disease 2014. PMID: 25454302