
Current Fellows
Chief Gastroenterology Fellow
Stephanie Romutis, MD
Year III
R: Boston Medical Center
MS: Wake Forest University
Fun Facts
Stephanie Romutis, MD
Hometown: Ottawa, Canada
Undergraduate College: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2011)
Career Interests: Advanced Endoscopy
Lives In: North Hills
Life Outside of Medicine: Continuing to refine my skills at wrangling my rambunctious 2.5 year old daughter and our new large breed ballistic missile puppy. Avid ice hockey fan (typical Canadian) and want-to-be master chef. Otherwise enjoy riding motocross, skiing, and spending as much time outside as possible.
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Very family friendly city with plenty of restaurants, breweries, and city parks that are easily accessible. Great sports city; even though I have loyalties to other teams, it’s easy to catch the black-and-gold fever. Plenty of festivals (such as Picklesburgh) that are always fun to explore.
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Getting the opportunity to work with and learn from my cofellows who are always supportive and a blast to work with. Our training facilities offer fantastic exposure to a wide breadth of clinical cases and pathology. Our faculty is very approachable and readily share their wealth of knowledge as well as their endoscopic expertise.
Advanced Research Pathway Fellow
R. Warren Sands, MD, PhD
MS: Northwestern University
R: UPMC
Fun Facts
Warren Sands, MD, PhD
Hometown: Waukesha, WI
Career Interests: Academic Hepatology
Lives In: Franklin Park
Life Outside of Medicine: Enjoying activities with my wife and kids
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Eating out!
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: A wide breadth of experience from a diverse patient population and learning from leading experts
Advanced Endoscopy Fellow
Kishore Vipperla, MD
Year IV
MS: Osmania Medical College
R: St. Luke’s University Hospital
Advanced Transplant Hepatology Fellow
Catherine Bartnik, MD, MPH
Year III
MS: Michigan State University
R: Emory Healthcare
Fun Facts
Catherine (Cat) Bartnik, MD
Hometown: Saginaw, MI
Undergraduate College: Kalamazoo College (2008)
Career Interests: Hepatology, Transplant Hepatology
Lives In: Highland Park
Life Outside of Medicine: Growing tomatoes in our urban backyard garden, beating my wonderfully supportive husband at tennis, traveling the globe, and cooking authentically
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Frequenting local restaurants, hiking regional parks, biking the riverfront trail, and exploring the Strip District
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Our fellowship is composed of down to earth, collegial, and friendly fellows. We train in different practice settings (VA, tertiary referral hospital, community hospital) which exposes us to a wide range of clinical complex cases.
Advanced Transplant Hepatology Fellow
Akshata Moghe, MD, PhD
Year IV
MS: Seth G.S. Medical College
R: UPMC
Fun Facts
Akshata Moghe, MD, PhD
Hometown: Mumbai, India
Undergraduate College: Seth G.S. Medical College (2007)
Career Interests: Transplant Hepatology, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Hepatic Porphyrias, Alcohol-associated Liver Disease
Lives In: Squirrel Hill
Life Outside of Medicine: Spending time with my husband and daughter, running, reading, and listening to audiobooks
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Definitely going to all the parks and hiking trails!
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: The solid clinical training combined with the camaraderie
Gastroenterology Fellows
Adeyinka Adejumo, MD
Year I
MS: University of Ibadan College of Medicine
R: North Shore Medical Center
Fun Facts
Adeyinka Adejumo, MD
Hometown: Nigeria
Undergraduate College: University of Ibadan (2009)
Career Interests: General GI, Hepatology, Pancreas
Lives In: Monroeville, PA
Life Outside of Medicine: Watch European soccer leagues
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Restaurants
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: The atmosphere in the program is quite friendly. All the fellows, chief fellow, faculty, and staff members are very nice and eager to help others. By rotating through several hospitals (VA, Presby, Montefiore, Shadyside, Magee) all within a very short distance, we get exposed to a diverse population of cases. I am so glad to be here!
Ricardo Cabello, MD
Year I
MS: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
R: Mt. Sinai Beth Israel
Fun Facts
Ricardo Cabello, MD
Hometown: Lima, Peru
Undergraduate College: University of Virginia (2009)
Career Interests: Hepatology
Lives In: Downtown Pittsburgh
Life Outside of Medicine: Enjoy playing soccer on the weekends. I have been surfing for many years and when on vacation (and able to travel), I usually go on surf trips about twice a year.
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: I like running down by the Point and eating in the Downtown and Lawrenceville restaurant scenes. Definitely enjoy going to watch the Steelers and Penguins play as well.
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Very supportive environment. I have had excellent mentors in Hepatology. My cofellows are very supportive and easy to work with.
Debbie Cheng, MD
Year III
MS: University of Michigan
R: UPMC
Fun Facts
Debbie Cheng, MD
Hometown: North Potomac, MD
Undergraduate College: University of Pennsylvania (2010)
Career Interests: Inflammatory Bowel Disease, General GI
Lives In: Lawrenceville
Life Outside of Medicine: Being outside (hiking, biking, running), swimming, and traveling
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Exploring new restaurants and breweries
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Strong clinical training with supportive co-fellows and faculty mentors
Kathan Chintamaneni, MD
Year I
MS: Medical College of Wisconsin
R: LAC + USC Medical Center
Fun Facts
Kathan Chintamaneni, MD
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Undergraduate College: Washington University in St. Louis, MO (2012)
Career Interests: General GI, Advanced Endoscopy
Lives In: Point Breeze
Life Outside of Medicine: Plant daddy, Zillow addict and obsessive Dyson user with an exercise addiction
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Exploring my new city on foot, trying out new coffee shops and breweries (not necessarily together) and finding spots with a nice view for picnics.
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Supportive attendings who care about their patients, hands-on training from day 1, and having a night float system is a big perk too! Definitely a better work-life balance with built in mechanisms to reduce burnout.
Wai Kan (Karen) Chiu, MD
Year II
MS: University of Pittsburgh
R: Weill Cornell Medicine
Fun Facts
Wai Kan (Karen ) Chiu, MD
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Undergraduate College: University of California at Berkeley (2003)
Career Interests: General GI, Hepatology
Lives In: Squirrel Hill
Life Outside of Medicine: Travel (when we were allowed to travel and when, hopefully, we are allowed to travel again), sushi sushi sushi, and dogs!
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Supporting local restaurants (I do takeouts during these COVID days, haha, oh well), strolling through neighborhoods
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: The fellows.
Furkan Ertem, MD
Year II
MS: Istanbul Universitesi
R: UPMC
Fun Facts
Furkan Ertem, MD
Hometown: Ankara, Turkey
Career Interests: Advanced IBD
Lives In: Shadyside
Life Outside of Medicine: Soccer, project coordinator at a NGO (Whitetulip Health Foundation)
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Playing soccer, Kayaking
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Clinical training from experts, supportive program leadership.
Jacqueline Estevez, MD
Year I
MS: Boston University School of Medicine
R: Cleveland Clinic
Fun Facts
Jacqueline Estevez, MD
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Career Interests: Hepatology
Lives In: Downtown Pittsburgh
Life Outside of Medicine: Hiking, traveling, exploring the city (restaurants, bars, art)
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Exploring various parks
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Friendly approachable colleagues, subspecialty consult services, night float system
Amir-Ali Ghaffari, MD
Year II
MS: University of Caifornia, Los Angeles
R: UPMC
Amir Gougol, MD
Year II
MS: Tehran University
R: UPMC
Rory Grace, MD
Year III
MS: George Washington University
R: University of Pennsylvania Health System
Fun Facts
Rory Grace, MD
Hometown: Schenectady, NY
Career Interests: General GI, IBD
Lives In: Regent Square
Life Outside of Medicine: Dogs, family, hiking, traveling (back when we could)
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Explore the great nearby hiking and parks (Frick Park is so nice)
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Strong clinical training at three different sites, my amazing co-fellows who keep me sane and happy
Ru Min Lee, MD
Year III
MS: University of Melbourne, Australia
R: University of Pennsylvania Health System
Fun Facts
Ru Min Lee, MD
Hometown: Singapore
Career Interests: General GI, IBD
Lives In: Shadyside
Life Outside of Medicine: Cooking, baking, playing the piano, hiking
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Strolls down Walnut St., Squirrel Hill, and Schenley Park
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Strength in each GI subspecialty, breadth and complexity of patients
Jacob Lipkin, MD
Year II
MS: Penn State University
R: UPMC
Fun Facts
Jake Lipkin, MD
Hometown: Doylestown, PA
Undergraduate College: Franklin & Marshall College (2012)
Career Interests: Advanced Endoscopy
Lives In: Shadyside
Life Outside of Medicine: Enjoy playing sports, going on hikes and to the park with my wife and doc, traveling (during non-COVID times)
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Going to the parks, exploring new breweries and restaurants
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Comradery among fellows.
Sunny Tao, MD
Year II
MS: University of Pittsburgh
R: UPMC
Fun Facts
Sunny Tao, MD
Hometown: Centerville, OH
Career Interests: Hepatology
Lives In: South Side
Life Outside of Medicine: Hiking with my dog, cooking/grilling, photography, binge-watching Netflix
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Exploring new restaurants, walks at Frick Park and the riverside
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Co-fellows, night float system, clinically strong and procedurally heavy training, broad exposure to complex GI pathology (IBD, PB, liver transplant)
Nelson Valentin, MD
Year I
MS: University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
R: Mt. Sinai Beth Israel
Fun Facts
Nelson Valentin, MD
Hometown: Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Undergraduate College: University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus (2011)
Career Interests: Gastrointestinal Motility Disorders and Functional GI
Lives In: Squirrel Hill
Life Outside of Medicine: I enjoy reading, playing sports, and spending time with my dog Ollie
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Going to Frick Park, hiking, golfing, and trying new restaurants
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: UPMC offers world class, nationally ranked care in an environment that provides the support and resources for you to succeed as an academic gastroenterologist. There is a well rounded exposure to a diverse set of pathologies and there is plenty of collaboration across departments to facilitate learning while providing high quality care. I enjoy the comradery among the fellows and the approachability of the faculty. There are always exciting, cutting edge medical advancements occurring at UPMC and you get to play in integral part of it. It is an excellent place to train.
Jonathan Wilen, MD
Year I
MS: University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
R: Columbia University Irving Medicine Center
Fun Facts
Jonathan Wilen, MD
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Undergraduate College: University of Michigan (2012)
Career Interests: Advanced Endoscopy or General GI
Lives In: Shadyside/East Liberty
Life Outside of Medicine: Playing sports (ice hockey, soccer) and exploring new restaurants with my wife and friends
Favorite things to do in Pittsburgh: Exploring different neighborhoods, going to concerts, eating diverse foods, and walking through Schenley and Mellon Parks
Favorite things about the UPMC GI Fellowship: Broad spectrum of faculty expertise (get to round with generalists, hepatologists, IBD experts, advanced endoscopists, etc.), early scoping experience (EGD on day one!), awesome co-fellows who are both hardworking and relaxed
Contact Us

Division of Gastroenterology,
Hepatology and Nutrition
Mezzanine Level, C-Wing, PUH
200 Lothrop Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-864-7091 | Email