Colonoscopy near La Gurda Airport, NY

Care Philosophy: I believe that by spending the time and energy to understand every patient, we have a bounty of opportunities to halt disease progression and even reverse it, and look forward to caring for you or your loved one.

Care Philosophy: My approach to patient care involves carefully listening to a patient's history and concerns. I encourage input from parents and devote time to educating families about the child's condition. With thoughtful consideration to the presenting symptoms, I proceed with focused testing as part of a guided workup. When surgery is indicated, I thoroughly review the risks, benefits, and alternatives to operative treatment. I then actively communicate the findings and plans with the primary pediatricians so all members of the provider team are up to date.

Biography: Dr. Kenny Castro is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Pediatrician at New York-Presbyterian/Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. She is board certified in Pediatrics. Dr. Castro obtained her medical degree (M.D.) from the Central University of Venezuela. After receiving her M.D., she worked as a community doctor in her home country, Venezuela, providing medical care to low-income and minority populations. Seeking further expertise, she immigrated to the United States and pursued her medical training at Lincoln Medical Center, completing a three-year residency in pediatrics. Following that, she accomplished a three-year fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, where she was also inducted as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. During her fellowship training, Dr. Castro actively engaged in various research projects, focusing on clinical research and quality improvement. She contributed to studies exploring the public health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Inflammatory Bowel Disease presentation in pediatric patients in the New York City area and enhancing patient experience during colonoscopy procedures. Dr. Castro is fluent in English and Spanish, and her clinical interests include abdominal pain, constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, gastroesophageal reflux, eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease, celiac disease, poor weight gain, obesity, nausea, and vomiting.

Biography: Dr. Arielle Bergman is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Pediatrician at New York-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical Center.She is board certified in Pediatric Gastroenterology and General Pediatrics.After receiving her B.A. in Biology and Women/Gender Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, she went on to earn her M.D. at Drexel University College of Medicine. She then completed her pediatrics residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she also served as chief resident. After residency, she completed her fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at New York University. During her fellowship, Dr. Bergman focused her research on Eosinophilic Esophagitis. She investigated possible stool markers in Eosinophilic Esophagitis and additionally researched the overlap between Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Celiac Disease.

Biography: Dr. Alyson Fox earned her BA in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University prior to attending the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she served as assistant chief resident. She completed her Gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn, she completed a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology and served as chief fellow. She completed her advanced fellowship training in Advanced Transplant Hepatology at the University of California, San Francisco and was named clinical fellow of the year by the Department of Medicine. Dr. Fox's clinical practice is focused on the management of patients with a variety of liver diseases including viral hepatitis, alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, inherited and autoimmune liver diseases and liver cancers. As a transplant hepatologist, she has advanced training in the management of the complications of end stage liver disease and caring for patients both pre- and post- liver transplantation. As the medical director of the adult transplant program, she oversees the program operations, protocols, outcomes and initiatives. When she is not caring for patients, she is active as a course director and educator at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver

Biography: Oksana Lekarev, DO is the Associate Medical Director of the Comprehensive Care Center for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) at Weill Cornell Medicine, the first multi-disciplinary center of excellence in the United States dedicated to patients with CAH. She is also an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and Assistant Attending Pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Lekarev is board certified in Pediatric Endocrinology and Pediatrics. Dr. Lekarev received a BA in Linguistics from Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City, graduating cum laude and with departmental honors. She received her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry - School of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her Internship in Pediatrics at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center and went on to complete her Residency in Pediatrics at Tufts-New England Medical Center. Dr. Lekarev then moved back to New York City where she completed a fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She remained at Mount Sinai for two more years as a faculty member in the Division of Adrenal Steroid Disorders, where she was actively involved in research, clinical practice and medical education. In addition to her expertise in CAH and adrenal steroid disorders, Dr. Lekarev's areas of interest include disorders of growth, disorders of pubertal and sexual development, and thyroid disease. She has published a number of original and review articles in peer-reviewed journals and has presented her work at national and international meetings.

Biography: Dr. David A. Katzka is a recognized authority, both in the clinical and research arenas, on eosinophilic esophagitis, esophageal motility disorders, gastroesophageal reflux, Barrett's esophagus, and unusual esophageal diseases. Dr. Katzka now brings his expertise and 35 years of experience in the treatment and understanding of esophageal diseases to NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where he is leading the Esophagology and Swallowing Center. A prolific researcher, Dr. Katzka has greatly influenced progress in the field, with more than 350 publications to his name. In July 2021, he completed a five-year role as Program Director/Principal Investigator for the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers-Clinical Trial 2: Six Food vs One Food Eosinophilic Esophagitis Elimination Diet (SOFEED) followed by Swallowed Glucocorticoid Trial. Since 2009, Dr. Katzka has been a member of and continues to serve on the Editorial Board of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of the Gastroenterology, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, The American Journal of Gastroenterology, and as an editor/reviewer of Diseases of the Esophagus. His honors and awards include the Distinguished Clinician Award presented by the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and, most recently, Dr. Katzka was honored with the 2022 AGAInstitute Council Section Research Mentor Award, which acknowledges the achievements of AGA members who serve the gastroenterology and hepatology community as outstanding mentors in research. Dr. Katzka joins NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science where he was Professor of Medicine and Head of the Esophageal Interest Group. He was also a Consultant for the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and held Master's Faculty Privileges in Clinical and Translational Science at the Mayo Clinic. Prior, he was a Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Biography: Dr. Danielle Brandman is the director of the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. She specializes management of patients with liver diseases including autoimmune liver disease, viral hepatitis B and C, fatty liver disease, metabolic liver disease, and liver cancers. She sees patients with end-stage liver disease (cirrhosis) and evaluates those who need liver transplantation. She provides medical care to patients before and after liver transplantation. She has a special interest in the care of patients with fatty liver disease.She received her undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Psychology (with distinction) from Boston University, and graduated from Rutgers (formerly UMDNJ) New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She completed all of her post-graduate medical training at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), including internal medicine in 2008, gastroenterology fellowship in 2011, and transplant hepatology in 2012. During her gastroenterology fellowship, she completed a Master's of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research in 2011.In 2012, she joined the faculty at UCSF, where she served an integral role in the education of medical students, residents, fellows, and nurse practitioners. She was the director of the intern and resident required and elective rotations in liver transplantation and hepatology. She served as the Program Director for the ACGME-certified Transplant Hepatology Fellowship. She was a key educator in hepatology and liver transplantation for internal medicine residents and subspecialty fellows. Her teaching skills were recognized with an Excellence in Teaching Award from the UCSF Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators in 2015. She has provided formal and informal mentorship to numerous trainees. She received the Mentor of the Year Award by the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute Resident Research Program. She has served as a mentor for the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) for several Emerging Liver Scholars.