Brian G. DeRubertis, MD

Dr. Joseph Pisegna is Professor of Medicine at UCLA and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Dr. Pisegna is interested in the molecular pharmacology of hormones and receptors in the gastrointestinal tract, especially the diagnosis and management of islet cell tumors of the pancreas, including the Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome. These research and clinical interests derive from research in the biochemistry and physiology of neuroendocrine tumors. While a fellow at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Pisegna first developed a clinical interest in the Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (ZES), where he discovered and cloned the receptor for gastrin and named it the cholecystokinin B receptor. More recently, Dr. Pisegna has demonstrated that receptors for gastrin are present in the kidney and mediate food-induced regulation of salt excretion. Dr. Pisegna was recruited to the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Center for Ulcer Research and Education (CURE) in 1996. He is a recipient of the VA Career Development Award at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. His addition to the faculty of the UCLA Center for Pancreatic Diseases provides unsurpassed expertise in the diagnosis and medical management of pancreatic endocrine tumors.

Patricia Weng, MD: Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics - Nephrology, Medical Director, Pediatric Kidney Transplant Program Dr. Weng earned her bachelor's degree at Wellesley College and received her medical degree at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She completed her pediatric residency at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital in Connecticut. After residency, Dr. Weng completed her fellowship training in Nephrology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she…

Dr. Gomez is a graduate of the University of California at Irvine where he majored in biological sciences. He received his medical degree from the UCLA School of Medicine in 1986 and finished his residency training in Internal Medicine at the UCLA-San Fernando Valley Program at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. He subsequently received further training as a General Internal Medicine Fellow at UCLA's Kennamer Fellowship Program and as a Faculty Medical Education Fellow at David Geffen School of…