Kirsten Tillisch, MD

Kirsten Tillisch, MD Chief of Integrative Medicine, Greater Los Angeles VA G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience Health Sciences Professor of Medicine Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Dr. Tillisch obtained her medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and was elected to the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha. She continued on at UCLA to complete her training in internal medicine and gastroenterology, graduating in 2003. Dr. Tillisch is an instructor in the gastroenterology, endocrinology and reproductive system block for first year medical students at the David Geffen School of Medicine. She is an advocate for the incorporation of integrative practices within the medical system to advance health. She is certified through the Urban Zen program at UCLA, is a tai chi-easy certified practice leader, and is a medical acupuncturist. She has a clinical interest in chronic pain and functional gastrointestinal disorders, and is a member of the Rome Committee for Central Disorders of Gastrointestinal Pain. Her research interests include brain-gut-microbiome interactions, the effects of complementary and alternative medicine interventions such as meditation, probiotics, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and herbal therapy on health and disease, and treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders. Her recent research projects include evaluating the role of gut microbiota modulation on emotional processing in the brain, identifying brain structural changes in irritable bowel syndrome, and identification of brain mechanisms by which mindfulness based stress reduction and hypnosis improve irritable bowel syndrome.
In addition to her role at UCLA, Dr. Tillisch is the chief of integrative medicine at the Greater Los Angeles VA, managing programs in Tai chi, yoga, acupuncture and integrative health.