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Tonya Kaltenbach, MD, Gastroenterology, San Francisco, CA, VA Palo Alto Heath Care

TonyaKaltenbachMD

Gastroenterology • San Francisco, CA

Advanced Endoscopic Interventional, Gastrointestinal Cancer, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Clinical Informatics

Associate Professor of Medicine at UCSF

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Summary

  • Dr. Tonya Kaltenbach is an associate professor of Clinical Medicine at UC San Francisco (UCSF) and the director of Advanced Endoscopy at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. She has served on the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer and led the guideline development for the endoscopic removal of colorectal lesions. She also served on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Colorectal Cancer Screening Panel, and on the American College of Gastroenterology Educational Affairs Committee.

    Dr. Kaltenbach is a leading faculty speaker and regularly presents at national and international conferences and events related to gastrointestinal endoscopy. She has a focus in teaching pedagogy and has directed hands-on and virtual training events for endoscopy fellows and practitioners around the world. Her areas of expertise include optical diagnosis of gastrointestinal lesions, endoscopic management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and advanced endoscopic resection of complex gastrointestinal lesions.

    Dr. Kaltenbach’s research interests primarily focus on improving the quality of colon cancer screenings through endoscopic imaging, advanced endoscopic therapies, novel training methods, and the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. She is currently leading the development and implementation of a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm that standardizes the measurement and reporting of colonoscopy quality metrics across the national VA healthcare system. She is a key opinion leader on the advisory board for ai4gi to develop deep-learning technology for real-time detection and diagnosis of colorectal polyps and is a leading expert in optical diagnosis. She has previously led a multicenter clinical trial that demonstrated the effectiveness and accuracy of the endoscopic optical diagnosis of diminutive colorectal polyps thereby reducing the future need for histopathology follow-up.

Education & Training

  • National Cancer Center Tokyo, Japan
    National Cancer Center Tokyo, JapanTraining, Advanced Endoscopic Resection of Early GI Cancers, 2009
  • California Pacific Medical Center
    California Pacific Medical CenterFellowship, Gastroenterology, 2008
  • Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University
    Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford UniversityFellowship, Gastroenterology, 2004 - 2007
  • University of California San Francisco
    University of California San FranciscoMSc, Clinical Research in Epidemiology & Biostatistics, 2007
  • Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University
    Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford UniversityResidency, Internal Medicine, 2001 - 2004
  • Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
    Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson UniversityClass of 2001
  • University of Pennsylvania
    University of PennsylvaniaBA, Biologic Basis of Behavior, 1996

Certifications & Licensure

  • CA State Medical License
    CA State Medical License 2003 - 2025

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

  • Presidental Poster American College of Gastroenterology, 2016
  • Distinguished Educator American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2014
  • Education Audiovisual Award American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2014
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Clinical Trials

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Journal Articles

  • Evolving Endoscopy Teaching in the Era of the Millennial Trainee  
    Roy Soetikno, Jennifer M Kolb, Channa R Jayasekera, Tonya Kaltenbach, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Lectures

  • American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Postgraduate Course Management and Surveillance of Dysplasia in IBD 
    Digestive Disease Week, Virtual - 2020
  • American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Plenary Leaders in Endoscopy, Polypectomy Toolbox in 2020. 
    Digestive Disease Week, Virtual - 2020
  • Train the Trainers, Good Endoscopy Practice 
    Philippines Society of Digestive Endoscopy, Manila, Philippines - 2019
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Authored Content

  • Evolving Endoscopy Teaching in the Era of the Millennial TraineeNovember 2018
  • Mo1705 STABLE POLYPECTOMY COMPLICATION RATES IN AN ERA OF INCREASING USE OF ENDOSCOPIC MUCOSAL RESECTION (EMR)May 2018
  • Mo1705 STABLE POLYPECTOMY COMPLICATION RATES IN AN ERA OF INCREASING USE OF ENDOSCOPIC MUCOSAL RESECTION (EMR)May 2018
  • Mo1709 A COLON POLYPECTOMY REPORT CARD IMPROVES POLYPECTOMY COMPETENCY: RESULTS OF A PROSPECTIVE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT STUDYMay 2018
  • Mo1709 A COLON POLYPECTOMY REPORT CARD IMPROVES POLYPECTOMY COMPETENCY: RESULTS OF A PROSPECTIVE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT STUDYMay 2018
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Press Mentions

  • Clinical Innovations, Practicalities and Training Highlighted at ASGE Presidential Plenary
    Clinical Innovations, Practicalities and Training Highlighted at ASGE Presidential PlenaryMay 22nd, 2021
  • Recommendations Updated for Postcolonoscopy Management
    Recommendations Updated for Postcolonoscopy ManagementMarch 16th, 2020
  • U.S. Multi-Society Task Force Publishes Polypectomy Guidance
    U.S. Multi-Society Task Force Publishes Polypectomy GuidanceFebruary 11th, 2020
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Professional Memberships

Hospital Affiliations

Dr. Tonya Kaltenbach, Dr. Tonya Kaltenbach, MD, Dr. T Kaltenbach