Tonya Kaltenbach, MD
Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

tonya.kaltenbach@ucsf.edu 415-502-4444

Dr. Tonya Kaltenbach is a 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.

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She 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 around the world. Her special areas of expertise include optical diagnosis of gastrointestinal lesions, endoscopic management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and advanced endoscopic resection.

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.

In addition, Dr. Kaltenbach is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the COMPLETE study, a multicenter trial to assess the role of video-based feedback in improving endoscopy trainee competency in polypectomy. In an effort to further enhance the quality of endoscopy education, she has developed and facilitated several simulation-based mastery learning curricula for basic and advanced endoscopic therapies. These curricula have been adopted across several training institutions in the United States and Asia. Moreover, she played a leading role in the international efforts to enhance the colonoscopy quality for the surveillance and management of dysplasia in inflammatory bowel disease patients and the subsequent SCENIC guideline (Surveillance for Colorectal Endoscopic Neoplasia Detection and Management in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: International Consensus Recommendations). Through her current and previous work, she has made crucial contributions to enhancing the role of endoscopic resection for complex polyps and elucidating the epidemiology of nonpolypoid colorectal neoplasms.

Awards

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  • Distinguished Master Endoscopist, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2022
  • Presidential Poster, American College Gastroenterology, 2016
  • Distinguished Educator, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2014
  • Education Audiovisual Award, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2014
  • Education Audiovisual Award, Endoscopic Gluing Technique Using the Cyanoacrylate Super Glue, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2013
  • Education Audiovisual Award, Optical Diagnosis of Colorectal Polyps, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2013
  • Education Audiovisual Award, Endoscopic Closure of Gastrointestinal Leaks, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2010
  • Education Audiovisual Award, The Nonpolypoid (Flat and Depressed) Colorectal Neoplasm, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2009
  • North American International Gastrointestinal Training Grant for Externship in ESD in Tokyo, Japan, American College of Gastroenterology, 2009
  • Education Audiovisual Award, Infectious Colitidies, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2009
  • Education Audiovisual Award, Image Enhanced Endoscopy, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2008
  • Education Audiovisual Award, Endoscopic Interpretation and Therapy of Acute Severe Lower GI Bleeds, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2007
  • Olympus Abstract Award, American College of Gastroenterology, 71st Annual Scientific Meeting, American College of Gastroenterology, 2006
  • BrushMabel Fund Deans Fellowship Award, Stanford School of Medicine, 2005
  • Franklin G. Ebaugh Jr. Research Award, Stanford School of Medicine, 2004

Education & Training

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  • Advanced Endoscopic Resection of Early GI Cancers National Cancer Center 2009
  • Advanced Endoscopic Imaging and Therapy, Endoscopic Ultrasonography California Pacific Medical Center 2008
  • Clinical Fellow, Gastroenterology & Hepatology Stanford University, School of Medicine 2007
  • MSc Clinical Research - Epidemiology & Biostatistics University of California, San Francisco 2007
  • Internal Medicine Residency Stanford University, School of Medicine 2004
  • MD Doctorate of Medicine Jefferson Medical College 2001
  • BA Biologic Basis Behavior University of Pennsylvania 1996
  • Master of Education in the Health Professions Johns Hopkins, School of Education est2025

Interests

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  • Endoscopic Full Thickness Resection (FTRD)
  • Endoscopic Suturing
  • Chromoendoscopy
  • Endoscopic Ultrasound
  • Image Enhanced Endoscopy
  • Endoscopy education
  • Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR)
  • Endoscopic Dilation
  • Endoscopy training
  • Optical Diagnosis
  • Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD)
  • Detection of Nonpolypoid (Flat) Lesions
  • Complex Polypectomy

Websites

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Grants and Projects

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Publications (205)

Top publication keywords:
Narrow Band ImagingGastroenterologyAdenomaColonoscopyHemostasis, EndoscopicPolypsGastrointestinal HemorrhageEndoscopy, GastrointestinalEndoscopic Mucosal ResectionInflammatory Bowel DiseasesSurgical InstrumentsColonic NeoplasmsAdenomatous PolypsColonic PolypsColorectal Neoplasms

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