Department of Medicine
Faculty Profiles by Division

Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Faculty Profiles
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photo Ravy K. Vajravelu, MD, MSCE

Gastroenterology

Assistant Professor of Medicine: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Core Faculty: Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Staff Gastroenterologist: VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Email: Ravy.Vajravelu@pitt.edu
Contact
Office: Mezzanine Level, C-Wing, PUH
200 Lothrop Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
 
E-mail: Ravy.Vajravelu@pitt.edu
Education and Training
Education
MSCE, University of Pennsylvania, 2018
MD, Case Western Reserve University, 2012
BS (Biomedical Engineering), Johns Hopkins University, 2008
Training
Gastroenterology Fellowship, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2018
Internal Medicine Residency, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2015
Internship, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2013
Research Interest
Dr. Vajravelu's long-term research goal is to develop precision medicine tools that inform therapeutic decision making in gastroenterology by integrating insights from across biomedical science. He is pursuing this goal through three complementary objectives:

(1) To design biostatistical methods to efficiently analyze high-dimensional clinical datasets
(2) To build epidemiologic models of gastroenterology conditions such as colorectal cancer, Barrett’s esophagus, and gastroesophageal reflux
(3) To develop informatics approaches to integrate diverse biomedical data for clinical prediction.

These research objectives are funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (K08-DK119475 - https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10128442) and the American College of Gastroenterology. By completing these objectives, Dr. Vajravelu and his multidisciplinary research team aim to develop algorithms to provide gastroenterology patients and providers with precision screening and therapeutics recommendations.
Clinical Interest
Dr. Vajravelu is a gastroenterologist at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. He diagnoses and treats general gastroenterology conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, and gastrointestinal bleeding. He performs colorectal cancer screening by colonoscopy.
Educational Interest
As a teaching attending at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Dr. Vajravelu trains of gastroenterology fellows in inpatient gastroenterology consultation, outpatient gastroenterology practice, and gastrointestinal endoscopy. He particularly enjoys teaching medical trainees about consensus guidelines, especially in relation to knowledge gaps in the literature that may adversely affect patient care. He also teaches prediction modeling and machine learning to epidemiology graduate students. He hopes to help trainees identify the topics and techniques they will pursue in their careers to advance patient care.
Sponsored Research/Activities
Title: Evaluation of multiple medication exposures concurrently using a novel algorithm
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, & Kidney Disease
Grant Number: K08 DK119475
Start Year: 2021
End Year: 2024
Notable Achievements
Associate Editor, Evidence-Based GI, 2021-present
Associate Editor, Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 2020-present
Sidney Cohen Teaching Award for Gastroenterology Faculty, University of Pennsylvania, 2020
DDW 2019 - Poster of Distinction, 2019
Edward C. Raffensperger Teaching Award for Gastroenterology Fellows, University of Pennsylvania, 2018
Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, 2008

Division Websites

Cardiology

Endocrinology and Metabolism

Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

General Internal Medicine

Geriatric Medicine
Hematology/Oncology

Infectious Diseases

Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine

Renal-Electrolyte

Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Contact

Department of Medicine
1218 Scaife Hall
3550 Terrace Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Email:  chairoff@pitt.edu
Phone:  412-648-9636
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