Chris Shepela, M.D.

Dr. Shepela completed his undergraduate studies at UCLA and attended Tulane Medical School in New Orleans. He finished his Internal Medicine residency at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (A Stanford affiliated training program) in Northern California and recently completed a Fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in August of 2005.

His past research interest has focused on the basic science aspects of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (the role of intestinal permeability and NF-?b activation in Crohn’s Disease) and the epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer. Currently, he is involved in the development of an IBD treatment center and clinical research unit here at the University of Minnesota and is completing a Masters in Clinical Research through the School of Public Health. The IBD interest group (IBDIG) at the university consists of adult and pediatric gastroenterologists from the university and its affiliated hospitals, colorectal surgeons, GI pathologists and radiologists and interested members of the training programs and UMP physician groups.

He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology and is a member of the AGA, ACG, ACP and Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

Selected Abstracts and Publications

Prevention and Treatment of Colon Cancer. Business Briefings: North          
    America Pharmacotherapy February 2004, pp. 25-33.
Glucocorticoids Inhibit Cytokine-induced Increases in Intestinal    
    Permeability through Decreased Expression of Tight Junction Proteins.
    DDW 2005 oral presentation, Abstract #179
Influence of Gender and Aging on Changing Incidence Patterns of
    Colorectal Cancer in the U.S. between 1973-2001. DDW 2005 poster
    presentation, Abstract # M1927.
Subsite Analysis of Changing Patterns of Colorectal Cancer Incidence in
    the U.S. Between 1973-2001: An Isolated Increase in the Incidence of
    Ascending Colon Cancers. DDW 2005 poster presentation, Abstract # S958.
An Unusual Case of Recurrent Gastrointestinal Bleeding in a Patient with
Von Recklinghausen’s Syndrome. 2005 Oral presentation at AFMR.
Bacterial Endotoxin Modulation of Caco-2 Intestinal Epithelial Tight
    Junction
Permeability. 2004 Oral presentation at AFMR.