Eric Esrailian, MD, MPH

• Chief, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases
• Director, Melvin and Bren Simon Digestive Diseases Center
• Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology

Dr. Esrailian is a health sciences clinical professor of medicine at UCLA. He attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with a major in integrative biology and a minor in English. He subsequently graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Southern California.

He was named intern, junior resident, and senior resident of the year during all three years of his residency training. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA where he also obtained a masters of public health degree with the assistance of an NIH sponsored training grant. He is also a graduate of the Executive Program in Management from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Dr. Esrailian served on the Medical Board of California from 2010-2011 after being appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In addition to disease areas within gastroenterology and internal medicine, Dr. Esrailian has a particular interest in the development of biomedical innovations, value in health care, medical education, initiatives towards patient-centered care, and connections between health and human rights.

In 2012, the School of Medicine awarded him the Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology. He is closely involved in strategic planning efforts for UCLA Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He also works to facilitate community engagement with a number of other schools and departments within the UCLA campus and its Los Angeles community partners, and he was on the UCLA campus steering committee for the Centennial Campaign. He is now one of the co-chairs for the Second Century Council for the university. In 2020, he launched the UCLA Leaders of Tomorrow series to emphasize essential leadership skills through some of the most influential and successful leaders in our community. In 2017, the university designated Dr. Esrailian as a UCLA Optimist -- among its notable alumni and faculty dedicated to solving the world's problems. Dr. Esrailian is also one of the co-founders and the founding president of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy (CIII). In 2025, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Mailing address: 100 UCLA Medical Plaza #265, Los Angeles, CA 90095