Kirsten Tillisch, MD

• Chief of Integrative Medicine, Greater Los Angeles VA
• G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience

Dr. Tillisch completed her undergraduate work at the Otis Institute of Parsons School of Design, earning a bachelor of fine arts with honors. She obtained her medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and was elected to the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha. She continued on at UCLA to complete her training in internal medicine and gastroenterology, graduating in 2003. Dr. Tillisch is the gastroenterology leader for the Scientific Foundations of Medicine Course for first year medical students at the David Geffen School of Medicine. She is an advocate for the incorporation of integrative practices within the medical system to advance health. She is a medical acupuncturist and is trained in medical hypnotherapy by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

She has a clinical interest in chronic pain and functional gastrointestinal disorders, and was a member of the Rome IV Committee for Central Disorders of Gastrointestinal Pain. Her research interests include brain-gut-microbiome interactions, the effects of complementary and alternative medicine interventions such as meditation, probiotics, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and herbal therapy on health and disease, and treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders. In addition to her role at UCLA, Dr. Tillisch is the chief of integrative medicine at the Greater Los Angeles VA, managing programs in Tai chi, yoga, acupuncture and integrative health.

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