Aakash Desai

Dr. Aakash Desai is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine and Associate Program Director of the Gastroenterology & Hepatology Fellowship at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, PA, where he also serves as IBD Faculty in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition. He completed his gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship at MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University, followed by an advanced fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville.
Dr. Desai's research focuses on clinical outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease, with particular expertise in comparative efficacy and safety studies of advanced IBD therapies. He has served as lead author or principal investigator on multiple large cohort studies comparing biologic and small-molecule agents in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, published in journals including the American Journal of Gastroenterology, Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Journal of Crohn's & Colitis, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. He also has a strong research interest in the intersection of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and IBD, including pioneering work on GLP-1 receptor agonist use in this population — work recognized with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's award for best original clinical article in 2024. In addition to his research portfolio, Dr. Desai plays an active role in mentoring gastroenterology fellows and medicine residents and overseeing fellowship research initiatives at his institution. He was recently awarded the Research Mentor of the Year award by the Department of Medicine at his institution.