Christopher Paiji
Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Step 2, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Biography
Christopher Paiji, M.D., is Health Sciences Clinical Assistant Clinical Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of California, Irvine. He received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of California Irvine School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, followed by a gastroenterology fellowship and advanced endoscopy fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles. He is board certified in both internal medicine and gastroenterology.
Paiji's clinical and research interests focus on advanced endoscopic techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal conditions, particularly in pancreaticobiliary disease and esophageal cancer. His work has contributed to the understanding of lumen-apposing metal stents for various applications, including pancreatic pseudocyst drainage and benign gastrointestinal strictures. He has authored peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the American Journal of Gastroenterology, and has contributed chapters to textbooks on clinical pancreatology and endoscopic ultrasonography.
Paiji has been recognized for his contributions to medical education and patient care, receiving the Gustave D. Suffin Award for Outstanding Graduating Student in Internal Medicine and induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He has served on committees at UCLA and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine focused on graduate medical education and clinical skills development. He is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Return to topEducation
- B.A. in Public Policy, Stanford University, 2013
- M.D., University of California Irvine School of Medicine, 2017
Distinctions
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, 2016
- Distinguished Teaching Society Resident Nominee, 2019
- Gustave D. Suffin Award for Outstanding Graduating Student in Internal Medicine, 2017
- Department of Medicine Fellow Teaching Award Nominee, 2021
Areas of Expertise
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Lumen-Apposing Metal Stent Applications
- Pancreatic Pseudocyst Drainage
- Tuberculosis Screening Programs
- Endoscopic Cancer Management
- Cholangioscopy-Guided Biopsy Techniques
- Artificial Intelligence Colonoscopy Preparation
Recent Publications
- Dang F, Kwon J, Tavangar A, Mullin M, Banerjee S, McCracken T, Cheung D, Jain A, Lin A, Totah N, Kwon Y, Sidhu S, Paiji C, Lee J, Samarasena J, “6-year Real World Experience on the Safety, Efficacy and Risk of Recurrence of Underwater EMR of Colorectal Polyp”, 2025. Presented at Digestive Disease Week 2025, San Diego, CA, May 2025.
- Dang F, McCracken T, Lin A, Le B, Banerjee S, Mai D, Lee S, Tavangar A, Otomo J, Paiji C, Karnes W, Reddy S, Fearn R, Samarasena J, “AI in Action: Transforming Colonoscopy Preparation with Apt Patient Support”, 2025. Presented at Digestive Disease Week 2025, San Diego, CA, May 2025.
- Banerjee S, Dang F, Lin A, McCracken T, Tavangar A, Cheung D, Paiji C, Samarasena J, “ChatGPT 4.0: An AI Tool for Education and Management of Patients with Pancreatic Cysts”, 2025. Presented at Digestive Disease Week 2025, San Diego, CA, May 2025.
- Dang F., Cheung D., Le B., Paiji C., Tavangar A., Giap A., Samarasena J., “A novel technique for enhancing EUS-guided gastrojejunostomy: the dual-scope method” (opens in new tab), Videogie, vol. 10, pp. 587-589, 2025.
- Tavangar A., Nguyen P., Dang F., Sidhu S., Le B., Masroor M., Samarasena J., Paiji C., “S3556 Duodenal Fistulization of Main Duct IPMN: A Rare Indicator of Invasive Transformation” (opens in new tab), American Journal of Gastroenterology, vol. 120, pp. S764-S764, 2025.
- Kwon Y., Nguyen P.H., Park N., Lin A., Banerjee S., Le B., Tavangar A., Samarasena J., Paiji C., “S4540 Listen to Your Gut: A Case Report Highlighting the Risk of Caustic Injuries From Ingestion of Wearable Technologies” (opens in new tab), American Journal of Gastroenterology, vol. 120, pp. S971-S971, 2025.
- Paiji C, Muthusamy VR, “Therapeutic EUS for cancer treatment” (opens in new tab), Endoscopic Ultrasonography, 4th Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 223-233, 2024.
- Shah S, Bahdi F, Paiji C, Wang H, Issa D, “En-bloc Endoscopic Mucosal Resection of a Large Colonic Cavernous Hemangioma” (opens in new tab), Digestive Diseases and Sciences, vol. 68, no. 10, pp. 3836-3837, 2023.
- Paiji C, Kim S, Thaker A, Issa D, Sedarat A, Muthusamy VR, “Diagnostic Yield of Cholangioscopy-Guided Biopsies for Biliary Strictures using SpyGlass DS II and SpyBite Max” (opens in new tab), 2023. Presented at The World Congress of Gastroenterology at the American College of Gastroenterology 2023, Vancouver, BC, Canada, October 2023.
- Paiji C, Sedarat A, “Endoscopic Management of Esophageal Cancer” (opens in new tab), Cancers, vol. 14, no. 15, pp. 3583, 2022.
- Paiji C, Lennon AM, Afghani E, “Pancreatic Cancer Screening: Target Populations, Methods, and Protocols for Clinical Practice” (opens in new tab), Clinical Pancreatology for Practising Gastroenterologists and Surgeons Second Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 418-424, 2021.
- Cusumano VT, Paiji CL, Jensen DM, “Definitive diverticular hemorrhage: Diagnosis and management”, The New Gastroenterologist, American Gastroenterological Association, 2021.
- Gohil SK, Yim J, Quan K, Espinoza M, Thompson DJ, Kong A, Bahadori B, Tjoa T, Paiji C, Rudkin S, Rashid S, Hong SS, Dickey L, Alsharif MN, Wilson WC, Amin AN, Chang J, Khusbu U, Huang SS, “Impact of a Central-Line Insertion Site Assessment (CLISA) score on localized insertion site infection to prevent central-line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)” (opens in new tab), Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 59-66, 2020.
- Sanaei O, Fernandez-Esparrach G, De La Serna-Higuera C, Carrara S, Kumbhari V, El Zein MH, Ismail A, Gines A, Sendino O, Montenegro A, Repici A, Rahal D, Brewer Gutierrez OI, Moran R, Yang J, Parsa N, Paiji C, Meybodi MA, Shin EJ, Lennon AM, et al., “EUS-guided 22-gauge fine needle biopsy versus single-incision with needle knife for the diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal subepithelial lesions: a randomized controlled trial” (opens in new tab), Endosc Int Open, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. E266-73, 2020.
- Ortiz RD, Jalali F, Thieu D, Yu A, Bucayu R, Paiji C, Fortinsky K, Chang K, Lee JG, Samarasena JB, “Single-center experience demonstrating low adverse events and high efficacy with self-expandable metal esophageal and biliary stents for pseudocyst and walled off necrosis drainage” (opens in new tab), Endosc Int Open, vol. 8, no. 9, pp. E1156-60, 2020.
- Paiji C, Berry SA, “Skin and Soft Tissue Infections”, The Osler Medicine Survival Guide, The Johns Hopkins University, 2019.
- Yang J, Saxena P, Fayad L, Sanaei O, Moran R, Brewer-Gutierrez O, Paiji C, Khashab MA, “Overtube-Assisted EUS-Guided Access of the Common Bile Duct in a Patient With Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Anatomy” (opens in new tab), American Journal of Gastroenterology, vol. 113, no. 8, pp. 1116, 2018.
- Parsa N, Haito-Chavez Y, Gutierrez OIB, Paiji C, Inoue H, Beard KW, Draganov PV, Ujiki M, Rahden BHA, Desai P, Pioche M, Hayee H, Haji A, Saxena P, Reavis K, Onimaru M, Balassone V, Nakamura J, Hata Y, Yang D, et al., “Classification and Grade of Adverse Events related to Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM): A Comparison between the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Lexicon and the Clavien-Dindo Classification”, 2018. Presented at Digestive Disease Week 2018, Washington, DC, June 2018.
- Sanaei O, Chaves D, Aadam AA, De Moura EG, Baptista A, El Zein MH, Ismail A, Gutierrez OIB, Moran R, Yang J, Parsa N, Paiji C, Stein E, Abdi T, Garcia P, Kalloo AN, Khashab MA, “Gastric Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (G-POEM) for the Treatment of Refractory Gastroparesis: Interim Results from the First International Prospective Trial”, 2018. Presented at Digestive Disease Week 2018, Washington, DC, June 2018.
Most Cited Publications
- Fugazza A, Sethi A, Trindade AJ, Troncone E, Devlin J, Khashab MA, Vleggaar FP, Bogte A, Tarantino I, Deprez PH, Fabbri C, Aparicio JR, Fockens P, Voermans RP, Uwe W, Vanbiervliet G, Charachon A, Packy CD, Benias PC, El-Sherif Y, et al., “International multicenter comprehensive analysis of adverse events associated with lumen-apposing metal stent placement for pancreatic fluid collection drainage” (opens in new tab), Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, vol. 91, no. 3, pp. 574-83, 2020.
- Yang J, Chen YI, Friedland S, Holmes I, Paiji C, Law R, Hosmer A, Stevens T, Matheus F, Pawa R, Mathur N, Sejpal D, Inamdar S, Berzin TM, DiMaio CJ, Gupta S, Yachimski PS, Anderloni A, Repici A, James T, et al., “Lumen-apposing stents versus plastic stents in the management of pancreatic pseudocysts: a large, comparative, international, multicenter study” (opens in new tab), Endoscopy, vol. 51, no. 11, pp. 1035-43, 2019.
- Al-Darraji HA, Wong KC, Yeow DG, Fu JJ, Loeliger K, Paiji C, Kamarulzaman A, Altice FL, “Tuberculosis Screening in a novel substance abuse treatment center in Malaysia: implications for a comprehensive approach for integrated care” (opens in new tab), Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 144-9, 2014.
This profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 6/5/2026.