Berkeley N. Limketkai, MD, PhD, has spent his career where IBD, nutrition, and clinical informatics meet. Now he takes the helm as editor in chief of GI & Hepatology News, succeeding Megan Adams, MD, JD, MSc, who has led the newspaper since 2022. Clinical Professor of Medicine and Director of Clinical Research at the UCLA Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, he trained at the University of Cincinnati and Johns Hopkins University and is board certified in gastroenterology, clinical informatics, and as a physician nutrition specialist.
In this month’s Member Spotlight, he reflects on a childhood fascination with the gut, communicating uncertainty to patients, and separating hype from utility.
Congratulations on taking the helm! For readers who know your research but not your personal story, what do you most want them to know about you as you step into this role?
Dr. Limketkai: Thank you! I am deeply grateful to AGA for providing me with this incredible opportunity to help guide GI & Hepatology News into its next chapter of growth. Dr. Megan Adams, the former editor in chief, has done an outstanding job, and she leaves very large shoes to fill. There is much I could share, but I will focus on two aspects of my personality that most strongly define my raison d’être at work — besides, of course, the need to financially survive.
First, after much introspection, I have come to realize that a core characteristic of my leadership and work styles is helping others succeed, even when doing so occasionally comes at a personal cost. I regularly invest long nights and weekends mentoring trainees as they pave their paths into the future. Trainees inevitably move on, but I know that my involvement can make a meaningful impact at a pivotal point in their lives.
Similarly, in research, I have helped many colleagues build their research portfolios, often while serving as a hidden engine or supporter. These efforts may draw precious time and energy away from my own research program, but I have learned that helping others grow and enjoying the journey along the way matter more to me than accolades. Second, my passion for work is driven by the synergy between clinical care and research. In clinic, thought-provoking questions asked by patients and the knowledge gaps exposed in ever-imperfect but always-improving clinical care generate research questions and hypotheses that fuel my research.
Through clinical research, I then seek answers to these questions and investigate novel approaches to improving care and, ultimately, the lives of our patients. In turn, I integrate research evidence — be it from my own work or that of others — when providing clinical recommendations, counseling patients, and sharing hope for a better future. I feel blessed to be afforded these opportunities, and if funding were not an issue, I could imagine continuing this until the day I hang up my white coat for good.
Your career uniquely spans IBD, nutrition, and a pre-medical background as an internet startup developer. What originally drew you to gastroenterology, and how does that tech-and-data mindset shape how you look at medical news today?
Dr. Limketkai: In hindsight, I wonder whether my fascination with the digestive system has lingered since childhood. In grade school, when assigned to create a poster of an organ system, I vividly remember choosing to illustrate the digestive tract. I was captivated by the digestive process and its ability to break down food into its molecular constituents that are then used to sustain all other bodily functions. Then again, perhaps this was simply the typical childhood fascination with poop. Nonetheless, my interest in digestion and medicine did not become apparent to me until later in life.
My early career aspiration was to become an aerospace engineer, although I was advised against pursuing that path amid the downturn in aerospace spending after the Cold War. Given my engineering mindset, I joined an internet startup after college, and following the dotcom bust, I pivoted to biotech and later to medicine, where my long-dormant interest in the digestive tract and nutrition resurfaced. As digital technology and artificial intelligence surge across every industry, technological fluency becomes increasingly important. Healthcare often lags behind other sectors in adopting cutting-edge technologies, but change is inevitable.
My background in technology and medicine, along with my board certification in clinical informatics, makes me particularly attentive to advances in technology and its integration into healthcare. I am also naturally curious about how things work under the hood and how they can be applied in practice.
Your research often connects nutrition and IBD, an area patients care deeply about but where clinical evidence can be hard to translate. What has that work taught you about communicating scientific uncertainty to both clinicians and patients?
Dr. Limketkai: As a methodologist for clinical guidelines and systematic reviews, I frequently have to contend with heterogeneous and imperfect data, assess the quality of research evidence, and synthesize core conclusions. For example, in the context of dietary interventions for IBD, the formally graded quality of evidence is low or very low. At the same time, as a clinician, I cannot allow a paucity of data to paralyze me from providing practical guidance to patients. I recognize that a lack of data does not necessarily signify lack of effect; in many cases, the rigorous studies needed to answer these questions have just not yet been done.
To navigate this tension, I typically communicate such information to my audience with four components in mind: the theoretical or biologic basis, the level of evidence, the practical effects observed, and the potential risks. When speaking with clinical colleagues, I tend to place slightly greater emphasis on the underlying science and strength of evidence.
When speaking with patients, I focus more on expected practical benefit and risk, while still explaining the rationale and quality of evidence so they have appropriate context for shared decision-making.
You’ve noted that clinical care and research should strengthen each other. In your opinion, how can GI & Hepatology News help busy clinicians seamlessly translate emerging evidence into daily practice?
Dr. Limketkai: These are exciting times. Research and practice-changing discoveries are rapidly advancing. For busy clinicians, a key challenge is identifying which studies are most relevant and worth reviewing.
Not every breakthrough finding translates into meaningful change at the bedside, and research findings may sometimes appear to contradict each other, leading to a natural uncertainty on how to best interpret the data and apply them in practice. For these reasons, I view GI & Hepatology News as an invaluable source of carefully curated, high-yield, practice-relevant information for busy clinicians.
The newspaper also interviews experts who provide important context for new research findings and help explain their practical implications. Even when emerging data or news do not immediately lead to actionable change, the information shared can still offer clinicians a valuable glimpse into what may lie ahead.
You’ve worked in academia, the VA, and multidisciplinary programs. How has navigating those different clinical environments shaped your understanding of what practicing gastroenterologists need from a news source?
Dr. Limketkai: This diversity of experiences has deepened my appreciation for the similarities and differences across practice environments. Working primarily in academia has also allowed me to collaborate closely with gastroenterology fellows, who bring a wide range of interests, perspectives, and career aspirations. Through these interactions, I have gained insight into the broad spectrum of educational needs, knowledge gaps, and priorities within gastroenterology.
In addition, a universal challenge among practicing gastroenterologists is the pressure of very busy schedules and the need for efficient mechanisms to access relevant, high-quality information.
With areas like AI and microbiome science moving incredibly fast, medical headlines can easily outpace rigorous evidence. What is your framework for separating clinical “hype” from true utility?
Dr. Limketkai: Precisely because these advances are so exciting, it is understandably easy to be swept away by unbridled enthusiasm (“hype”) before fully assessing the feasibility and practicality of new discoveries. I do not view this as a fault. Rather, it is often a necessary quality of visionaries who pave the way for future innovation, even when feasibility or application is not yet clear. If not for the courage to dream, we would not yet have artificial intelligence as we know it today. Nonetheless, when reporting new developments to busy clinicians, we must discern what is possible now versus what may be possible twenty years from now.
To distinguish hype from true utility, I evaluate research data through several lenses: strength of evidence, feasibility of translation or deployment, and practical significance in the current era. Even when a groundbreaking technology emerges, logistical considerations (e.g., infrastructure, cost, regulation, scalability) must be weighed.
Clinical relevance is equally important. For example, an innovative widget that automatically counts the number of nostril hairs in a rodent might be scientifically impressive, but would it be practical for a gastroenterologist? Likely not. By contrast, an AI agent capable of reviewing reams of medical charts and prepopulating previsit notes could be immensely helpful.
You’ll be collaborating with AGA, Conexiant, and your board of associate editors. What kind of collaborative culture do you want to build, and what diverse perspectives are you most eager to bring to the table?
Dr. Limketkai: I am a firm believer in team science. I value the ways in which a rich diversity of ideas, opinions, and perspectives can lead to a better final product than any one person can develop alone. I also recognize that the knowledge, experiences, and skills that others bring to the table complement — and often compensate for — my own limitations.
With this in mind, the incoming board of associate editors has been carefully selected to include renowned clinicians from diverse backgrounds, subspecialty interests, practice settings, and geographic representation. Through this collaboration among AGA, Conexiant, and the board of editors, we hope to create a working culture in which everyone’s input is valued, including that of our readers! Of note, “valued” does not mean that every suggestion will necessarily be implemented; instead, it means that all feedback will receive thoughtful consideration. Even as we have associate editors assigned to specific sections — such as Dr. Alyssa Parian with The New Gastroenterologist and Dr. Leila Neshatian with Perspectives — we will promote a culture in which everyone is encouraged to share ideas and suggestions.
I have also asked Drs. Brian Kim and Marc Piper to assist with The New Gastroenterologist, given their deep involvement in fellowship education. Our hope as a team is to foster a collaborative culture that is professionally fulfilling, enjoyable, and respectful, all while producing a publication that addresses the news needs and interests of practicing gastroenterologists and hepatologists.
A year from now, what do you hope readers say has evolved about GI & Hepatology News, and what do you hope they feel remained rock-solid?
Dr. Limketkai: I hope GI & Hepatology News continues to firmly maintain its position as a premier news source for practicing gastroenterologists and hepatologists, delivering a steady stream of high-yield, practice-relevant information. In the years ahead, I would be excited to see the publication expand its reach through a more robust online presence. Just as science continues to evolve, so too does the way clinicians consume news and information.
For busy clinicians, we will strive to provide timely, digestible content that can be accessed quickly and conveniently: while on the go, between patient visits, during lunch breaks. Anytime. Anywhere.