Dr. Pia Prakash

Vikesh Singh is a gastroenterologist who specializes in pancreatology and pancreaticobiliary endoscopy. He evaluates and treats patients with inflammatory diseases of the pancreas, including acute and chronic pancreatitis and autoimmune pancreatitis as well as the complications of these diseases. After earning his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Singh remained at Johns Hopkins to complete residency training in internal medicine. He pursued fellowship training in gastroenterology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and earned a master’s degree in epidemiology from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He then returned to Johns Hopkins, where he completed a two-year advanced endoscopy fellowship with a focus on pancreaticobiliary endoscopy. Dr. Singh has been on the faculty at Johns Hopkins since 2008, and rose to the rank of professor in 2021. His research interests include acute and chronic pancreatitis, autoimmune pancreatitis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, and novel methods to evaluate and treat abdominal pain. Dr. Singh is a member of the board of directors of the National Pancreas Foundation, chair of the Pancreatic Disorders Section of the American Gastroenterological Association, a councilor for the International Association of Pancreatology and a member of the inaugural medical advisory board for the Familial Chylomicronemia Syndrome Foundation. Dr. Singh is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. His top areas of expertise are Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, Hereditary Pancreatitis, Acute Pancreatitis, Pancreatectomy, and Endoscopy.

Dr. Akshintala received his medical degree from the Andhra Medical College in India in 2011. Following this, he completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in Gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins Hospital where he established himself as a dedicated researcher. Dr. Akshintala completed his internship and residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2016. He completed his fellowship in Gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2019. Dr. Akshintala then completed additional fellowships in Advanced Endoscopy and Medical Pancreatology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2021. As of July 1, 2021, Dr. Akshintala is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Akshintala’s research is focused on the medical as well as endoscopic evaluation and treatment of inflammatory disorders of the pancreas. He is also interested in developing new devices and technologies for the care of patients with gastrointestinal disorders. Dr. Akshintala has conducted multi-national randomized-controlled trials and has won numerous awards at major national and international conferences for his research. He also has authored more than 60 original articles, editorials, book chapters and review articles. Dr. Akshintala has received grant funding from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Maryland State to support his research. As an innovator, Dr. Akshintala has patented new therapies for gastrointestinal bleeding and pancreas necrosis, a complication of acute pancreatitis. An internationally recognized researcher conducting multi-national clinical trials, Dr. Akshintala holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor position at the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology in India, one of the largest gastroenterology hospitals in the world. Dr. Akshintala is a Ph.D. candidate with the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group in the Netherlands, who have been pioneered landmark clinical trials related to pancreatitis. Dr. Akshintala offers in-person clinic visits at the Baltimore location and also provides telemedicine visits for patients located in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Dr. Akshintala is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. His top areas of expertise are Hereditary Pancreatitis, Acute Pancreatitis, Chronic Pancreatitis, Endoscopy, and Lithotripsy.

Dr. Elham Afghani is an assistant professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She joins us from Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She received her medical degree from University of California, Irvine. She completed her internal medicine residency as well as an extra year as chief resident at the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center. She then completed her gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship with additional training in pancreatic diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. With a unique specialization in pancreatic disease, she has participated in numerous research projects at the Cedars Sinai division of pancreatico-biliary diseases and was involved in a U01 Consortium for the study of chronic pancreatitis, diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Dr. Afghani’s areas of expertise include acute and chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cysts and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. She is an accomplished researcher with multiple publications in prestigious peer-reviewed journals as well as presentations at national meetings. Dr. Afghani is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. Her top areas of expertise are Hereditary Pancreatitis, Acute Pancreatitis, Chronic Pancreatitis, Endoscopy, and Lithotripsy.