Faculty

Dr. Zuckerman graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Rochester and went to Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. He did his residency in medicine at Baystate Medical Center (Tufts) and his fellowship in gastroenterology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Professional society membership includes being a fellow of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and a member of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease. He has been a member of the Educational Affairs Committee and the Practice Parameters Committees of the American College of Gastroenterology, the Standards of Practice Committee of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and was involved in the publication of numerous national guidelines on gastrointestinal endoscopy. He is the author over 110 publications in the field of gastroenterology. Research interests include irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the gastrointestinal tract, and infectious complications of liver disease.

Dr. Zuckerman’s clinical interests include functional gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, gastrointestinal bleeding, diseases of the small bowel, colon cancer screening, and the endoscopic procedures of video capsule endoscopy and small bowel endoscopy.

Dr. Elhanafi is board certified in both internal medicine and gastroenterology. He is an assistant professor of medicine and the associate program director of the gastroenterology fellowship program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Elhanafi graduated from the University of Mansoura School of Medicine in Egypt. He did his internal medicine residency at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. He completed his fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and subspecialty fellowship training in advanced and interventional endoscopy at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Dr. Elhanafi is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy as well as the American College of Epidemiology. Dr. Elhanafi has been appointed to the Standards of Practice Committee of the ASGE. Among his honors and awards are Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society membership, the Frank Brooks Research Award for Excellence in GI Research from the University of Pennsylvania, the AGA Young Investigator Research Achievement Award, Resident Award from the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Outstanding Research Award from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.

Dr. Elhanafi’s clinical interests are in pancreatobiliary diseases, and precancerous and cancerous lesions of the gastrointestinal tract. He specializes in advanced diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures, including endoscopic ultrasound, ERCP and cholangioscopy, balloon-assisted enteroscopy, luminal stent placement, endoscopic mucosal resection, and complex polypectomy. His research focuses on prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, with a particular interest in using novel endoscopic techniques to diagnose and treat these diseases.

Dr. Jerzy Sarosiek, in recognition of his innovative contributions to research in gastroenterology, has been bestowed with an honorary doctorate (Doctor honoris causa) from his alma mater, the Medical University of Bialystok in Bialystok, Poland. At the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia, in collaboration with Dr. Barry Marshall, M.D., 2005 winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, Dr. Sarosiek made great contributions to understanding the pathomechanism of development of gastric ulcers in patients infected by Helicobacter pylori. 

Alejandro Robles, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, at Texas
Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, where he specializes in general gastroenterology and hepatology.

Dr. Robles is a native of El Paso. He received a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from The University of Texas at El Paso and then obtained his medical degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He went on to complete his residency in Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, and fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Robles has received numerous awards for his research, teaching, compassionate care, and was inducted into the two most prestigious medical honor societies, Alpha Omega Alpha and Gold Humanism Honor Society.

His clinical interests include hepatology/liver disease, endoscopic procedures, colon cancer screening, and obesity/nutrition. His research focuses on epidemiology and risk assessment of gastrointestinal cancers, particularly colon, liver, and biliary cancers. Dr. Robles is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Nancy Casner received her B.S. degree from Empire State College – S.U.N.Y and her M.S. degree in community health and health administration from Long Island University, N.Y. Nancy has been involved in research in the GI division since 1985, first as lab technician, doing bench research with Marc Zuckerman, M.D., and then as a clinical research coordinator in the GI and rheumatology divisions, since 1987. In 2000, Nancy received her certification from The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). Nancy has conducted more than 70 clinical trials and has supervised many GI research coordinators. In addition to her clinical trial duties, Nancy is also currently working with the department of family and community medicine's ACCION program (Against Colon Cancer In Our Communities) which is funded by CPRIT.