In this month’s Fellow Spotlight, we feature Ike Achebe, MD, a second-year Gastroenterology fellow at UMass Chan. We recently caught up with Dr. Achebe to learn more about his clinical interests, why he chose UMass, and his favorite place to travel! 
 




Hometown?
I grew up in Evanston, IL, a small suburb about 30 minutes north of Chicago. Up until now, I did all of my medical training in Chicago, and I completed both medical school and residency there.  

What are your clinical and research interests? 
After I finish my three-year gastroenterology fellowship I will be doing an additional year in therapeutic endoscopy. If I had to pick a particular niche in advanced endoscopy, it would be bariatric endoscopy. We do endobariatric procedures using an endoscope, so instead of sending a patient for gastric bypass surgery, we can do endoscopic suturing of the stomach to constrict the lumen size. By doing that, we're able to help patients lose a considerable amount of weight. 

Why did you choose UMass for your fellowship?
Not all programs have a therapeutic endoscopy fellowship associated with the program – UMass is one of the unique institutions that does that. I knew I wanted to pursue that even before coming into the gastroenterology fellowship, so a program that had an on-site therapeutic endoscopy fellowship was incredibly appealing. I’ve also received excellent mentorship from our program director, Dr. Krunal Patel, and there’s a strong sense of collegiality among the fellows.  

What keeps you motivated?
One thing that keeps me motivated is the responsibility to the patients we take care of. Being in medicine, the decisions you make can be life-altering, and the fact that we have that much power to impact somebody's life is a very serious responsibility. Medicine is a career where there's lifelong learning, and that lifelong learning should be a consequence of your desire to be better for the patients you care for. 

Dog person or cat person?
Nothing against cats, but I’m a dog person, hundred-percent. The perfect life for me, five to ten years down the line, would be with two Dobermans – they’re my favorite dog breed. 

Favorite place to travel?
One place I really enjoy traveling to is Nigeria. Both of my parents are from Nigeria, and although I was born in the states I actually did my freshman year of high school there. I’ve met all kinds of people in Nigeria and made a lot of friends, so I try to visit as often as I can. The last time I was there was for my sister's wedding!