Kerry Dunbar, M.D., Ph.D.

Kerry Dunbar, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and a member of its Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases. She serves as staff physician and Section Chief of Gastroenterology at the Dallas VA Medical Center, and as an Associate Program Director for the UT Southwestern Internal Medicine residency program.

Her clinical and research interests include Barrett’s esophagus, gastroesophageal reflux disease, esophageal motility disorders, eosinophilic esophagitis, and novel endoscopic imaging technologies.

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine with a subspecialty in gastroenterology, she joined the UT Southwestern Faculty in 2011.

Originally from Texas, Dr. Dunbar holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and cell biology from Rice University in Houston. She earned her medical degree from UT Southwestern, and completed internal medicine residency training, followed by a fellowship program in gastroenterology and hepatology, at Johns Hopkins University, where she also earned a Ph.D. in clinical investigation.

Dr. Dunbar’s research has resulted in more than 75 publications in peer-reviewed journals and contributions to book chapters. Additionally, she has presented her findings at scientific conferences throughout the United States and around the world.

Dr. Dunbar is active in several professional societies, including the American Gastroenterological Association, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, and the American Foregut Society, where she serves as Senior Associate Editor of Foregut: Journal of the American Foregut Society.

She is also Councilor for the nonprofit American Gastroenterological Association Institute’s Esophageal, Gastric and Duodenal Disorders Section and Endoscopy, Technology, and Imaging Section.

D Magazine named her among Dallas's best doctors in 2020 and 2021.

Undergraduate

Rice University (1995), Biochemistry

Medical School

UT Southwestern Medical Center (2000), Medicine

Graduate School

Johns Hopkins University (2012), Clinical Investigation

• Barrett's esophagus
• Eosinophilic esophagitis
• Esophageal motility disorders
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Novel endoscopic imaging

Featured Publications

ACG Clinical Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

Katz PO, Dunbar KB, Schnoll-Sussman FH, Greer KB, Yadlapati R, Spechler SJ, Am J Gastroenterol 2022 01 117 1 27-56

Randomized Trial of Medical versus Surgical Treatment for Refractory Heartburn.

Spechler SJ, Hunter JG, Jones KM, Lee R, Smith BR, Mashimo H, Sanchez VM, Dunbar KB, Pham TH, Murthy UK, Kim T, Jackson CS, Wallen JM, von Rosenvinge EC, Pearl JP, Laine L, Kim AW, Kaz AM, Tatum RP, Gellad ZF, Lagoo-Deenadayalan S, Rubenstein JH, Ghaferi AA, Lo WK, Fernando RS, Chan BS, Paski SC, Provenzale D, Castell DO, Lieberman D, Souza RF, Chey WD, Warren SR, Davis-Karim A, Melton SD, Genta RM, Serpi T, Biswas K, Huang GD, N. Engl. J. Med. 2019 10 381 16 1513-1523

Association of Acute Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease With Esophageal Histologic Changes.

Dunbar KB, Agoston AT, Odze RD, Huo X, Pham TH, Cipher DJ, Castell DO, Genta RM, Souza RF, Spechler SJ JAMA 2016 May 315 19 2104-12

A human Barrett's esophagus organoid system reveals epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity induced by acid and bile salts.

Zhang Q, Bansal A, Dunbar KB, Chang Y, Zhang J, Balaji U, Gu J, Zhang X, Podgaetz E, Pan Z, Spechler SJ, Souza RF, Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2022 06 322 6 G598-G614

Itraconazole Exerts its Anti-Tumor Effect in Esophageal Cancer by Suppressing the HER2/AKT Signaling Pathway.

Zhang W, Bhagwath AS, Ramzan Z, Williams TA, Subramaniyan I, Edpuganti V, Kallem RR, Dunbar KB, Ding P, Gong K, Geurkink SA, Beg MS, Kim J, Zhang Q, Habib AA, Choi SH, Lapsiwala R, Bhagwath G, Dowell JE, Melton SD, Jie C, Putnam WC, Pham TH, Wang DH, Mol Cancer Ther 2021 Aug

In Barrett's epithelial cells, weakly acidic bile salt solutions cause oxidative DNA damage with response and repair mediated by p38.

Huo X, Dunbar KB, Zhang X, Zhang Q, Spechler SJ, Souza RF, Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 2020 03 318 3 G464-G478

Efficacy of Prophylactic Hemoclips in Prevention of Delayed Post-Polypectomy Bleeding in Patients with Large Colonic Polyps.

Feagins LA, Smith AD, Kim D, Halai A, Duttala S, Chebaa B, Lunsford T, Vizuete J, Mara M, Mascarenhas R, Meghani R, Kundrotas L, Dunbar KB, Cipher DJ, Harford WV, Spechler SJ, Gastroenterology 2019 May

Aberrant p53 Immunostaining in Barrett's Esophagus Predicts Neoplastic Progression: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.

Snyder P, Dunbar K, Cipher DJ, Souza RF, Spechler SJ, Konda VJA, Dig. Dis. Sci. 2019 05 64 5 1089-1097

Beyond Dysplasia Grade: The Role of Biomarkers in Stratifying Risk.

Dunbar KB, Souza RF Gastrointest. Endosc. Clin. N. Am. 2017 Jul 27 3 447-459

Unique Clinical Features of Los Angeles Grade D Esophagitis Suggest That Factors Other Than Gastroesophageal Reflux Contribute to its Pathogenesis.

Nguyen AD, Spechler SJ, Shuler MN, Souza RF, Dunbar KB J. Clin. Gastroenterol. 2017 Jun

 Featured Books

Confocal endomicroscopy. In Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in Practice

Dunbar KB (2011). Elsevier

Esophageal physiology, function tests, and endoscopic techniques. In Johns Hopkins Cardiothoracic Surgery, 2nd ed.

Jodorkovsky D, Clarke JO, Dunbar KB (2014). McGraw Hill Education

• D Magazine Best Doctors
  Gastroenterology (2018)
• Lyman E. Bilhartz, M.D. Memorial Teaching Award
  UT Southwestern, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases (2013)
• UT Southwestern LEAD Program Participant
  UT Southwestern Leadership Program (2012)
• World Endoscopy Organization Research Award
  Awarded to young investiagor in gastroenterology for endoscopic research excellence (2011)
• Women's Leadership Award
  Johns Hopkins Women's Network, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (2005)
• Alpha Omega Alpha
  Medical Honor Society (2000)
• Ho Din Award of the Southwestern Medical Foundation
  AWarded to outstanding medical school graduate from UT Southwestern Medical School (2000)

• American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society (2013)
• American College of Gastroenterology (2006)
• American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (2004)
• American Gastroenterological Association (2003)