William E. Karnes, MD

• Digestive Disease Services
• Colorectal Disease Services

• American Board of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology [Internal Medicine]
• American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine-General

• English

University of MinnesotaM.D.

University of MinnesotaInternal Medicine

Mayo School of Graduate EducationResearch Fellowship in Gastroenterology
UCLA Medical CenterGastroentrology and Hepatology Fellowship

• Professor — Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Medicine, UCI School of Medicine
• Director — High Risk Program and Colonoscopy Quality, UCI Health H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center
• Fellow — American Gastroenterological Association
• Member — American Association for Cancer Research
• Member — American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Member — American College of Physicians
• Member — American Medical Association
• Member — California Medical Association

• Best Doctors in America® — Gastroenterology, 2015, 2016
• American Federation of Clinical Research Award, 1995
• Merck Fellowship Training Grant, 1987-88
• National Institutes of Health Fellowship Training grants, 1987-88 and 1990-92
• Young Scholar Award, World Congress of Gastroenterology, 1994
• Physicians of Excellence, Orange County Medical Association – 2021

Dr. William Karnes is a UCI Health gastroenterologist who specializes in disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, including colorectal cancer screening, gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD), swallowing disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, peptic ulcers and esophageal disorders. He performs colonoscopies, upper endoscopies and capsule endoscopies, and treats gastrointestinal bleeding, chronic diarrhea, constipation, bloating and bacterial problems in the small intestines.

He also conducts translational research on colon cancer prevention, with an emphasis on regular colorectal screening, especially among patients and families with a genetic risk for developing the disease.

Karnes earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, where he completed a residency in internal medicine. He went on to complete a fellowship in molecular biology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Speakers Bureau Topics

• Celiac Disease
• Chronic Diarrhea
• Colon Cancer Screening, Diagnosis and Treatments
• Colon Cancer: Genetic Risk Factors
• Eosinophilic Esophagitis
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
• H. Pylori and Peptic Ulcer Disease
• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

View this physician's academic profile ›