He obtained his undergraduate degree in Biology/Geology from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, where he stayed on for his medical degree. From there, he did his medical residency at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC, and his Gastroenterology clinical and research fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. While in Ann Arbor, his division head was Dr Tadataka Yamada, and he worked in the laboratory of Dr Chung Owyang.