Madhulika (Mika) Varma, MD

Dr. Madhulika (Mika) Varma, chief of colorectal surgery at UCSF Medical Center, specializes in diseases of the colon, rectum and anus. Her areas of expertise include colorectal and anal cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, and pelvic floor disorders. She also is a specialist in treating many of these diseases using laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgical techniques.

Varma is director of the Center for Pelvic Physiology, which evaluates patients with fecal incontinence, constipation, rectal cancer and anal fistula. She is co-director of the UCSF Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and a member of the Women's Continence Center and Women's Health Clinical Research Center. Varma's research interests include clinical outcomes for inflammatory bowel diseases and defecation disorders.

Varma earned her medical degree at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She completed a residency in general surgery at UCSF and spent a year at the University of Minnesota for specialized training in colon and rectal surgery. In 2000, she returned to UCSF, where she completed a fellowship in clinical outcomes research and epidemiology.