• Digestive Disease Services
• Colorectal Disease Services

• American Board of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology
• American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine

• 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 Digestive Health Institute
• 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

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

Dr. William E. Karnes is a board-certified 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.

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.

His research interests include colon cancer screening, risk assessment for colon cancer and artificial intelligence-assisted colonoscopy. 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 sees patients in Orange, Irvine and Costa Mesa.

Speakers Bureau Topics

• Celiac disease
• Chronic diarrhea
• Colon cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment
• Colon cancer: genetic risk factors
• Eosinophilic esophagitis
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• H. Pylori and peptic ulcer disease
• Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)

View this physician's academic profile ›