Reza Shaker, MD
Professor of Medicine
Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Director of the Digestive Disease Center
Medical College of Wisconsin 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Reza Shaker, MD, is Professor of Medicine, Radiology, and Otolaryngology, Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Director of the Digestive Disease Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.  He received his medical degree from Tehran University Medical School, completed his internal medicine residency at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and performed a gastroenterology fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin.  He joined the faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1988 and became Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Director of the Digestive Disease Center in 1996.

Dr. Shaker is an internationally recognized gastroenterologist and an investigator in the field of dysphagia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and cerebral cortical control of gastrointestinal sensory motor function. His research has led to some of the seminal discoveries in the area of airway protection and opened new avenues of investigation and treatment for patients with swallowing disorders. He first described that the deglutitive upper esophageal sphincter (UES) opening can be increased by strengthening exercises of the suprahyoid muscles, which led to the development of rehabilitative exercises for UES dysphagia: the Shaker Exercise.  His work has led to the description of the subliminal domain of gut sensory function, allowing investigation of the brain/gut axis without the influence of cognitive processes in humans.  He has developed the field of functional interaction between the upper gut and the aerodigestive tract, resulting in the discovery of several related reflexes. Dr. Shaker has developed the technique of transnasal unsedated upper GI endoscopy for concurrent evaluation of the aerodigestive and upper GI tracts. He is the founder of the Dysphagia Research Society and the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Dysphagia Institute. 

Return to Faculty Bios