Dr Natalia Zarate-Lopez

Dr Natalia Zarate-Lopez is a prominent consultant neurogastroenterologist in London, where she practices at Cleveland Clinic London in addition to her UCLH NHS practice. She specialises in a wide range of functional and sensorimotor gut disorders such as functional dyspepsia, oesophageal motility disorders, gastroparesis, amongst chronic constipation, faecal incontinence, and nutrition. Dr Zarate-Lopez has an expertise on advanced upper GI and lower GI physiology investigations, like oesophageal manometry, 24h pH/impedance, anorectal manometry, among others.

After receiving her medical qualification in Barcelona, Spain, Dr Zarate-Lopez continued there to finish her basic gastroenterology specialist training. She was then awarded the distinguished Canadian Association of Gastroenterology Clinical Fellowship, where she completed her project on integrating basic science and clinical research on the investigation of pacemakers in the gut, the interstitial cells of Cajal. This project evolved to become the core of her PhD in medicine from the University of Autònoma de Barcelona.

Dr Zarate-Lopez then continued her post CCT specialist training in neurogastroenterology in the UK at St Mark's Hospital and The Royal London Hospital. It was here she honed her expertise in lower GI physiology and pelvic floor disorders, as well as the impact of rheumatological, neurological, and endocrine disorders on gut sensorimotor function. Dr Zarate-Lopez currently receives more than 400 referrals per year for her outpatient specialist clinic, including tertiary and quatertiary referrals, especially for patients with functional or neurogastroenterological disorders.

Her research in her field has been extensive, as Dr Zarate-Lopez has more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, including the UK representative for the European Guidelines for Functional Dyspepsia and for Gastroparesis. Presently, her particular active research interest is in the development and implementation of innovative techniques to manage patients with functional and motility gut disorders. She is also interested in developing an evidence-based approach to the nutritional requirements of patients with functional and neurogastrointestinal disorders.

In conjunction with her research and publications, Dr Zarate-Lopez is invested in the promotion of better training in her subspeciality field of neurogastroenterology to trainees. She is an active member of the Young Adults Section of the BSG and continues to collaborate with the Neurogastro Section of the BSG. She has, thus far in her career, provided informative talks in relation to complex functional gastroenterology as well as gastroparesis in neurodegenerative disorders. She is an expert when it comes to the management of patients with neurological conditions whose gastric function has deteriorated.