FALL HILL GASTROENTEROLOGY - Key Persons
Dr. Thomas Mastri has been named as a Top Doctor in Northern Virginia Magazine. Currently he is a partner in Fall Hill Gastroenterology Associates. He is a graduate of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, NJ, in 1985. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1989.He later served as Chief Resident of Internal Medicine at Episcopal Hospital, Philadelphia. His Gastroenterology fellowship was completed at the Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center in 1991.He became Board Certified in Gastroenterology by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1991.
He spent nine years working for the Geisinger Medical Group in Pennsylvania prior to joining Fall Hill Gastroenterology Associates in 2000.
Dr. Mastri resides with his wife and family in Spotsylvania. He is active in the public school system and has coached young soccer. He is an avid photographer.
His special medical interests include gastrointestinal and liver diseases, diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, video capsule endoscopy and colon cancer screening.
Job Titles:
- Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
- Family Nurse Practitioner
Jenny Potter is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She graduated with honors from Simmons University in 2020 and earned a Master of Science in Nursing. Jenny joins our team after having worked as an ICU RN for 10 years. She started her nursing career in Cleveland, Ohio as a nursing assistant and earned her associate's degree in nursing from Cuyahoga Community College. After moving to Virginia, she married and earned her BSN from Walden University. Within a year, she was enrolled for her MSN.
Jenny lives in Woodbridge, VA with her husband, 2 children and 2 greyhounds. Her interests include her family, greyhounds, cheering for the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers, and beach vacations.
Job Titles:
- Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
- Family Nurse Practitioner
Leslie Cooper is a Board Certified family nurse practitioner. She graduated from Indiana State University FNP program in 2017 and received a Masters in Science of Nursing. Prior to becoming a nurse, she worked as a Correctional Deputy for Riverside County Sheriff's Department in Southern California for 6.5 years. She started her nursing career after completing an LPN certificate program through North West College in 2006. Later she went on to completed an LPN to BSN bridge program and received a Bachelor in Science of Nursing in 2011. She has over 13 years of nursing experience in general medicine and various subspecialties such as oncology, cardiology, renal-respiratory.
She resides with her husband and two children in Fredericksburg, VA. Her interests include travel, and outdoor activities with the family to include kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, water skiing, and snow skiing.
Dr. Lawrence W. Comerford joined Fall Hill Gastroenterology Associates in 2019.
Dr. Lawrence W. Comerford has over 20 years' experience helping patients improve their digestive health.
His father served a career in the US Air Force so he moved frequently as a child with his family. After graduating from high school in Pensacola, Florida, he decided to pursue a career in the Navy and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland in 1983 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He attended Nuclear Power School and spent 10 years in the US Navy as an engineering duty officer working on nuclear submarines and in shipyards. He earned a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA.
In 1993, he left the Navy to pursue a career in medicine. He earned his medical degree at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston SC in 1997.
He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN in 2000. He was awarded the Mayo Department of Medicine's prestigious "Attitude, Commitment, & Excellence Award" in 2000.
In 2003, he completed his Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. He was a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Research Training Fellow in Digestive Diseases while at UVA, performing research in in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). He won the American College of Gastroenterology Fellow Clinical Research Award in 2003. He received his Masters of Science in Health Evaluation Sciences at UVA in 2004.
Dr. Comerford has served on the faculties of the University of Virginia (2003-2005), Medical University of South Carolina (2006-2013), and Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, VA (2017-2019) where he has taught medical students, residents, and GI fellows. He received the MUSC Department of Medicine Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008. He served as Head of the IBD Section at MUSC and was active in clinical research in IBD publishing papers and book chapters. He has presented abstracts and been an invited speaker at National medical conferences. He has been a guest lecturer at the Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences Physician Assistant program (affiliated with Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA)
He became Board Certified in Gastroenterology by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 2004. He is a Fellow in the American Gastroenterological Association and a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.
He received the Our Health Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley Magazine's 2018 Best Bedside Manner Award.
Dr. Comerford's medical interests include inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) general gastrointestinal and liver diseases, general endoscopy including colon cancer screening, and video capsule endoscopy. He enjoys working as a team member with the other physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and staff at Fall Hill Gastroenterology to improve the digestive health of our patients.
He is married to Margaret Hardy, a former registered nurse and currently a practicing attorney in Fredericksburg. They live on a farm in Caroline County along with angora goats, chickens, geese, ducks, dogs and a cat.
Dr. Comerford has served as an adult leader with the Boy Scouts of America and has participated in medical mission trips to Kenya and Honduras.
Job Titles:
- Certified Physician Assistant
Rachel Wilcox is a certified Physician Assistant. She is originally from a very small town in McKean County, Pennsylvania. She received her undergraduate degree from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA in 2014. She then graduated from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania in 2017 with a Masters of Health Science. She joins our team with prior GI experience. She recently moved to the area from Chambersburg, PA where she practiced for 5 years.
Rachel is an avid reader and enjoys discussing books with her colleagues and her patients. She also enjoys kayaking, hiking, and college basketball (Go Heels!). Rachel is an animal lover and would love to see pictures of your pets. She resides in the Fredericksburg area with her cat, O'Malley.
Job Titles:
- Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
- Family Nurse Practitioner
Sanita Piya is a Board Certified family nurse practitioner. She graduated from Chamberlain College of Nursing, Chicago, IL in 2016. She received her Bachelor in Science of Nursing from B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Nepal in 2003.
She has dedicated more than 10 years of her life in caring patients with utmost creativity, best knowledge, skills and experiences to address patient's issues and problems to deliver most efficient care. She is a member of American Association of Nurse Practitioners and Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc.
She resides with her husband, a Pediatric Cardiologist and 2 children in Stafford, VA. She enjoys cooking, decorating and spending quality time with her family.