Meet Dr. Avi

Abraham M. Ishaaya, M.D., F.C.C.P., F.A.C.G.S., M.A.C.G.S. (Dr. Avi), is the co-founder and Medical Director of the Aviisha Medical Wellness Institute. He embraces the idea that with knowledge comes responsibility. Dr. Avi applies knowledge from a variety of medical specialties, and provides his patients with a combination of expertise, empathy, and experience that come from extensive medical training, research, and practice.

Dr. Avi suffered from asthma as an adolescent. The asthma had disastrous effects on his overall health. Confined to the house, with little opportunity for exercise or social activity, Dr. Avi became seriously overweight. He resolved to get healthy and devised his own diet and exercise program which helped him lose weight and put him on a path to medicine. His academic success enabled him to enter UCLA at age sixteen, and medical school at the University of Maryland at age 19. Upon graduation from medical school, he returned to Los Angeles to practice medicine at age 22.

Dr. Avi completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and completed a fellowship in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. He is board-certified in Pulmonary, Sleep, Internal and Geriatrics medicine and has been in private practice since 1996. Dr. Avi is also a Member of the American Society of Bariatric Medicine. He is Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA School of Medicine, and participates in medical committees including the Medicine Working Committee at the Olympia Medical Center.

Dr. Avi believes that medical professionals need to do more than simply care for their patients' illnesses: they must care for their overall well-being by providing them with the education and support needed to make healthy lifestyle choices.

As the Aviisha Medical Director, Dr. Avi oversees the wide range of medical programs and services offered at the Institute. His easygoing, caring approach combined with his extensive medical background have made him a top physician, spurring the rapid expansion of his practice throughout Southern California. Dr. Avi has been awarded the Paul Rubenstein Award and the Excellence in Original Research Award (awarded twice). He is a Solomon Scholar and has received honors from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Southern California Pulmonary Research Conference.

Dr. Avi speaks English, Hebrew, Russian, and Spanish. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and four children.