Maria Abreu: New American Gastroenterological Association president

Born to Cuban immigrants in New Jersey, Maria Abreu made her way to Miami as a teenager where she would attend the University of Miami and graduate from the Miller School of Medicine in 1990. She went on to complete her residency at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, where she realized her passion for the specialty of gastroenterology.

Dr. Abreu’s postdoctoral training includes a clinical and research fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she embarked on her subspeciality of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). She later taught as an associate professor of medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NYC, and head of the IBD Center.

Dr. Abreu is now director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center, professor of medicine and professor of microbiology and immunology at the UM Miller School of Medicine. At the end of May, became the 119th president of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), the first Hispanic woman and fifth woman to lead the society.

Founded in 1897, the AGA’s more than 16,000 members worldwide engage in the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology. Dr. Abreu hopes to steer the AGA into the future and plans to devote herself to professional gender equity and business models that respond to current practice needs.

Dr. Abreu has a hefty repertoire of research, including how gastro diseases impact the Hispanic population, and has written more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, books, chapters and reviews. She is also an avid cyclist, runner and special needs mom.

Dr. Abreu spoke with Miami Today reporter Genevieve Bowen.

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