Newswise — LOS ANGELES (Nov. 11, 2024) -- Cedars-Sinai has appointed prominent inflammatory bowel disease physician-scientist Maria T. Abreu, MD, to be the executive director of the F. Widjaja Inflammatory Bowel Disease Institute. Abreu will succeed longstanding director Stephan Targan, MD, her mentor and a former research colleague from more than two decades ago.
In her new role, Abreu will direct inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) teaching and clinical activities, as well as basic, translational and clinical research. She also will collaborate with multiple stakeholders across Cedars-Sinai Health System to advance leading-edge care for patients.
“We warmly welcome Dr. Abreu back to our Cedars-Sinai community and look forward to her continued brilliant scientific and clinical contributions to the IBD field,” said Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president of Medicine and Health Sciences and dean of the Medical Faculty at Cedars-Sinai. “We also extend our warmest gratitude and admiration to Dr. Targan for his decades-long record of pioneering innovation and exceptional leadership.”
Abreu is president of the American Gastroenterological Association. She has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles published in high-impact medical journals and is a recipient of the 2019 Sherman Prize from the Bruce and Cynthia Sherman Charitable Foundation for her outstanding achievements in treating and researching inflammatory bowel disease.
Abreu returns to Cedars-Sinai from the University of Miami, where she was the Martin Kalser Endowed Chair of Gastroenterology; professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology; and director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center. Prior to her current position she was director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. While at Cedars-Sinai, Abreu was director of Basic and Translational Research in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center.
“My fundamental training as a physician-scientist occurred at Cedars-Sinai, and I believe it’s my destiny to return,” Abreu said. “With many of the current faculty having trained with me—whether at Cedars-Sinai or at the University of Miami—it is very exciting to be back among this expert team, and especially with Dr. Targan, who first inspired me to study IBD.”
Targan, also a Sherman Prize recipient, is a highly respected physician-scientist noted for developing biologic drugs that have revolutionized patient care, pioneering a multisystem approach to IBD, discovering biomarkers used to classify IBD disorders, and advancing care for IBD patients worldwide. He will remain on the Cedars-Sinai faculty as a distinguished professor of Medicine.
Abreu earned her medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and a fellowship in gastroenterology at UCLA.
In 2020, she received the Mentoring Award from the Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Section of the American Gastroenterological Association. She also received the Healio Lifetime Disruptor Award, honoring a gastroenterologist who consistently pushes the field forward through innovative treatments, practice management, patient care and research. In 2023, Abreu was honored with the Women Empowering and Embracing Women Award from the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: IBD Dietitian Apprenticeship—Improving Access to Nutrition Care
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