Dr. Maria T. Abreu is the Director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center, Professor of Medicine, and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Abreu is a recipient of the 2019 Sherman Prize from the Bruce and Cynthia Sherman Charitable Foundation, which recognizes outstanding achievements in IBD. In 2020, she received the Mentoring Award from the Immunology, Microbiology, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IMIBD) section of the AGA. In 2020, she was bestowed with Healio’s Lifetime Disruptor Award. This award goes to a gastroenterologist or hepatologist who consistently pushes the gastroenterology field forward through innovative treatments, practice management, patient care, or research. She completed a three-year term as Chair of the International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD) in 2022. In 2023, Dr. Abreu received the Women Empowering and Embracing Women Award. She is the 30th alumni inducted into the UMMSOM Hall of Fame.
She is the President of the American Gastroenterology Association, the fifth woman and first Latina to hold this position. Her laboratory investigates the role of innate immunity, diet, and the microbiome in IBD and the factors driving the risk of IBD in Hispanic patients.