Maria T. Abreu, M.D.
Chief, Division of Gastroenterology
Professor of Medicine
Professor, Microbiology and Immunology

Maria T. Abreu, M.D., is chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and professor of medicine at the University of Miami Health System/Miller School of Medicine.

Dr. Abreu received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Miami. Her postdoctoral training included an internship and residency in medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She then completed a fellowship in gastroenterology and a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular and cancer biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to joining the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Dr. Abreu served as director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

A member of the American Society of Clinical Investigators (ASCI) and one of American’s Top Doctors (Castle and Connelly), Dr. Abreu has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reviews. She is a Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the American Board of Gastroenterology, as well as a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Abreu serves a leading role in several professional societies, including the American College of Gastroenterology’s Women’s Committee, the AGA Under-represented Minorities Committee, and the National Institutes of Health’s Gastrointestinal Mucosal Pathobiology (GMPB) Study Section.

Dr. Abreu’s research interest is host-bacterial interactions and, in particular, the role of toll-like receptor signaling in intestinal inflammation. Her translational work has focused on genotype-phenotype relationships in inflammatory bowel disease and prediction of response to medical therapies. She is a frequent speaker at national and international symposia on basic science and clinical topics.

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

The Division of Gastroenterology is devoted to the quality care of patients, clinical research in disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver, and the education of physicians in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of patients with gastrointestinal disorders.

Our mission is to deliver outstanding, educated gastroenterology care to the community of South Florida and Latin America and to make scientific discoveries that will improve gastrointestinal health for all patients.

The Division of Gastroenterology provides excellent patient care, conducts cutting-edge clinical research in disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, and educates physicians in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of patients with gastrointestinal disorders. The division’s nationally and internationally recognized faculty deliver clinical care at the University of Miami Hospital, the Sylvester Cancer Center, Jackson Memorial Hospital and the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The University of Miami Division of Gastroenterology is also affiliated with Mount Sinai Medical Center. All of these settings provide a unique opportunity for performing clinical research and for training the next generation of gastroenterologists in our gastroenterology fellowship program. Faculty members in the division also have a wide range of special research interests, including inflammatory bowel disease, gastrointestinal cancer, disorders of the pancreas, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic gastrointestinal endoscopy. The division conducts research in the immunology of the gastrointestinal tract and in ulcer disease, pancreatic diseases, and diverticulitis.

This site will be useful as a reference guide and as a source of information about the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

 An Open Randomized Multicenter Clinical Investigation to Compare the Efficacy and Safety of Prednisone Plus Adacolumn® GMA Apheresis vs Prednisone Alone in the Treatment of Patients With Mild or Moderately Active Steroid Dependent Ulcerative Colitis

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the addition of GMA apheresis to steroid conventional treatment for achieving and maintaining remission in Active steroid dependant Ulcerative Colitis patients

Estimated Enrollment: 246
Study Start Date: June 2008
Estimated Study Completion Date: April 2012
Estimated Primary Completion Date: December 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years to 75 Years
Genders Eligible for Study: Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

 Trichuris Suis Ova Treatment in Left-sided Ulcerative Colitis

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of trichuris suis ova (TSO) in ulcerative colitis (UC). We will look at how TSO affects the body's immune response and if there are related changes in participants' UC. The cause of UC is not well understood. It is believed to be caused from an abnormal immune response to the normal bacteria that live in the gut (intestines and colon). This response acts as an "attack" on the healthy tissue of the bowel by a person's own immune cells which leads to disease. It is well known that autoimmune diseases such as IBD, asthma, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis are more common in industrialized, well-developed countries with better sanitation and hygiene, as in the United States. These "cleaner" environments reduce exposure to germs and parasites naturally found in the environment. This reduced exposure may trigger responses in the body that make people more prone to diseases such as UC. People in non-industrialized countries and the tropics, where parasites are common, rarely develop these diseases. This observation has led researchers to want to better understand the relationship between the lack of natural bacteria in the gut and the onset of autoimmune diseases like as UC.

Estimated Enrollment: 120
Study Start Date: November 2013
Estimated Study Completion Date: September 2016
Estimated Primary Completion Date: March 2016 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years to 70 Years
Genders Eligible for Study: Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No