Ciorba named chief of gastroenterology division’s IBD program
Inflammatory bowel disease expert to direct specialists in Crohn’s disease, colitis
Washington UniversityCiorba
Matthew A. Ciorba, MD, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named chief of the division’s Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Program.
“Matt is an exceptional IBD clinician, a passionate researcher and a dynamic physician-leader,” said Nicholas O. Davidson, MD, the John E. and Adaline Simon Professor of Medicine and of Developmental Biology and director of the Division of Gastroenterology. “He is dedicated to advancing care in IBD and colon cancer and has led significant research in these areas.”
Ciorba’s research focuses on understanding how metabolism and microbiota impact gastrointestinal health and can be manipulated to create new therapies for IBD and colon cancer. His work is supported by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Ciorba treats patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
IBD affects about one of every 200 people in the United States. In Missouri, some 33,000 patients have been diagnosed with IBD. During the last 10 years, the IBD program at the School of Medicine has provided care for about 7,000 individuals.
“Leading the Washington University IBD program is an amazing opportunity to build upon the remarkable clinical and research capacities we have here,” said Ciorba, who joined the faculty in 2007. “The goal of our program is to improve quality of life for IBD patients regionally as well as globally. To achieve this goal, our IBD team will take an interdisciplinary approach that integrates world-class patient care with transformative research and education.”
Ciorba will oversee a section of the gastroenterology division made up of nine clinicians and a psychologist who specialize in IBD management. The program, one of the largest in the country, is the only comprehensive IBD center focusing on all aspects of Crohn’s and colitis care within a 300-mile radius of St. Louis.
Ciorba also will oversee the expansion of the School of Medicine’s IBD clinics and procedure centers at the Center for Advanced Medicine on the Washington University Medical Campus; at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital; and the Center for Advanced Medicine in south St. Louis County.
Ciorba earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Iowa. He completed his internship and residency at the School of Medicine and was chief resident at the John Cochrane VA Medical Center in St. Louis.
