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Maisa Abdalla, M.D., M.P.H.

(Pronouns: she/her/hers)

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Appointment: (585) 275-4711

Fax: (585) 276-0101

URMFGA member of the University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group

groupAn Accountable Health Partner

assignmentAccepting New Patients

Faculty Appointments

Patient Care Setting

Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Biography

Providing the best, patient-centered, clinical care is my greatest passion. My clinical and research focus is Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and pouch disorders. IBD is chronic, life-long and sometimes debilitating disease. Receiving such diagnosis is frequently overwhelming to patients and their families and it can be quite difficult for them to navigate through the different aspects of this disease with all the required tests and investigations, the therapies involved, and the complications from the disease and therapies. Hence, in addition to providing high quality, evidence-based clinical care, I always try to partner with my patients, listen to them, understand their concerns and address their individual needs. Following this strategy I have made many partners and friends throughout the years.

Professional Background

Dr. Abdalla is a full time faculty member with an academic rank of Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Her clinical and research focus is Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and pouch disorders. She is also interested in other immune-mediated bowel diseases including celiac disease, and microscopic colitis.

Dr. Abdalla received her Medical degree from the University of Jordan and MPH degree in public health policy and administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at UIC-advocate Christ Program in 2011 and her fellowship training in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Rochester in 2015. After that, She spent a year at the University of North Carolina for additional training in IBD. Her first post-training academic job was at Loma Linda University (LLU) in Southern California, where she served as a full-time faculty member with academic rank of Assistant Professor of Medicine between 2016 and late 2020. During her tenure at LLU and as the Medical Director for the Gastroenterology Clinic and the Director of the IBD center, she was able to restructure the IBD clinics, create therapy protocols and clinical pathways to monitor patients and improve their access. She also worked closely with her colorectal surgery colleagues and other ancillary services to provide a true multidisciplinary care for all patients. She helped restructure the IBD curriculum for GI fellowship training and directly participated in education sessions to patients, and internal medicine and GI trainees. In January 2021, she moved back to Rochester to join the gastroenterology team at the University of Rochester, where she continues to provide excellent patients’ care, participate in clinical research and work with a dedicated team under the leadership of Dr. Arthur Decross to build a state of art multidisciplinary IBD center.

Research

Dr. Abdalla's clinical research focus and activities primarily involve Inflammatory Bowel Disease. She is specifically interested in IBD epidemiology, patient-outcome research, and in clinical trials investigating new IBD therapies.

Credentials

Specialties

    Education

    2006
    MBCHB | University of Jordan (Jordan)

    2014
    MPH | University of Illinois College of Medicine (USA)

    Post-doctoral Training & Residency

    07/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
    Fellowship at University of North Carolina Healthcare-CRNA verifs

    07/01/2012 - 06/30/2015
    Fellowship in Gastroenterology at University of Rochester Medical Center

    06/24/2008 - 06/30/2012
    Residency in Internal Medicine at University of Illinois College of Medicine-Chicago

    07/01/2006 - 07/31/2007
    Internship at Jordan University Hospital (Amman)

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    Awards

    2016
    Young investigator award
    Sponsor: American Gastroenterological Association

    2015
    Travel grant to attend the 2015 Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Crohn's and Colitis Foundation's Clinical & Research Con
    Sponsor: Crohn's and Colitis Foundation

    2014
    Travel Grant to attend the Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's Clinical and Research Confere
    Sponsor: Fellowship2Leadership Salix Fellows' Program

    2014
    CCFA's National Visiting IBD Fellow Rotation Program
    Sponsor: Crohn's and Colitis Foundation

    2011
    Excellence In Research Award
    Sponsor: Advocate Christ/UIC internal Medicine Residency

    2011
    Academic Excellence Award
    Sponsor: Advocate Christ/UIC internal Medicine Residency

    2009
    Voted Intern of The Year
    Sponsor: Advocate Christ/UIC internal Medicine Residency

    2001 - 2002
    Partial Tuition University Sponsored Scholarship
    Location: University of Jordan

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    Publications

    Journal Articles

    6/14/2022
    Long MD, Afzali A, Fischer M, Hudesman D, Abdalla M, McCabe R, Cohen BL, Ungaro RC, Harlan W, Hanson J, Konijeti G, Polyak S, Ritter T, Salzberg B, Seminerio J, English E, Zhang X, Sharma PP, Herfarth HH. "Tofacitinib Response in Ulcerative Colitis (TOUR): Early Response After Initiation of Tofacitinib Therapy in a Real-world Setting." Inflammatory bowel diseases.. 2022 Jun 14; Epub 2022 Jun 14.

    9/1/2021
    Xu Y, Baylink DJ, Cao H, Xiao J, Abdalla MI, Wasnik S, Tang X. "Inflammation- and Gut-Homing Macrophages, Engineered to Overexpress Active Vitamin D, Promoted the Regenerative Function of Intestinal Stem Cells." International journal of molecular sciences.. 2021 Sep 1; 22(17)Epub 2021 Sep 01.

    6/1/2021
    Abdalla MI, Levesque BG. "Progress in Corticosteroid Use in the Era of Biologics With Room for Improvement." The American journal of gastroenterology.. 2021 Jun 1; 116(6):1187-1188.

    Books & Chapters

    2019
    Chapter Title: Chapter 13 - Inflammatory Bowel Disease
    Book Title: DDSEP 9 - Digestive Disease Self-Education Program
    Author List: Chapter authors - Gary R. Lichtenstein, Yecheskel Schneider. Questions writers - Abdalla M, Long M, Ha C, Dalal S.
    Edited By: Berg CL., Teitelman MG., Marino DE.
    Published By: AGA institute 2019 in MD, USA

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