Miguel Regueiro, M.D.

Dr. Regueiro is the Chair of the Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute at Cleveland Clinic, and is Professor Department of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.  He holds the Pier C. and Renee A. Borra Family Endowed Chair in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute.

Dr. Regueiro’s main clinical and research interest is Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) with a focus on the natural course of these diseases and postoperative prevention of Crohn’s disease and developing new models of healthcare, including the first-of-its kind specialty medical home for IBD. Dr. Regueiro is honored to join the CCYAN medical advisory board and looks forward to working toward a bright future for young IBD patients. 

Sandra Kim, M.D.

Sandra Kim, MD is the Chair of the Children’s Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Kim is also Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Inteflex (Integrated Pre-medical/Medical) Program. She completed clinical training in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Baylor College of Medicine. She was a recipient of the Outstanding Clinical Fellow Award during her GI fellowship and was on the NIH/NIDDK-funded T32 grant. She pursued additional training as a CCFA funded post-doctoral research fellow at the NIH-funded Center for GI Biology and Disease, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Kim’s clinical and research interests focus on pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases, including adolescent transitioning and quality improvement in pediatric IBD and the impact of the gastrointestinal microbiota in IBD. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. She has authored numerous papers and textbook chapters on pediatric and adolescent inflammatory bowel diseases. Dr. Kim has been a past chair of Pediatric Affairs and immediate past chair of Government Affairs/Advocacy for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation National Scientific Advisory Committee. In addition, she co-chairs the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee and serves on the Physician Leadership committee and Community Council for Improve Care Now. She has been active in the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) in programs focusing on mentoring. 

Dr. Kim also is involved as a member of the Medical Advisory Board for the Flying Horse Farms medical camp and a new member of the CCYAN (Crohn’s and Colitis Young Adults Network!  She serves as the President for the Board of Directors for the Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation chapter.  As a reflection of her dedication to patient education and advocacy, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation has awarded Dr. Kim the 2011 and 2018 Rosenthal Award and a 2020 Uniting to Care and Cure award.

CCYAN: I am so excited and honored to join the CCYAN Medical Advisory Board. CCYAN is an incredible organization committed to education and empowering young adults with IBD. As a pediatric gastroenterologist committed to caring for children, teens and young adults living with IBD, I am committed to advocating for my patients.

Eric Benchimol,MD, PhD, FRCPC

Dr. Benchimol graduated from Western University’s MD program and completed his pediatrics residency at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa before joining SickKids for his GI fellowship. During that time, he completed a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology at University of Toronto and ICES. He spent 10 years as a pediatric gastroenterologist and clinician-scientist at CHEO and University of Ottawa, specializing in inflammatory bowel disease. He rejoined the SickKids IBD Centre in September 2020 and holds the Northbridge Financial Corporation Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Dr. Benchimol leads the Canadian Gastro-Intestinal Epidemiology Consortium (CanGIEC.ca), which conducts epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, outcomes, and health services research using the health administrative data from multiple provinces. He also has an interest in improving the methods used to conduct research using routinely-collected health data. In that capacity, he co-chairs of the RECORD Steering Committee (record-statement.org), an international group which has created reporting guidelines for observational studies that use routine-collected health data for research. Dr. Benchimol said, “I strongly value the involvement of patients and families in the establishment of research priorities, and the design of research studies. I’m therefore excited to join the CCYAN Medical Advisory Board because I can see the impact this important organization is making on IBD research and people living with the disease.”

Maia Kayal, M.D.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center. I graduated from New York University School of Medicine and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honor society. I completed my internal medicine residency at Columbia University Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital and fellowship training in gastroenterology at the Mount Sinai Hospital, where I served as chief gastroenterology fellow. My practice focuses on patients with IBD and I have a research interest in inflammatory complications of the ileal pouch. I am particularly excited to join the CCYAN Medical Advisory Board and help change the experience of young adults with IBD.