Cleveland Clinic Names Miguel Regueiro, M.D., Chair of the Digestive Disease & Surgery Institute

Miguel Regueiro, M.D., has been named chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Disease & Surgery Institute (DDSI). He succeeds Matthew Walsh, M.D., who served as interim chair since October 2020. Dr. Walsh will continue his role as chair of the Department of General Surgery.

“Dr. Regueiro’s leadership and focus align with our mission of caring for life, researching for health, and educating those who serve,” said Cleveland Clinic’s Chief of Staff Beri Ridgeway, M.D. “He leads with empathy and is a strategic thinker. Dr. Regueiro’s dedication to physician education and engagement, as well as his mentoring skills, will contribute to make Cleveland Clinic a best place to work in healthcare.”

Dr. Regueiro served as chair of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, and vice chair of DDSI, positions he held since 2018. He also holds the Pier C. and Renee A. Borra Family Endowed Chair and is a professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.

Dr. Regueiro’s primary clinical and research interest is inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), with a focus on the course of these diseases and postoperative prevention of Crohn’s disease. He has been instrumental in researching methods of prevention of postoperative Crohn’s disease and has led national and international research in the field. His focus on patient-centered care and a population-health approach for chronic diseases led to a new model of healthcare delivery called medical home for IBD that delivers integrated IBD care to patients. Under Dr. Regueiro’s leadership, DDSI is looking to apply this model to other chronic gastrointestinal conditions.

Dr. Regueiro is a nationally recognized presenter and author on IBD, the prevention and management of postoperative Crohn’s disease and clinical outcomes in IBD. He has published hundreds of peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters and abstracts, as well as presented at numerous grand rounds in the United States and internationally. He founded “IBD LIVE,” the first live weekly IBD inter-institutional and interdisciplinary videoconference education series that attracts physicians from throughout the United States. He also serves on the editorial staff for several peer-reviewed industry journals, including editor-in-chief of Crohn’s & Colitis 360 and associate editor for the Journal of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases & Disorders.

“DDSI brings specialists focused on conditions related to the gastrointestinal tract and surgical expertise, such as fetal surgery, in a fully integrated model of multidisciplinary care,” said Dr. Regueiro. “The most important person is the patient, and what they want from the care experience. We integrate innovative clinical care, research, and education to best serve our patients and build efficient care teams. ”

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic in 2018, Dr. Regueiro served as director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) where he served as faculty for nearly 20 years. He also was senior medical lead of specialty medical homes and was honored as the UPMC Endowed Chair for Patient-Centered Care in IBD. While at the University of Pittsburgh, he was a professor of medicine and professor of clinical and translational science.

Dr. Regueiro earned his medical degree from Drexel University and completed his internal medicine internship, residency, and clinical and research fellowship training in gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Hospital.

Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Disease & Surgery Institute is ranked third in the nation for Gastroenterology & GI Surgery by U.S. News & World Report.