David Schwartzberg

Phillip R. Fleshner, MD is the Director of Colorectal Surgery Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He holds the Shierley, Jesslyne, and Emmeline Widjaja Chair in Colorectal Surgery.

Dr. Fleshner's main clinical and research interests are directed towards optimizing outcomes and techniques in the surgical management of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Dr. Fleshner has written numerous articles for peer-reviewed publications, including the Annals of Surgery, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, Gut and the American Journal of Surgery.

Dr. Fleshner received his bachelor's degree from McGill University and his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his General Surgery Residency at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and his Colorectal Surgery Fellowship at the Lahey Clinic in Boston.

He received the Sherman Prize in 2021.

Nicholas P. McKenna, MD, MS, is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and a colorectal surgeon in the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He completed his general surgery residency and colon and rectal surgery fellowship at Mayo Clinic. Dr. McKenna’s clinical and research interests focus on inflammatory bowel disease and quality improvement in colorectal surgery. He is also actively involved in education as an Associate Program Director of the Mayo Clinic Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Program.

David Schwartzberg, MD is a double-board certified colorectal surgeon who specializes in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, including redo/corrective pelvic pouch surgery in the Center for Advanced IBD at Northwell Health. He completed his general surgery training at NYU & Bellevue Hospital, a colorectal fellowship at Cleveland Clinic and an complex IBD & J-pouch surgery fellowship at NYU's IBD Center.
He is currently at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and serves as the director of reoperative surgery & the intestinal fistula center.

Dr. Kara De Felice serves as an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and the Director of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at the University of Cincinnati. Leading a multidisciplinary IBD team, her mission is to deliver exceptional patient care and improve long-term outcomes through clinical excellence, participation in clinical trials, and the training of the next generation of gastroenterologists. A dedicated educator, she is a frequent speaker at regional and national conferences with a specialized focus on women in GI and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) education. Outside of the clinic, she enjoys traveling, playing tennis, and hosting dinner and cocktail parties.

Millie D. Long MD, MPH earned her doctor of medicine degree at the University of Virginia. She completed a residency and chief residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She then completed a gastroenterology fellowship at University of North Carolina. She also completed a fellowship in preventive medicine and a masters of public health in epidemiology at the Gillings School of Public Health. She is board certified in internal medicine, preventive medicine, and gastroenterology. She is currently Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of North Carolina, as well as Chief of the Division.

Dr. Long’s clinical practice is at the UNC Multidisciplinary Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) center. Her research interests include prevention of complications of IBD, women’s health and clinical epidemiology. Dr. Long has contributed over 200 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and review articles to the literature. She co-authored the 2025 ACG ulcerative colitis guidelines. She serves Co-Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Long is a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology where she is a member of the Board of Trustees. She is also a fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association and a member of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Recipient of the 2024 Sherman Prize for Excellence in Crohn’s and Colitis. She is a member of the International Organization for the Study of IBD.

Bincy P. Abraham, M.D., M.S., AGAF, FACG, FASGE, FCCF is the Distinguished Professor and Director of the Fondren Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at the Underwood Digestive Diseases Center of Houston Methodist Hospital. She is also the Program Director for the Gastroenterology Fellowship and Associate Program Director of the Advanced IBD Fellowship at Houston Methodist Hospital. She earned her medical degree from University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, where she continued with residency training in internal medicine and fellowship in gastroenterology. During fellowship, she received specialized training in inflammatory bowel disease and earned her degree in Masters of Clinical Investigation. She also completed a National Visiting Fellow Inflammatory Bowel Disease Rotation program through the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation in Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. She has chaired the Southern Regional chapter of the CCFA Medical Advisory Committee, served as president of the Texas Gulf Coast Gastroenterology Society, is involved in national committees for and is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterology Association, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. She is trained in and passionate about intestinal ultrasound in IBD patient care.

Jessica Caron, MS is a passionate healthcare professional and patient advocate in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) community. As a nationally-recognized speaker on patient advocacy, Jessica shares her experience as a patient living with Crohn’s disease, advocating for a co-facilitated approach to advancing medical care. She blogs and supports patients across the globe through her website, Chronically-Jess.com. Jessica has been a Patient Leader with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation’s IBDQorus program, a past member of the Patient Engagement Committee with the Academy on Communication in Healthcare, and is an active advocate through social media. She has a Psychology degree from the University of Maine, a Master of Education in Human Relations from Plymouth State University, and a Master's in Health Care Delivery Science (MHCDS) from Dartmouth College. Jessica currently lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two young sons and works in strategic patient engagement with Snow Companies.

Dr. Sara Horst MD, MPH, FACG, AGAF is a Professor in the division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Horst completed her medical school and residency training at The Ohio State University and then went to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for Gastroenterology Fellowship and to obtain her Masters of Public Health. She joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2011. She is involved in clinical care of complex IBD care, complex amyloid care, clinical research, and teaching and mentoring medical students and housestaff. She is the medical director for VUMC Specialty Pharmacy, VUMC Telehealth director, and VUMC Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs for Dept of Medicine. Her research interests involve enhancing EHR efficiencies in the care of IBD, telehealth in IBD, and medication adherence in IBD. She has extensively published in peer reviewed journals. She is also involved in clinical care improvement as an EPIC Physician Builder and is on the National EPIC GI Steering Board. She is an associate editor for American Journal of Gastroenterology.

David Schwartzberg, MD is a double-board certified colorectal surgeon who specializes in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, including redo/corrective pelvic pouch surgery in the Center for Advanced IBD at Northwell Health. He completed his general surgery training at NYU & Bellevue Hospital, a colorectal fellowship at Cleveland Clinic and an complex IBD & J-pouch surgery fellowship at NYU's IBD Center.
He is currently at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and serves as the director of reoperative surgery & the intestinal fistula center.