DIGITAL THINKERS MEET UP

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Aline Charabaty, MD, AGAF, FACG, is Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland and the Director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the University of Maryland Medical Center, where she leads initiatives focused on clinical excellence and innovation, improving access to care, promoting patient-centered clinical research and advancing medical education in IBD. A board-certified gastroenterologist specializing in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Dr. Charabaty is a nationally and internationally recognized clinician, educator and innovator. She joined the University of Maryland in 2026, after a distinguished tenure as the Director of the IBD Center at Georgetown University Hospital, where she established a multidisciplinary IBD Center, and at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where she served as the Medical Director of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the Johns Hopkins-Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington DC and implemented and led a comprehensive IBD Center. Dr. Charabaty earned her B.S in Human Genetics at McGill University, Canada and pursued her MD degree at the School of Medicine of the Saint Joseph University, Lebanon before completing her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC. Dr Charabaty was selected to complete the Advanced Leadership Program offered by the American College of Gastroenterology Leadership, Ethics and Equity Center, and received the Healio Disruptive Innovator Award in 2019 for the educational @MondayNightIBD platform she founded, the ACG Service Award for Colorectal Outreach, Prevention and Year-round excellence (SCOPY) in 2020, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Excellence in Medicine Award in 2020, the ACG Governor Award for Advocacy on Social Media in 2022, the ACG Award for Championing Women in GI in 2024 and the ACG Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award in 2025. Dr Charabaty has concluded her role as the ACG Governor for Washington DC in 2025; she currently sits on the ACG Legislative and Policies Council and she is a Vice-Chair of the AGA Research Foundation Executive Board. She has served on the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Patients and Physicians Education Committees, The Diversity and Equity Committee, and she currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Crohn’s and Colitis 360 journal. Her research interests center on clinical outcomes and investigative therapies in IBD, and on understanding and including the patient voice and experience in research and educational initiatives. Her work extends into public health advocacy, and addressing barriers to career advancement for women and the less represented communities in medicine. Her work includes a portfolio of over 200 academic contributions, including peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, abstracts, educational webcasts, and more. As such, she is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences and serves on several advisory boards and scientific committees. Dr Charabaty’s professional journey is reflective of her commitment to a transformative leadership focused on building a supportive national and global community of healthcare professionals and advocates, rich and strong of broad perspectives, experiences and expertise, a community where each individual’s voice and work are amplified and each journey supported to reach its highest potential. This purpose-aligned journey is rooted in her own personal journey and values: she was born and raised in Lebanon during the civil war, where physical, emotional and academic survival required the support of the broad community, a strong commitment to education, the dedication of healthcare professionals as well as personal resilience, perseverance, adaptability and relentless hope and drive. This experience has not only played a role in her choice to become a physician, but also has shaped her into the kind of physician and leader she thrives to be: one who provides excellent, comprehensive and compassionate care, improves access to quality care for all patients, lifts up and promotes her peers and the lesser heard voices, and collaborates with broader stakeholders to advance innovations in the field, and move transformative mission-aligned visions forward. As the Co-Founder of the Scrubs & Heels Foundation, Dr. Charabaty is passionate about recruiting, elevating and empowering the next generation of healthcare leaders to have a positive impact on the field of medicine and surgery. She believes that through effective mentorship and sponsorship and by creating authentic and supportive professional environments, professional and personal growth and accomplishments can become aligned and integrated with one’s values, passions and life journey, and we can then lead with impact and create a purpose-driven and meaningful life. As a big advocate of work and life integration, Dr. Charabaty is an avid traveler and foodie and an art enthusiast, and loves to share these passions with her 2 kids, her extended family and (old and new) friends. A perfect day would start with a (very) good cup of coffee on the deck taking in the sounds and lights of nature, feeding her chickens, an hour of yoga or weight lifting, an afternoon at the museum, preparing a multicourse meal dinner to share over good wine with friends and family, and ending the evening with a feel-good love story movie or a historical fiction book. So now, Let us rise and shine, and have fun along the way !