While gastroenterology has historically been a male-dominated specialty, a growing number of women are driving innovation across clinical care, research and academic leadership. From advancing colorectal cancer screening and gut-brain research to leading major institutions and global health initiatives, these physicians are shaping the future of digestive health.
Editor’s note: This is not a ranked list. Becker’s does not endorse physicians featured on this list. To nominate a physician for future lists, please contact Sophie Eydis at seydis@beckershealthcare.com.
Here are five female gastroenterologists to know:
- Aasma Shaukat, MD, is a gastroenterologist at New York City-based NYU Langone Health focused on colorectal cancer prevention and screening and GI disorder management, with expertise in colon polyps and diverticular disease. She has more than 15 years of experience and integrates advanced endoscopic techniques and AI to improve colonoscopy quality and outcomes, and has been recognized with the Healio Woman Disruptor of the Year Award and the American College of Gastroenterology’s MVP SCOPY Award.
- Baharak Moshiree, MD, is a gastroenterologist and director of motility at Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health who specializes in complex and difficult-to-diagnose GI conditions, including gastroparesis, intestinal dysmotility and pelvic floor disorders. Her clinical focus spans a range of motility and functional GI disorders, and she serves as the ACG Governor for North Carolina and is an associate editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
- Lin Chang, MD, is vice chief of the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian division of digestive diseases at Los Angeles-based UCLA and program director of the UCLA gastroenterology fellowship program. An expert in disorders of gut-brain interaction, including irritable bowel syndrome, her research explores the roles of stress, the microbiome and sex-based differences in GI disease. She directs multiple centers at UCLA, has authored more than 185 research articles and has received of the American Gastroenterological Association Distinguished Clinician and Educator Awards.
- Barbara Jung, MD, is associate vice chancellor and dean of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, appointed in 2025, and a leader in academic gastroenterology and colorectal cancer research. A former chair of medicine at the Seattle-based University of Washington and past president of the AGA, she has also led major academic programs across institutions and been recognized for her contributions to cancer genetics, research and physician-scientist training.
5. Sharmila Anandasabapathy, MD, is a professor of medicine and vice president of global health at Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine, where she leads global innovation initiatives to advance cancer screening and care in low-resource settings. An advanced endoscopist, she is a National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute-funded principal investigator leading multiple international clinical trials focused on developing low-cost, portable technologies for early detection of gastrointestinal cancers.
