- Collagenous colitis
- Crohn's disease
- J Pouch complication
- Lymphocytic colitis
- Microscopic colitis
- Pouchitis
- Ulcerative colitis (UC)
- Colonoscopy
Meenakshi Bewtra, MD, MPH, PhD
Gastroenterology
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 18 and up
Penn Gastroenterology Perelman
Penn Medicine Provider
About me
- Co-Section Head and Research & Education Director, Penn Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Program
- Associate Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology) at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Dr. Bewtra is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; a Senior Scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania; and the Co-Section Head and Director of Research & Education for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Bewtra firmly believes in the tripartite mission of academia. She sees patients with inflammatory bowel disease at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine. Dr. Bewtra has been conducting clinical and translational research for over 20 years in inflammatory bowel disease with a focus on natural history of inflammatory bowel disease; outcomes of disease and medication safety using observational data and statistical modeling; measures of risk and risk tolerance for therapies using discrete choice experiment; and clinical trials for educational interventions and novel therapies. Dr. Bewtra is also the PI of the IBD-Immunology Initiative (I3), a prospective clinical and tissue biobank actively enrolling all inflammatory bowel disease patients seen at the University of Pennsylvania. The I3 has collaborators within the University of Pennsylvania, nationally and internationally in academia, private foundations and industry, and is participating in several studies examining the basic mechanisms of IBD and predictors of response to therapies with the goal of improving personalized medicine in inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Bewtra is also dedicated to educating and mentoring upcoming generations of clinical researchers and leaders. She is the co-PI for the NIDDK R25 Undergraduate Clinical Scholars Program, mentoring over 52 students in clinical research careers; and has course directed multiple courses in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Bewtra is a founding member of Rising Educators Academics and Clinicians Helping IBD (REACH-IBD) and Merging IBD Leaders Education to Standardize Training, Organized Networks, and Implement EPAs (MILESTONE-IBD). Overall, she has served as a primary research mentor to numerous trainees including undergraduates, residents, and post-doctoral fellows.
Dr. Bewtra's work has been funded by the NIH, CDC, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, AGA, PCORI, pharmaceutical industries, and private philanthropy. She is currently a member of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, the American Gastroenterology Association, the American College of Gastroenterology, and a founding member of the International Academy of Health Preference Research.
My education and training
- University of Pennsylvania School of MedicineMedical School
- University of Pennsylvania Health SystemResidency
- University of Pennsylvania Health SystemFellowship
Spoken languages
English
English
Reviews
Insurance accepted
Please contact the practice and/or the member services department of your insurance company for specific details before receiving services. Providers may participate in some, but not all, products offered by a health plan; providers may also accept plans at some practice locations but not others.
- Aetna Advantra Cares D-SNP
- Aetna Advantra Credit Value
- Aetna Advantra Eagle HMO
- Aetna Advantra Eagle POS
- Aetna Advantra Premier Plus PPO
- Aetna Advantra Value
- Aetna Advantra Value Plus
- Aetna APCN Plus (Multi-Tier)
- Aetna Better Health Kids (CHIP) - DH Only
- Aetna Flexible Five
- Aetna Freedom Core
- Aetna Gold
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Philly Prime
- Aetna POS
- Aetna PPO APCN
- Aetna Premier
- Aetna Premier Plus
- Aetna Savings Plus
- Aetna Signature Administrators
- Aetna Student Health Plan PPO
- Aetna Upfront Advantage
- First Health HMO
- First Health POS
- First Health PPO
- Meritain - Aramark (Other)
- Meritain - Aramark (Pennsylvania Premier Medical Plan)
- Americhealth Caritas of PA VIP - LGH Only
- Amerihealth Caritas (Transplant patients only)
- Amerihealth Caritas of PA - LGH Only
- Centivo EPO
- Cigna Healthcare EPO
- Cigna Healthcare HMO
- Cigna Healthcare POS
- Cigna Healthcare PPO
- Claim Watcher (Homestead/ INDECs) Open Access
- Clover Health Choice
- Clover Health Choice Value PPO
- Clover Health Classic HMO
- Clover Health Value
Locations
Penn Medicine hospital privileges
- Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
- Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Bewtra is a Penn Medicine physician.
Qualifications and experience
- Gastroenterology, 2010
- American College of Gastroenterology, National
- American Gastroenterology Association, National
- Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, National
- International Academy of Health Preference Research, International
- Merging IBD Leaders Education to standardize Training, Organize Networks, and Implement EPAs (MILESTONE-IBD), International
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care
- Interventional and advanced endoscopy
Treatments and conditions
Research
Publications
Mehta SJ, Nguyen P, Brophy C, Reitz C, Snider CK, Bewtra M, Lewis JD. Remote monitoring to improve engagement for patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a randomized clinical trial , Crohns Colitis 360, 8: 2026,otag076
Yang H, Dungan M, Madhu B, Beyries K, Wang X, Kilpatrick R, Chen B, Oh S, Berkowitz M, Smith D, Zhou C, Koralov SB, Axelrad J, Lengner CJ, Belle N, Bewtra M, Katona BW, Cadwell K MAIT cell enrichment in Lynch syndrome is associated with immune surveillance and colorectal cancer risk. , Gut: 2026
Mayer AS, Xiao R, Bewtra M, George MD, Weiss PF. Safety of Prescription Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs in Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Data From a Large Administrative Claims Cohort , Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken): 2026
Lewis JD, Bewtra M, Aberra FN, Weiss A. Letter to the Editor , Am J Gastroenterol, 121: 2026,e24-e25
Mayer AS, Xiao R, Grossman A, Bewtra M, George MD, Weiss PF. Temporal Trends in and Associations With Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Prescription in Adult and Pediatric Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease , Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken): 2026
Tan T, Vincent M, Jain U, Deepak P; SPARC I. B. D. Investigators. Metabolomic Profiling of Fecal Samples Reveals Distinct Signatures Associated with Disease Phenotypes and Locations in Crohn's Disease , Dig Dis Sci: 2026
Mayer LS, Arnold J, Roettele F, Reuter N, Pattekar A, Ohtani T, Ribeiro MM, Siwicki R, Bruder K, Obwegs D, Stahl E, Buechel S, Roehlen N, Kolter J, Mansoori Moghadam Z, Alaswad A, Zhumalidova Z, Li G, Liu X, Li Y, Singh A, Villacorta Hidalgo J, Paraskevopoulou MD, Yajnik V, Juarez J, Ren Y, Li H, Wherry EJ, Lewis JD, Wu GD, Bewtra M, Tomov VT, Thimme R, Bengsch B, Hasselblatt P, Picelli S, Hofmann M, Sagar. Single-cell profiling reveals diverse γδ T cell subsets in ulcerative colitis , Sci Immunol, 11: 2026,eadx8474
Karakasheva TA, Martinez CM, Zhou Y, Qui J, Chen XE, Soto GE, Nettleford SK, Hix OT, Roach DM, Laguerta AM, Thadi A, Edwards RM, Aleynick D, Weinbrom S, Borodyanskaya E, Pickering OH, Fulton M, Chen CH, Peterson IV, Hagen EB, Yannuzzi IP, Haider Z, Cramer Z, Conrad MA, Li N, Bewtra M, Uzun Y, Tan K, Kelsen JR, Minn AJ, Lengner CJ, Hamilton KE. An Epigenetic Basis for Sustained Inflammatory Epithelial Progenitor Cell States in Crohn's Disease , Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol, 20: 2025,101665
Yang H, Dungan M, Beyries K, Wang X, Kilpatrick R, Chen B, Oh S, Berkowitz M, Smith D, Koralov SB, Axelrad J, Lengner CJ, Belle N, Bewtra M, Katona BW, Cadwell K. MAIT cell enrichment in Lynch syndrome is associated with immune surveillance and colorectal cancer risk , bioRxiv: 2025
Cao S, Nguyen KM, Ma K, Tan T, Yao X, Liu TC, Ayoub M, Devi J, Samaan S, Liu Y, Smith R, Silviera ML, Hunt SR, Wise PE, Mutch MG, Glasgow SC, Chapman WC Jr, Cowan ML, Ciorba MA, Colonna M, Deepak P; SPARC IBD Investigators. Revealing hyperactivated IFN-γ pathways in perianal fistulizing Crohn's disease using single-cell and spatial multi-omics , J Clin Invest, 135: 2025,e193413