Center for Women's Gastrointestinal Services - Staff

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Silvia Degli Esposti, MD is the Director of the Center for Women’s Gastrointestinal Services and an Associate Professor (Clinical) at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Degli Esposti graduated cum laude from the University of Bologna Medical School and completed her residency and fellowship in gastroenterology at Brown University School of Medicine.

After graduation, Dr. Degli Esposti served as faculty member in the Department of Medicine at Brown University, where she pursued her research interest in liver diseases at Roger William Hospital Cancer Center. In 1996, she developed the Center for Women’s Gastrointestinal Disorders at Women & Infants, one of the first centers in the country dedicated to gastrointestinal diseases affecting women. Dr. Degli Esposti is an expert on gastrointestinal diseases in pregnancy, leads the state Perinatal Hepatitis Program and has published several articles and book chapters on this topic.

In a 2007 Rhode Island Monthly survey, her peers voted her the best gastroenterologist for women in Rhode Island. Dr. Degli Esposti holds Board certifications in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. She is fluent in English and Italian.

Christy L. Dibble, DO is Director of the Women & Infants’ Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Unit and Chairs the Women & Infants’ Multidisciplinary Gastrointestinal Tumor Board. She graduated from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed a residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University.

Dr. Dibble developed one of the nation’s few all female endoscopy centers and Chairs a committee for the Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island under the auspices of the Rhode Island Department of Health. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. Her interests include colorectal cancer screening, detection, and treatment as well as inflammatory bowel disease and women’s gastrointestinal disorders.

Mariam Fayek, MD attended Howard University College of Medicine where she was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. She then went on to pursue an internal medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell Weill Medical Center in New York City.

After completing her residency, Dr. Fayek was appointed as an assistant professor of medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia where she taught medical residents and students. She worked for three years as an internist at the Center for Women’s Health, a designated Department of Health and Human Services center of excellence. Subsequently, Dr. Fayek returned to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to pursue a fellowship in Gastroenterology and Nutrition. Her GI interests include clinical nutrition and capsule endoscopy. She will be joining the Center for Women’s Gastrointestinal Services at Women and Infants Hospital in August of 2009.

Colleen R. Kelly, MD is a gastroenterologist at the Center for Women’s Gastrointestinal Services. She earned her medical degree from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and completed her internal medicine residency at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Kelly went on to complete her Gastroenterology Fellowship at the Brown/Rhode Island Hospital program.

Dr. Kelly is board certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine. Her clinical interests include GI motility disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. She also has a special clinical and research interest in fecal bacteriotherapy for recurrent C difficile infection. She is part of the Women and Infants’ Pelvic Floor Center, where she works with a multidisciplinary team caring for women with disorders such as fecal incontinence and constipation.

Nnenna C. Okpara, MD is a gastroenterologist at the Center for Women’s Gastrointestinal Services. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Houston, and went on to earn her medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, and her Gastroenterology Fellowship at the Brown/Rhode Island Hospital program.

Dr. Okpara is board certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine. Her clinical interests include colerectal screening, and measures to improve access and compliance in screening of minority women.

Nancy Botelho, NP is a registered nurse practitioner with the Women & Infants’ Center for Women’s Gastrointestinal Services. She is a Board certified Family Nurse Practitioner. Ms. Botelho earned her degree from the University of Rhode Island, where she is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Nursing. Her interests include patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. She also leads the monthly support group for women with Crohn’s and Colitis.

Sara Wriston, MSN, Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After extensive experience in the fields of internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, as well as oncology, Sara joined the Women & Infants’ Center for Women’s Gastrointestinal Services. Her special areas of interest include liver disease, particularly hepatitis, and gastrointestinal problems in pregnancy.

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