Monica Maria Diaz, MD, MS

I see patients with a broad range of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and perform endoscopic procedures. My research interests are aimed at an end-goal of extending access to GI services to all populations in a rational and responsible manner. I have a particular interest in luminal cancer prevention, specifically for gastric and colorectal cancer, as well as esophageal disease. With regard to methodology, I have experience in observational epidemiologic studies, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, and studies of the gut microbiota. I also collaborate with researchers and clinicians from other institutions on investigations and endoscopic procedure outreach in Central America.

I became a doctor because I was very interested in the science of medicine and wanted to do something of benefit to others. I believe it is important to have good communication with the patient, understanding their goals and main concerns. I like a team approach with each patient and family. I am married with four children, which takes all my time. I do like to read (about 10 minutes before I fall asleep). I used to play outdoor sports and fish, but coaching my kids and their teams is the closest I get to sports now.

I was majoring in engineering during my undergraduate education. During that time, I worked on image-processing projects. That was my first introduction to radiology. While collaborating with some doctors on those projects, I realized there needed to be more connection between people who practice medicine and those who create medical devices. I intended to bridge that gap as much as one person could. That is where my interest in radiology originated. I thought that of all the fields in medicine, it’s the one that relies heavily on technology and advancement. During medical school, I was in a unique small group of people that wanted to do radiology from the beginning. So many of my peers and colleagues didn’t even know what radiology was when they entered medical school. I eventually chose to pursue interventional radiology as my specialty because the beauty of IR is that you get to do life-saving procedures. Many areas of radiology are heavily diagnostic and have no interaction with patients. However, IR is integral to many treatment teams for cancer or non-cancer-related diseases. My philosophy of care is simple: to treat the patients as if they are your loved ones.