Julian Adin Abrams, MD

Gastroenterology
Cancer Care
More specialties
Accepting New Patients
Virtual Visits/Telehealth
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Overview

Dr. Abrams is a specialist in the care of patients with Barrett's esophagus, early esophageal cancer, and other esophageal disorders. Prior to his faculty appointment here at Columbia, Dr. Abrams received further training in cancer epidemiology through a post-doctoral fellowship as part of the NCI-funded Training Program in Cancer-Related Population Sciences. He previously received a K07 career development award from the National Cancer Institute.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Barrett's Esophagus
  • Disease of Esophagus
  • Esophageal Cancer
  • Esophageal Disease
  • Esophagus Disorder
  • Second Opinion
  • Swallowing Disorder
  • Upper Endoscopy

Academic Appointments

  • Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Columbia University Medical Center

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester

Languages

  • Spanish

Gender

  • Male

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Virtual Visits/Telehealth

Virtual Visits allow you to connect with your provider from the comfort, convenience, and safety of your own home.

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Phone Appointments

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Location(s)

161 Fort Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10032

Insurance Accepted

Aetna

  • Aetna Signature Administrators
  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • NYP Employee Plan
  • NY Signature
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Student Health

Affinity Health Plan

  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

AgeWell

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • Special Needs

Amida Care

  • Special Needs

Cigna

  • EPO
  • Great West (National)
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO

Emblem/GHI

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Emblem/HIP

  • ConnectiCare
  • EPO
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Select Care (Exchange)
  • Vytra

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Fidelis Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Healthfirst

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Leaf (Exchange)
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Local 1199

  • Local 1199

MagnaCare (National)

  • MagnaCare

Medicare

  • Railroad
  • Traditional Medicare

Multiplan

  • Multiplan

MVP Health Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Quality Health Management

  • Quality Health Management

RiverSpring

  • Special Needs

UnitedHealthcare

  • Compass (Exchange)
  • Empire Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid (Community Plan)
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • Oxford Freedom
  • Oxford HMO
  • Oxford Liberty
  • POS
  • PPO

VNSNY CHOICE

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • SelectHealth
  • Special Needs

WellCare

  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

World Trade Center Health Plan

  • World Trade Center Health Plan

*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
  • Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
  • Fellowship: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

Board Certifications

  • Gastroenterology

Honors & Awards

  • Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, 2000
  • GRG/AGA Young Investigator Award in Clinical Science, 2009

Research

Dr. Abrams is a clinical, epidemiological, and translational researcher with a focus on risk factors for esophageal and other upper gastrointestinal cancers. He obtained a K07 Career Development Award from the National Cancer Institute, is a Program Director on a U54 award from the NCI as part of a multicenter consortium to perform translational research in Barrett’s esophagus, and has a R01 assessing an oral microbiome signature to identify patients at risk for esophageal cancer. Dr. Abrams’ current areas of research include: the role of the oral and esophageal microbiome in Barrett’s esophagus and progression to cancer; identification of novel markers of tissue at risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma; novel endoscopic technologies for treatment and imaging of Barrett’s esophagus; predictors of response and recurrence after endoscopic ablation therapy for BE.

Research Interests

  • Epidemiology, treatment, and prevention of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer

Selected Publications

  • Snider EJ, Compres G, Freedberg DE, Khiabanian H, Nobel YR, Stump S, Uhlemann AC, Lightdale CJ, Abrams JA. Alterations to the esophageal microbiome associated with progression from Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2019; 28(10):1687-1693. PMID: 31466948
  • Snider EJ, Freedberg DE, Abrams JA. Potential role of the microbiome in Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Dig Dis Sci. 2016 Aug;61(8):2217-2225. PMID: 27068172
  • Freedberg DE, Yang YX, Abrams JA. Proton pump inhibitors and myocardial infarction. Gastroenterology. 2015 Oct;149(4):830-3. PMID: 26277262
  • Wang JS, Varro A, Lightdale CJ, Letkorwit N, Slack KN, Fingerhood ML, Tsai WY, Wang TC, Abrams JA. Elevated serum gastrin is associated with a history of advanced neoplasia in patients with Barrett's esophagus. Am J Gastroenterol 2010;105:1039-45. PMC3139948
  • Quante M, Bhagat G, Abrams JA, Marache F, Good P, Lee MD, Lee Y, Friedman R, Mahmood U, Figueireido J, Lightdale CJ, Rustgi AK, Wang TC. Bile acids and inflammation activate gastric cardia stem cells in a model of Barrett's-like metaplasia. Cancer Cell 2012;21:36-51. PMC3266546
  • Abrams JA, Beer DG, Berry L, Chak A, Falk GW, Fitzgerald R, Grady W, Lynch JP, Rustgi AK, Richmond E, Seibel EJ, Shyr Y, Umar A, Wang KK, Wang TC, Wang TD, Yassin R. Barrett's Esophagus Translational Research Network (BETRNet): The pivotal role of multi-institutional collaboration in esophageal adenocarcinoma research. Gastroenterology 2014;146(7):1586-90. PMC4224108
  • Lee Y, Urbanska A,Wang H, Hayakawa Y, Jin G, Bhagat G, Abrams JA, Friedman RA, Varro A, Wang KK, Rustgi AK, Quante M, Wang TC. CCK2R marks a gastrin-responsive stem cell in the cardia that gives rise to Barrett's esophagus in a mouse model. Oncotarget 2016 Jul 18. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.10667. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 27448962 (PMCID pending)
  • Abrams JA, Kapel RC, Lindberg GM, Saboorian MH, Genta RM, Neugut AI, Lightdale CJ. Adherence to biopsy guidelines for Barrett's esophagus surveillance in the community setting in the United States. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2009;7:736-42. PMC3139243
  • Abrams JA, Sharaiha RZ, Gonsalves L, Lightdale CJ, Neugut AI. Dating the rise of esophageal adenocarcinoma: Analysis of Connecticut Tumor Registry Data, 1940-2007. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20:183-86. PMC3018857
  • Gupta M, Lutzke L, Gorospe EC, Iyer PG, Abrams JA, Falk GW, Ginsberg GG, Rustgi AK, Lightdale CJ, Wang TC, Fudman DI, Poneros JM, Schleck CD, Zinsmeister AR, Wang KK. Recurrence of Esophageal Intestinal Metaplasia after Endoscopic Mucosal Resection and Radiofrequency Ablation of Barrett's Esophagus: Results from a U.S. Multicenter Consortium. Gastroenterology 2013;145:79-86. PMC3696438
  • Fudman DI, Lightdale CJ, Poneros JM, Ginsberg GG, Falk GW, Demarshall M, Gupta M, Iyer PG, Lutzke L, Wang KK, Abrams JA*. Positive correlation between endoscopist radiofrequency ablation volume and response rates in Barrett's esophagus. Gastrointest Endosc 2014;80:71-7. PMC4317349
  • Sharaiha RZ, Halazun KJ, Mirza F, Port JL, Lee PC, Neugut AI, Altorki NK, Abrams JA. Elevated preoperative neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of post-operative disease recurrence in esophageal cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 2011;18:3362-69. PMC3192937
  • Araujo J, Altorki N, Sonett J, Rodriguez A, Sungur-Stasik K, Neugut AI, Abrams JA. Pre-diagnosis aspirin use and outcomes in a prospective cohort of esophageal cancer patients. Therap Adv Gastroenterol 2016;9:806-814. PMC5076766.
  • Freedberg DE, Lebwohl B, Abrams JA. The impact of proton pump inhibitors on the human gastrointestinal microbiome. Clin Lab Res 2014;34:771-785. PMC4254461
  • Freedberg DE, Lamouse-Smith ES, Lightdale JR, Jin Z, Yao YX, Abrams JA. Use of acid suppression medication is associated with risk for C. difficile infection in infants and children: A population-based study. Clin Infect Dis 2015;61:912-17. PMC4551005
  • Freedberg DE, Toussaint NC, Chen SP, Ratner AJ, Whittier S, Wang TC, Wang HH, Abrams JA. Proton Pump Inhibitors Alter Specific Taxa in the Human Fecal Microbiome: Results of a Crossover Trial. Gastroenterology 2015;149:883-885. PMC4584196
  • Jackson MA, Goodrich JK, Maxan ME, Freedberg DE, Abrams JA, Poole AC, Sutter JL, Welter D, Ley RE, Bell JT, Spector TD, Steves CJ. Proton pump inhibitors alter the composition of the gut microbiota. Gut. 2016 May;65(5):749-56. PMC4853574.
  • Snider EJ, Freedberg DE, Abrams JA. Potential Role of the Microbiome in Barrett's Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma. Dig Dis Sci. 2016 Apr 11. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 27068172. (PMCID pending, NIHMS ID 777191)