Maria Descartes, MD

Maria Descartes, M.D., is a medical genetics physician at Miami Cancer Institute. Dr. Descartes specializes in evaluating patients’ family histories of cancer and providing cancer risk assessments for patients and their families during diagnosis and surveillance. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Prior to joining Miami Cancer Institute in 2021, Dr. Descartes was on staff at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she was a professor of medical genetics and pediatrics and medical director of genetic counseling from 2008 to 2013.

Dr. Descartes’ research has been published in peer-reviewed publications, including The Journal of Pediatric Genetics, The Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease, Genetics in Medicine and the American Journal of Medical Genetics. She has served as a reviewer for many publications, including the American Journal of Medical Genetics, The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, the Journal of Pediatric Genetics, the British Medical Journal, WebMD and Clinical Dysmorphology. She has also presented at numerous industry events and conferences.

Dr. Descartes’ approach to patient care is to be empathetic and honest with her patients. She is passionate about using genetics to ensure a correct diagnosis, educate, anticipate challenges and create surveillance recommendations.

When she is not treating patients, Dr. Descartes enjoys spending time with her family and two dogs, supporting animal welfare organizations, hiking and reading.