Approved Research

Integrative multi-omics and computational phenotyping for precision medicine in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Lay summary

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the digestive system affecting millions globally. The two main types are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. However, the exact causes of IBD remain unclear.

This project aims to address critical unanswered questions about IBD's origins and heterogeneity. For example, what specific molecular subtypes may underlie differences seen in IBD patients? To investigate this, the project will analyze patient data using artificial intelligence approaches. These analyses may uncover biomarkers that help classify patients into subtypes.

Additional questions include whether IBD onset and prognosis can be predicted from clinical and genetic data, and how genes and environment contribute to disease onset. The project will develop computational models to integrate diverse data and explore potential prognostic patterns and gene-environment links.

Using state-of-the-art data analysis, this project aims to unravel some of the complexity of IBD. The findings may aid development of precision medicine approaches, where treatment is tailored to each patient's IBD subtype and predicted outcome. Understanding the heterogeneity of IBD could help improve clinical management and outcomes for patients suffering from these chronic inflammatory conditions worldwide. However, much remains to be done to translate these findings into clinical practice.