inflammatory bowel disease

January 9, 2024

Innovations improve the lives of patients with IBD

Two recent innovations — point-of-care intestinal ultrasound and functional medicine — are improving the lives of patients at the Vanderbilt Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks.

By Bill Snyder, Carol Poston, and Meredith Carr
The research team includes, left to right, Bruno Scaglioni, PhD; Keith Obstein MD, MPH; James Martin, PhD; Claire Landewee, BS; Simone Calò, PhD; and Pietro Valdastri, PhD. (hoto by Susan Urmy)
October 17, 2023

VISE-affiliated researchers conduct phase 1 trial of novel magnetic endoscope for colonoscopies

A Vanderbilt research team is conducting the first phase 1 clinical trial of a magnetic, flexible endoscope that has the potential to provide a safer alternative to standard colonoscopy, particularly for individuals with inflammatory bowel disease.

By Jill Clendening
Wenhan Zhu, PhD, recently received a research award from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation.
March 23, 2023

Mathers Foundation award supports study of bacterial physiology

Vanderbilt’s Wenhan Zhu, PhD, has received a three-year award from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation to support his research that aims to answer a fundamental question about bacterial physiology and engineer probiotics to improve gut inflammatory diseases.

By Leigh MacMillan
Research by Christopher Peek, PhD, left, Jim Cassat, MD, PhD, and their colleagues reveals how gut inflammation leads to bone loss.
August 25, 2022

Vanderbilt researchers discover how gut inflammation leads to bone loss

Gastrointestinal inflammation, such as occurs in inflammatory bowel disease, triggers the expansion of a population of “bone-eating” cells, leading to bone loss.

By Leigh MacMillan
Ayaka Sugiura and Jeff Rathmell, PhD, are studying a metabolic enzyme involved in T cell function that may offer a new target for anti-inflammatory therapeutics.
November 11, 2021

CRISPR screen identifies new anti-inflammatory drug target

A novel CRISPR screen developed by Vanderbilt researchers identified a promising new target for anti-inflammatory therapeutics.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 4, 2021

Probiotic protection

A probiotic factor given early in life to mice prevented intestinal inflammation in adulthood, providing a rationale for probiotic intervention in individuals at high risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.

By Anivarya Kumar
August 13, 2019

Host-microbe interactions in the gut

Vanderbilt investigators demonstrated that intestinal cells promote beneficial microbe behavior — the findings support developing microbiota-based therapies for intestinal health.
By Leigh MacMillan
July 30, 2019

Intestinal immune cell interactions

Understanding the roles of various immune cells that reside in the gut lining could shed light on inflammatory bowel diseases.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 28, 2019

Lighting up colorectal cancer

A nanobeacon imaging agent that binds specifically to colorectal cancer cells may aid the early detection of cancer during colonoscopy.
By Leigh MacMillan
July 19, 2018

Novel insights on “leaky” gut

A protein involved in binding cells together helps maintain the integrity of the intestinal mucosa and plays a protective role in ulcerative colitis.
By Niyati Vachharajani
November 30, 2017

Lineage tracing in the gut

Vanderbilt investigators have developed an algorithm to classify cell types from experimental data, making it possible to understand how organs develop.
By Bill Snyder
October 26, 2017

Gut response to fluid flow

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that microvilli – finger-like projections from cells in the intestine – respond to the shear stress of fluid flow to drive a cellular pathway that regulates nutrient balance.
By VUMC News and Communications
October 13, 2016

EGF receptor found to regulate macrophage inflammation in gut

Researchers at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine have uncovered a link between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling and the inflammatory response to bacterial infection in the gastrointestinal tract.
By Bill Snyder