Fellowships & Grants Reports

At ECCO’24, Stockholm, the winners of the ECCO Fellowships and Grants programme received their certificates, presented by SciCom Chair Marc Ferrante together with President Britta Siegmund. This year, a record number of grants were awarded, including the new Global Grant designed for low and lower-middle income countries as well as the IIS Registry Grant given for the first time.

To evaluate the in vitro effect of selected novel matrix-derived peptides (matrikines) that specifically appear in the intestinal tissue of patients with Crohn’s Disease (CD) fibrostenosis on primary human intestinal myofibroblasts (iMFBs).

Multiple patient, disease and pharmacokinetic (including anti-TNF drug and antibody concentrations) factors, as well as a limited number of proteomic markers, have been implicated in anti-TNF treatment failure. However, their relative effects and interactions have not been fully explored. We aimed to replicate previously postulated serological markers and to identify novel inflammatory and immune response proteomic markers related to anti-TNF treatment failure in patients with active luminal Crohn’s Disease.

The conducted research had two aims: Aim 1: To characterise the inter-/intra-individual composition of the mycobiome of patients with IBD and healthy controls utilising a variety of sample types and methodological techniques. Aim 2: To provide a large dataset of fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA sequencing data to complement the bacterial 16S rRNA analysis underway in-house.

This project aimed to understand the effects that crucial IBD epithelial stress factors (i.e. ATG16L1 and XBP1 impairments) might have in enteric fibroblasts and neurons.

St Mark's Hospital in London is the only hospital dedicated solely to gastrointestinal pathology. It includes a reference IBD unit, a world centre of excellence for endoscopy (Wolfson unit) and an intestinal failure/rehabilitation unit. Both the endoscopy and the intestinal rehabilitation unit work in harmony with the IBD unit to optimise the care for tertiary and complex IBD pathology. This observational internship was intended to increase insight into the organisation of a tertiary, high-volume IBD reference centre from the nursing point of view.

The role of autophagy in limiting IBD-associated AIEC-induced intestinal inflammation While the aetiology underlying the development of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) is unclear, evidence points to an interaction between host genetics, such as mutations in autophagy genes, and environmental factors, such as bacterial infections.

Role of DNA methYlation and geNe expression alterations in development of eArly-onset priMary sclerosIng cholangitis in ulCerative colitis – DYNAMIC Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) is a progressive choleostatic disease and up to 80% of patients also have Ulcerative Colitis (PSC-UC). This presents a clinical challenge owing to the diagnostic difficulty and the increased risk for development of cancer.

Investigating the genetics of IBD multiplex families This research aimed to investigate the genetic architecture of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) multiplex families (including at least three affected first-degree relatives), and to identify the underlying genetic factors that contribute to the familial aggregation of IBD.

After repeated postponements due to travel restrictions to Japan, I was able to carry out enteroscopy training at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) Hospital between September and October 2022.

Induction of circadian microbial function in chronic intestinal inflammation Impaired clock gene expression has been observed in biopsies from patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Disruption of circadian rhythms, which occurs in shift workers, has been linked to an increased risk of gastrointestinal diseases, including IBD.

Decoding molecular mechanisms and druggable targets of VEO-IBD by multimodal single-cell profiling The pathogenesis and course of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are heterogeneous and have striking age-dependent characteristics. In particular, children with very early-onset IBD (VEO-IBD) show a higher incidence of unclassified IBD and develop courses different from adult-onset forms. VEO-IBD is a rare condition, but the incidence is increasing globally at an alarming pace.

Unraveling the role of fibroblast subsets in fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease Fibrosis occurs in most Crohn’s Disease (CD) patients, although it only becomes clinically apparent in those who develop stenotic disease. Fibroblasts are considered the main cell type contributing to fibrosis by production and remodelling of the extracellular matrix.

Circulating tumour DNA and artificial intelligence as screening tools for dysplasia in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients with colonic Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are at increased risk for the development of colorectal cancer. Surveillance colonoscopy is therefore advised, starting at 8 years after initial diagnosis of IBD and then repeated every 1–5 years based on the individual risk profile.

The study entitled "Withdrawal of anti-tumour necrosis factor in Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients in remission: a randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial" received one of the two Best Investigator-Initiated Study Award at ECCO’23.

In Crohn’s Disease (CD), the treat-to-target strategy has become the standard of care [1, 2]. This clinical concept consists in escalating/optimising the treatment (e.g. dose, frequency, type of drugs) until a state of remission (target) is achieved. Overall, treatment targets evolve towards a deeper level of remission and it is in this context that endoscopic remission has become a primary objective. However, endoscopy remains invasive and costly, is not well accepted by patients and does not allow tight control of disease activity. Thus, attention is turning to non-invasive biomarkers ...

Appendectomy at age citis or mesenteric lymphadenitis has been associated with a lower risk of Ulcerative Colitis (UC), but this association has not been detected when appendectomy is performed at an older age or for non-specific abdominal pain. Similar findings have been reported upon combining data from Swedish and Danish registers. However, in a Danish cohort study of familial units, individuals who had first-degree relatives with appendicitis, but no personal history of appendicitis, at age

Dietary interventions have been shown to ameliorate symptoms in patients with mild or moderate IBD. Nevertheless, these therapies are only effective for a subset of patients, raising the need for novel dietary intervention strategies that aim to prevent IBD development. Glycosylation is a major post-translational mechanism characterised by the addition of carbohydrate structures, called glycans, to essentially all cells. We have revealed that mucosal T cells from Ulcerative Colitis patients exhibit alterations in mucosal glycosylation, which positively correlate with T cell hyperactivity...

Persistent fatigue severely affects the quality of life of IBD patients and reduces their ability to work. Although IBD patients, even when in clinical remission, report fatigue as one of the most disabling symptoms of their chronic disease, disease management is often only focused on attenuating gastrointestinal symptoms. In order to develop effective therapeutic interventions, a better understanding of what is causing IBD-associated fatigue is required. Therefore, the goal of this project is to develop a human gut-blood-brain in vitro model to explore the impact of active and extinguished gu

The relationship between host and microbiota can turn negative, leading to changes in microbial composition and metabolism that result in diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Enteropathogenic strains increase due to the presence of reactive oxygen species in an altered metabolic environment. This study aims to understand how an IBD microbiota carrying an oxidative stress signature adapts over time and how these strains contribute to the disease's trajectory and fluctuations of oxidative stress in the outer mucus layer. Aim 1: To isolate and characterise the capacity of freshly i