Our project aims to revolutionise the role of the microbiome to develop therapies for IBD in the near future.
Recent trials of fecal transplant in UC have shown the potential that changing the gut’s microbes can have in IBD care. We will advance this technology for all IBD patients.
Our group has developed new methods to identify bacteria that were previously unknown in the human gut. We have found these bacteria (>300 new species) in samples taken at colonoscopies from children newly diagnosed with IBD. We have identified several new candidate bacteria associated with local responses in the gut immune system. This work is possible by using cutting-edge bacterial techniques analysed in combination with corresponding patient gut samples, not fecal tests.
This project will test these candidate bacteria, including with patient derived gut samples (organoids or “mini-guts”), to determine which will be best for clinical trials. These candidates may be protective, and be novel probiotics, or inflammatory, and therefore could be for the targets of personalized treatment. With the support of the Rainin Foundation, we aim to have bacterial candidates ready for early clinical trials within 12 months, at the end of this project.
