My mom Dana has suffered from Crohn’s disease for the majority of her life. While I do not know what it feels like to have a flare-up or undergo a laparoscopic bowel resection surgery as my mother has, there is something that I do know: there are concrete ways that we, as caregivers, can im...

For many in the United States, November marks the start of the holiday season—a perfect time of year to reflect on what we are thankful for. As IBD patients and caregivers, it can often seem like the odds are stacked against us. So, what do we do to ...

When looking at options after my senior year of high school, my guidance counselor never suggested taking a gap year. Coming from a rigorous high school, I felt pressure to attend college right away. Unfortunately, the decision to take a gap year was not in my control.  In March of my senior...

My world was flipped upside down three years ago after I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. I didn’t even know these digestive diseases existed before I was quickly thrown into all the changes and challenges that come with having one. I was a new high school graduate eager to start college in a ...

Amy and Parsa are IBD patients, students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and members of the Foundation’s National Council of College Leaders (NCCL). Their experiences living with IBD has guided their academic and career interests and led both to volunteer in an IBD research lab ...