Our Research Accomplishments
The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation has a long history of supporting groundbreaking research in IBD.
Since our inception, we’ve invested almost half a billion dollars into research related to uncovering the causes of IBD, discovering new treatments, and moving us closer to cures. While there is far more work to be done, many of the projects we’ve supported over the years have yielded impressive findings that have helped advance the entire field.
FOUNDATION-FUNDED RESEARCH HAS:
Led to the First Biologic Drugs for IBD
Foundation-funded research helped scientists understand the role of an inflammatory protein called tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in IBD. That work paved the way for groundbreaking biologic drugs known as tumor necrosis factor inhibitors such as infliximab (Remicade) and adalimumab (Humira), which work by blocking TNF.
TNF inhibitors and other biologic drugs are not made out of chemicals but instead derived from living materials. These laboratory-made antibodies are designed to stop TNF in the body from causing inflammation.
Refined Micro-Engineered Chips
Scientists supported by our Fibrosis Initiative have been using stem cell technology to grow living cells into three-dimensional “mini guts” in laboratory micro-engineered chips. The mini-gut models are enabling scientists to learn more about the role that genes and other factors play in the development of fibrosis (a buildup of scar tissues in the intestines).
Most recently, two researchers at Cedars-Sinai, Robert Barrett, PhD, and Stephan Targan, MD, used a Foundation grant to develop a brand-new method that allows them to create personalized mini guts that match the genetics of any IBD patient they wish to study.
Discovered hundreds of genes linked to IBD
Experts have long believed that Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis tend to run in families, but it’s only in the past two decades that we’ve been able to pinpoint specific genes and genetic changes that are associated with IBD. Foundation-funded research led to the discovery of NOD2, the first gene ever identified as relevant to Crohn’s disease. Since then, our Genetics Initiative has helped identify hundreds of genes that appear to predispose someone to IBD or make them more vulnerable to frequent flares.
The goal now is to empower scientists to study how genes contribute to IBD, as well as to find gene-controlled pathways that may lead to new treatments.
At the Cleveland Clinic, Thad Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, used funding from our Genetics Initiative to discover a genetic variant that makes many IBD patients overproduce a protein called plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). The most exciting part is that Dr. Stappenbeck’s team has already identified a compound that appears to block PAI-1, and researchers are in the process of developing it into a new drug.
Created IBD Plexus, our revolutionary research platform
Since its launch in 2017, IBD Plexus, our revolutionary research platform, has been redefining how scientists study inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and discover new therapies. A unique, collaborative resource, it is accelerating precision-medicine strategies at an unprecedented pace.
Pioneered Exploration of the Microbiome
Today there’s widespread interest in the gut microbiome, which is comprised of all the microbes that live in the intestines, as well as the genes in these microbes. That wasn’t the case in 2008 when we launched our Microbiome Initiative, a multimillion-dollar, multi-institutional research effort aimed at identifying and analyzing gut microbes (along with their genes and metabolic byproducts) and exploring their role in the origin and progression of IBD.
In the span of about a decade, research from the Microbiome Initiative has led to the publication of more than 70 scientific papers in leading journals. During that time, investigators progressed from identifying and naming the different microbial communities (groups of microbes) involved in IBD to studying how this information might be harnessed to improve patient health.
Some Microbiome Initiative findings are poised to advance precision medicine, which strives to match patients with the drugs they’re most likely to respond to. In a new Foundation-supported study, published in Cell Host & Microbe, researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard created “multi-omic” patient profiles. These profiles—which include information about patients’ genes (genomics), proteins, and metabolites (bacteria byproducts)—have the potential to accurately predict whether a patient will respond to specific classes of available biologics.
The Foundation is now focusing on developing microbiome-based therapies and diagnostic tools via IBD Ventures, the Foundation’s venture philanthropy program. For instance, researchers at Vedanta Biosciences developed a live biotherapeutic product that floods the gut with enough beneficial bacteria to outcompete harmful strains (such as Klebsiella pneumoniae) that increase inflammation in Crohn’s disease.
Completed the DINE-CD Study on Nutrition Interventions
We’ve already learned that diet can be a helpful adjunct to treatment, and scientists are now striving to uncover ways to match patients with the right diet plan for them with several Foundation projects advancing research in this area. In 2021, we completed the Diet to INducE Remission in Crohn’s Disease (DINE-CD) study, a national study of diet interventions to manage Crohn’s disease symptoms.
The DINE-CD study was a clinical trial that randomly assigned participants to follow either the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ (SCD) or a Mediterranean-style diet, while staying on their usual medications for their Crohn’s disease. Results indicated that both diets had benefits: Nearly half of the study participants in each group saw their symptoms improve within 12 weeks. The symptoms included fatigue, pain, sleep disturbance, and social isolation.
Since dietary advice is not one-size-fits-all, we are now shifting our focus to precision nutrition, which aims to tailor dietary advice based on a patient’s unique biological, clinical, and lifestyle characteristics. In 2019, the Foundation launched the Precision Nutrition Initiative, which aims to identify diets that have the potential to improve disease outcomes in specific subgroups of patients.
Completed the Pediatric RISK Study on Crohn’s Disease
Our Pediatric RISK Stratification Study, the largest study completed on pediatric Crohn’s disease patients to date, followed 913 children with newly-diagnosed Crohn's disease from 28 clinics in the United States and Canada. Researchers collected clinical and demographic data as well as biological samples every six months on all patients for three years, with continuing follow-up for more than five years.
The RISK study led to the publication of numerous scientific papers in well-regarded journals. The most notable outcome: Researchers successfully identified biological signatures that were capable of predicting whether a child newly diagnosed with Crohn’s disease would develop disease-related complications that required major surgery within three to five years. The Foundation is using these findings to develop a risk diagnostic tool that could help clinicians make therapeutic decisions about which type of medication to give to children at diagnosis.
While the RISK study was limited to Crohn’s disease, we have since launched CAPTURE IBD (Cohort for Pediatric Translational and Clinical Research in IBD), a new study that will include children with Crohn’s disease as well as those with ulcerative colitis.
