As a practicing gastroenterologist and researcher specializing in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a disease without medical cure and whose pathogenesis is incompletely understood, I am keenly aware of the resultant limitations and risks of existing IBD therapies. It is precisely this need—the need to offer patients improved treatment options by better understanding the underlying causes of IBD and its impact on patients—that motivates me and is a focus of my research. With a unique background with formal training in Biodesign (medical technology assessment and development) and postdoctoral training in translational immunology, I am particularly interested in developing and applying novel solutions to alleviate intestinal inflammatory conditions.

There are two primary and overlapping emphases of my research, both of which are driven and united by needs-based innovation and translational potential:

(1) Understanding the microenvironment of the inflamed versus normal gut in order to identify better therapeutic targets for people with immune-¬mediated GI disorders. Here, our investigations include understanding the influence and interactions of pharmacologic and dietary interventions on gut microbiome/metabolomic changes and the host immune response. In the context of providing patients with new understanding and solutions for their disease, I have led and advised on the design of both pilot and large clinical trials (including new FDA approved therapies) for anti-inflammatory therapies;

(2) Applying novel approaches and technologies (including natural language processing, computer vision, and reinforcement learning) to identify and address unmet clinical needs. In this area we have ongoing and published efforts in my lab to validate and develop solutions to pressing clinical needs. We have developed/led new drug delivery technologies with a multidisciplinary team that have shown strong potential in ongoing human IBD clinical trials. My lab has utilized both supervised and unsupervised approaches to analyze social media discourse and unstructured data sets for identifying patient needs that are rarely addressed in clinical settings. We have gained insights into patient perceptions around preventative health interventions, such as health screening and diet, including the dearth of evidence-based dietary recommendations to treat IBD (despite strong patient desire for solutions in this domain).