Funding outcome

The number of children that have inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) - ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn disease (CD) - is rising rapidly in Canada. IBD involves chronic inflammation in the digestive tract treated by risky medications that suppress the immune system and often do not manage IBD effectively in the long-term. Alternative strategies are needed to improve the health and quality of life of children living with IBD. A potential target for such strategies is the gut microbiome, the community of microbes in the gut that greatly influence health and are unique to each one of us. Diet therapies can effectively improve inflammation in IBD, especially in children, potentially due to their effects on the gut microbiome. However, we do not know if individual differences in the gut microbiome cause children with IBD to respond differently to dietary therapies. My research aims to answer the question: can we use gut microbiome profiles of children with IBD to predict if they would benefit from diet therapies? The proposed research includes two clinical trials. The first is a 24-week randomized controlled trial testing a whole-foods diet combined with nutritional supplements in children with mild-to-severe CD. The second is a 6-week randomized controlled trial testing two dietary fibre supplements in children and adults with mild UC. In both studies, I will determine if individual differences in the microbiome can predict children's clinical responses to the diet therapies using machine learning. If gut microbiome features indeed predict clinical responses, this could lead to the development of personalized diet therapies that improve the health of children with IBD.