Research Profile
I lead the UK Twin and Multiplex Inflammatory Bowel Disease Registry, with charitable grant funding of £1 million awarded in 2012. Biological samples have been collected from 100 IBD twin-pairs, and collaborative research programs have been set up with Professor Jack Satsangi (Edinburgh), Professor Vibeke Andersen (Denmark), Professor Julian Marchesi (Imperial College) and Professor Siew Ng (Hong Kong).
I developed an algorithmic educational resource for the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO), called the ECCO e-Guide. Since its release in 2016, this visualisation of their guidelines has been reviewed by more than 20,000 healthcare professionals worldwide. For this work, I was awarded the ECCO Mark of Merit, an accolade that is only provided to 3-5 individuals annually.
As chairman of the ECCO Guidelines Committee during 2015/2016, I organised and was lead author for the Third European Consensus Guideline on Ulcerative Colitis and the First European Consensus Guideline on Extraintestinal Manifestations of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
I have been a principal investigator or co-investigator for several clinical trials since 2006. My research contributions have been undertaken entirely freely, as I have a full time clinical role; as Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) said, “If you want something done, ask a busy person”.
Finally, I regularly review papers for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, GUT, Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Frontline Gastroenterology, Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis, and the British Medical Journal.
As of 2020 I am leading an exciting project, called Kitohealth.org, a non-profit organisation pioneering a technological approach to saving children’s lives. This is a MedTech venture- watch this space!
Research Funding
- £12,000 awarded by the All Ladies Palace of Westminster Committee 2010/2012, following peer review to support project entitled, “Development of remote patient data entry in the IBD clinic” (2010/2012). End date 2013.
- £1,000,000 (shared with Dr Siew Ng, in Hong Kong) awarded by the Jessie and Thomas Tam Charitable Foundation, following peer review to support a project entitled, “Inflammatory Bowel Disease Registries in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. A Comparative Study of Disease Pathogenesis in the Far East and West”. (2012). End date 2017.
- £5000 awarded by Crohn’s Colitis UK for a study of metabolomics profiles in twins with IBD. End date 2017.
- Recipient of a program grant to develop Kito Health from the Nixon Global Health Foundation, 2020-2025