Research

The Division of Gastroenterology at Washington University School of Medicine performs cutting-edge molecular and translational research.

We have a diverse research base with physician-scientists (MD and MD/PhD) and PhD scientists conducting basic investigation into the molecular regulation of development, nutrient absorption, colon carcinogenesis, immune tolerance and inflammation and repair.

In addition, we conduct a range of active translational research, including novel therapies for inflammatory bowel disease, obesity and energy metabolism, hepatic steatosis, hepatitis C and topographic manometric assessment of esophageal motility.

Principal Investigator	Research Interests
Matthew Ciorba, MD	Inflammatory Bowel Disease (laboratory, clinical, and translational clinical trials) Colorectal Cancer (laboratory and translational clinical trials) Intestinal SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 (laboratory and clinical) Additional Keywords: Organoids, probiotics, radiation, murine models, tryptophan metabolism, Crohn’s, colitis Visit The Ciorba Lab site
Nicholas Davidson, MD	The molecular genetics of lipid transport and in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression; Lipid storage diseases and defects in macronutrient absorption; The molecular genetics of colorectal cancer. Visit the Davidson Lab site
Ramon Jin, MD, PhD	Gastroesophageal Oncogenesis, Barrett’s esophagus, Gastric intestinal metaplasia, Gastric adenocarcinoma, Esophageal adenocarcinoma, Patient-derived organoids, Genetic mouse models of upper GI metaplasias/neoplasias. Visit the Jin Lab Site
Parakkal Deepak, MBBS, MS	I am currently a physician-scientist in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center and Director of Clinical and Translation Research for the Division of Gastroenterology. My work has been funded by the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association, and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust apart from investigator-initiated grants funded by industry. My group’s primary focus is on fistulizing perianal Crohn’s disease where I co-lead a bench-bedside basic-translational-clinical group focused on improving the precision of care in perianal CD through single cell work, radiomics and 3D print applications and we are part of the international TOpCLASS fistula consortium. Additional focus area of research is cardiometabolic syndrome in IBD where our group has made novel observations in prevalence of MASLD, risk of cirrhosis, performance of current ASCVD prediction tools in patients with IBD and ongoing work on GLP-1 receptor agonists in IBD. I have co-founded the REBOOT IBD consortium across 11 leading IBD centers in the United States to publish real-world data on outcomes with newest advanced therapies in IBD.  I serve as the site-PI for multicenter industry funded clinical trials in IBD and have served on the steering committee of trials. I additionally serves as the Deputy Director of Data Quality and Enhancement of the prospective longitudinal biobanking cohort, the SPARC-IBD of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and on the National Scientific Advisory Committee of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
Rodney Newberry, MD	Intestinal inflammatory diseases; The incidence of celiac disease among persons with osteoporosis. Visit The Newberry Lab site
Deborah Rubin, MD	Identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying intestinal epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation; The role of epithelial mesenchymal interactions in inducing the normal morphogenesis and differentiation of the gut mucosa
Jose Saenz, MD, PhD	Research interests: chronic gastritis, autoimmune gastritis, Helicobacter pylori, double-stranded RNA signaling, gastric cancer. Visit The Saenz Lab Site
Siyan “Stewart” Cao, MD, PhD	Cellular stress response in innate lymphoid cells in inflammatory bowel disease; single-cell analyses of IBD subtypes and complications including Crohn’s disease of the pouch and perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease; identification of therapeutic markers for IBD biologics (e.g., anti-IL-23 therapies).  Visit the Cao Lab Site
ZeNan Chang, MD, PhD	Impact of gut microbes from malnourished women on maternal physiology during pregnancy; with focus on the intestines and cross-talks impacting fetoplacental development (within the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Gordon).
Jeffrey W Brown, MD, PhD	Studying the cellular processes involved in normal tissue transitioning to metaplasia and cancer with specific interest on the role glycosylation epitopes and lectins play in these processes. My lab primarily focuses on foregut metaplasia: Barrett’s esophagus, intestinal metaplasia of the stomach;  pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia.