Dr. Downs and Team Awarded ECCO Global Grant to Tackle Intestinal Inflammation

We are thirlled to announce that Dr. Marieke Barnhoorn, Dr. Hyasinta Jaka, and our faculty, Dr. Jennifer Downs have been awarded a two-year Global Grant from the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO). Crohn's disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases are rare in Tanzania, while parasitic intestinal infections, such as schistosomiasis and hookworm, are common. The team of researchers will examine differences in types of gut inflammation between people with different intestinal diseases, focusing on how and why parasitic infections alter an infected person's gut tissue in a way that may protect against damage from inflammatory bowel diseases. This research could lead to improved treatments for people with a variety of gastrointestinal conditions.

The interdisciplinary team brings together expertise from Leiden University, the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences / Weill Bugando School of Medicine, and Weill Cornell Medicine. Their collaborative project will investigate the role of stromal cells in inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal infections across distinct geographic and epidemiological settings in Tanzania and the Netherlands.