My Research Experience

I am a paediatric gastroenterologist with research interests in the gut microbiome and how best to influence it for therapeutic effect. Our laboratory in Dundee is set up to support molecular and culture-based microbiology studies related to gut health and disease. I have published widely in the sphere of microbial therapeutics including on dietary treatment for Crohn’s disease, live biotherapeutics and community microbiota transplant.

 

Current Projects

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Healthy Infant Microbiome

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We are developing a project to explore the controllable variables of microbial colonisation of the gut in infancy. A SCREDS Lecturer is currently in post and undertaking a systematic review on this topic with a view to initiating a novel clinical cohort.

 

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Our lab are interested in how the microbiome is implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD and how altering microbial communities might influence disease. We are in the process of setting up novel cohorts of both paediatric and adult IBD patients locally for culture and molecular microbiome work. This project could be developed into an MD or PhD opportunity for the right candidate.

 

Systematic Reviews of Microbiome Science

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Reviewing the literature in a robust and reproducible way is a cornerstone of good science. There are always opportunities to undertake systematic reviews within clinical medicine. I have recently developed an interest in applying systematic review to gut microbiome papers and am keen to develop more work in this broad area.

 

Key Publications

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1. Thromboprophylaxis Use in Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: An International RAND Appropriateness Panel. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, 2022.

2. Treatment of Active Crohn’s Disease With an Ordinary Food-based Diet That Replicates Exclusive Enteral Nutrition. Gastroenterology, 2019.

3. A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Assess Safety and Tolerability of (Thetanix) Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron in Adolescent Crohn's Disease. Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology, 2021.

4. Adaptive response of neonatal sepsis-derived Group B Streptococcus to bilirubin. Scientific Reports, 2018.

5. Microbiota of de-novo pediatric IBD: increased Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and reduced bacterial diversity in Crohn's but not in ulcerative colitis. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2012.

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Collaborations

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I work with clinical colleagues across Scotland within the Scottish Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition for which I am currently Research Lead. I have collaborated with Prof Kostas Gerasimidis (Professor of Clinical Nutrition) for more than a decade in researching the interaction between diet, the microbiome and inflammatory bowel disease.

 

Further info

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• University profile