Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research
The Michigan Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has a long tradition of excellence in basic laboratory and clinical research. Since its beginning in 1947, Michigan has provided national leadership in gastroenterology. Our Division has consistently been among the top centers funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The Michigan Medicine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program continues that tradition of research achievement. Our research physicians study the molecular and genetic causes of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis to help better understand the underlying causes and mechanisms of these conditions. We are also engaged in clinical research to discover new methods of diagnosing, monitoring, and treating inflammatory bowel disease, supported by millions of dollars of competitive research funding. Our world-class research program collaborates with other centers internationally to improve the lives of people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease.
Our Researchers
Jeffrey Berinstein, MD
Dr. Jeffrey Berinstein is a clinical scientist who focuses on optimizing care for patients hospitalized with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Dr. Berinstein's research uses novel clinical trial methodology and machine learning prediction modeling to develop adaptive treatment strategies personalized to individual patients' unique needs (personalized medicine).
Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, MD, MS
Dr. Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg is an academic gastroenterologist with a research focus on chronic disease management, care coordination, and self-management. Dr. Cohen-Mekelburg is interested in identifying and evaluating gaps in health care delivery for patients with chronic diseases. She is working on developing models that facilitate chronic care transitions and improve care quality, particularly for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Cohen-Mekelburg is also interested in expanding her findings to other specialty-managed chronic disease populations.
Kelly Cushing, MD, MSCI
Dr. Kelly Cushing is a physician with an interest in precision medicine and inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Cushing's research program is focused on the integration of clinical outcomes and translational research to improve prognostication of disease course and therapy response in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Peter Higgins, MD, PhD, MS (CRDSA)
Dr. Peter Higgins' research interests include the detection and measurement of inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), mechanisms of intestinal fibrosis and measurement of fibrosis with ultrasound and biomarkers, medication holidays after long-term IBD remission, and patient-reported outcomes in IBD.
John Kao, MD
Dr. John Kao's research interests concern the mechanisms of immune dysregulation leading to diseases of the luminal gastrointestinal tract.
Ryan Stidham, MD, MSc
Dr. Ryan Stidham's research focuses on improving the ways that Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis is monitored.
Akbar Waljee, MD, MSc
Dr. Akbar Waljee's research interests include the development of prediction models using novel machine learning algorithms, the development, evaluation, and implementation of decision support systems for physicians, and the evaluation of medical and surgical outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.
