Canada Research Chairs
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic illness that causes inflammation in the small or large intestine. It is estimated that by 2030, more than 400,000 Canadians will be living with IBDs, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Dr. John Rioux, Canada Research Chair in Genetics and Genomic Medicine, aims to develop and use state-of-the-art genetic and genomic approaches to obtain more in-depth knowledge of the risk factors for IBD.
He and his research team are working on new disease models to discover how genetic risk factors impact human biology and may increase or decrease a person’s risk of developing IBD. They are also building and validating genetic and genomics tools that will improve doctors’ ability to diagnosis and treat the disease. While their research will focus on chronic inflammatory diseases of the digestive system, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, their findings could shed light on multiple other diseases.