Biorepository: Gastrointestinal Diseases

Inflamatory Bowel Disease

What Is the Gastrointestinal Diseases Biorepository?

Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are health conditions that affect your digestive system. The Gastrointestinal Disease Biorepository is a confidential list of people with GI diseases who are willing to donate samples and provide health information to support scientific research.

Our scientists use samples from the biorepository to study diseases like inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, celiac disease and eosinophilic esophagitis. BRI scientists use samples from our Gastrointestinal Diseases Biorepository to understand how and why these diseases start, and work toward better treatments, prevention and cures.

Participate in Gastrointestinal Disease Research

We are currently enrolling adults, age 16 and older, with known or suspected history of inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and indeterminate colitis.

We are also looking for family members of all ages without IBD, including first-degree relatives of participants with IBD as well as individuals with non-IBD causes of GI inflammation, such as celiac disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, and infectious gastroenteritis or colitis to join our Healthy Control Biorepository.  

Participating in research typically involves a 45-60 minute appointment at BRI. Our team will collect a blood sample and ask questions about your personal and family medical history. All samples and information are kept confidential. Learn more: Biorepository FAQ

Are you living with gastrointestinal disease?

Consider donating to our biorepository to help advance research.
James Lord
Research Assistant Member

James Lord, MD, PhD

Research Assistant Member; Principal Investigator, Lord Lab
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What Gastrointestinal Disease Research is BRI Conducting?

  • Examining immune cells and processes associated with the progression of these diseases and identifying targets for new therapies
  • Comparing the samples from people with GI diseases to samples from volunteers without GI diseases to learn how and why IBD develops, and identify how genetic risk factors for IBD affect the immune system to cause disease
  • Exploring the role the gut microbiome plays in immune system diseases
By the Numbers
Our Gastrointestinal Disease Biorepository by the numbers

1,471+

Volunteers

35,719+

Samples

Labs that focus on gut immunology

Dr.'s Harrison, Lacy-Hulbert, J. Lord are a part of BRI's Gut Immunity Program

Harrison Lab Main

Harrison Lab

The Harrison Lab studies the mechanisms controlling host-microbe interactions at barrier tissues, primarily the skin and the gut with the goal to understand how these immune cells promote barrier tissue integrity and repair, and to understand how this goes awry during disease.
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Lacy-Hulbert Res Proj Main - Forward Genetics

Lacy-Hulbert Lab

The Lacy-Hulbert lab works to understand how different aspects of the immune system cooperate to identify and combat potentially infectious organisms while preventing immune attack against innocuous microbes or the body’s own self.
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Lord Lab Main

Lord Lab

The Lord lab is investigating how loss of “tolerance” happens in IBD, to learn how the immune system normally coexists peacefully in close proximity to gut contents.
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