Research projects/contents

In our study group, we investigate factors influencing the disease course in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease. In doing so, we focus on translational studies employing blood, tissue, and stool samples of patients. We want to answer questions about predictors of prognosis, about triggers of acute flares, and about pathogenic mechanisms. 

Close collaborations exist with the Institute of Pathology, the Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the Institute of Laboratory Medicine. For projects around the intestinal microbiome, we joined forces with the mucosal immunology group from the Department of Biomedical Research.

We are also actively involved in the pediatric SwissIBD Cohort Study, which prospectively follows pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease on an annual basis in whole Switzerland, as well as the Swiss AIH Cohort Study.
The PedNet Bern supports our prospective studies with their expertise in patient centered research.

Current research projects

Principal Investigators

  • “Antibody panel diagnostic in inflammatory bowel disease unclassified patients to predict clinical subtypes”
  • “Clinical and genomic characterization of Campylobacter concisus in Children and Adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease”
  • “Medication side effects in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease”
  • “Use of complementary and alternative medicine in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease – subjective vs. objective views”
  • “The role of fecal and serum D-lactate in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease”
  • “Gene expression and cellular patterns of the innate and adaptive immune system in the pathogenesis of solitary juvenile polyps”


Co- Investigators

  • “Trajectory of microbiota maturation in healthy Bern infants – a network approach”
  • "Systematic Analysis of the Impact of Diagnostic Delay on Disease Course in Pediatric Versus Adult-onset Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: Data from the Swiss IBD Cohort"
  • “Impact of overweight and obesity on disease outcome in the pediatric Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort”
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