Researchers at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai received $10 million from the National Institutes of Health to conclude their decades-long investigation into the genetic and immunological causes of inflammatory bowel disease.
Here's what you need to know.
1. Director of the F. Widjaja Foundation Inflammatory Bowel and Immunobiology Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai and lead investigator Stephan Targan, MD, said the study is the "longest IBD study of its kind funded by the NIH and the first to explore the genetic makeup of the disease."
2. The study started in 1992. Researchers have used molecular signatures to identify the several different types of IBD.
3. Dermot McGovern, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and director of Cedars-Sinai Precision Health, said the project "is making very significant contributions to helping patients around the world."
4. By establishing the molecular signatures, it positions researchers towards developing treatments for the disease to "finally bring relief and healing to many patients," Dr. Targan said.
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