Research Summary
Dr. Sheikh is a physician-scientist, who specializes in the management of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). His research focuses on characterizing the impact of genetics and gene regulation on the clinical phenotypes of human IBD. He has spent most of his adult life training in disciplines that position him to bridge the fields of mucosal immunology, epithelial cell biology, genomics and clinical IBD. He has established and directed the IBD Tissue and Genomics Core, collecting endoscopic and surgical biopsies to generate sequencing data, isolate and study intestinal immune cell populations and establish patient crypt derived primary intestinal epithelial cell monolayer experimental systems. His group is leading the effort to identify specific gene regulators (RNA, chromatin and microRNAs) in tissue, macrophages and intestinal epithelial cells with potential impact of IBD phenotype. His group created the first set of high-throughput sequencing studies in the field that include ex vivo functional and mechanistic validation (in whole tissue, immune cells, and epithelial cells) incorporating 16S rRNA, chromatin (murine, human adult), RNA (murine, human adult and pediatric) and small RNA (human adult and pediatric) data in relation to IBD phenotypes.
CGIBD Focus Area(s): Clinical/Translational Research
Pilot and Feasibility Award 2012 & 2018
Collaborators: Arthur, Barnes, Furey, Gulati, Long, Herfarth, Sartor, Steinbach
