The Gastrointestinal Tract Research Programme
The Gastrointestinal Tract Institute Strategic Programme (GIT-ISP) comprises a group of nine research leaders of international repute in the field of molecular, cellular and biochemical microbiology of intestinal bacteria, intestinal epithelial cell biology and mucosal immunology that have combined their expertise and knowledge to investigate how the GIT functions as an integrated biological system and how intestinal health is preserved. The hypothesis guiding these studies is that gut health is maintained through the dynamic interplay between the mucosal epithelium, immune system and the microbiota and that each of these components is responsive both to specific dietary components and to the overall metabolic status of the host. The research is organised into three themes, Gut Immunity, The Gut Epithelium and The Gut Microbiota. In each, the function of the components will be investigated individually and collectively using molecular, biochemical , cell biology and functional genomics technologies, building complexity from single cell to multicellular systems. Novel cell culture systems will be used to investigate epithelial cell interactions with anaerobic commensal bacteria, and The Model Colon continuous fermentation system to investigate interactions between members of a model microbiota and host cells.
The overarching aim of the ISP is to understand how these three components interact to preserve gut health, which will help explain how and why these interactions go wrong in chronic inflammatory disorders such as food allergy, inflammatory bowel disease and, colorectal cancer.
Job Opportunities
Staff positions, studentships and fellowships available at IFR are advertised at www.ifr.ac.uk/info/about/vacancies/