Peter Dobranowski
When Peter Dobranowski was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 15, he never dreamed that he would one day become a researcher searching for new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
But the effect that this disease has had on him, and the support of caring donors, has had a profound and far-reaching impact on the direction of his life.
As Peter explains, “Three years after being diagnosed, during my first year of university, I had to use the washroom about 20 times during exams. Ultimately, unable to fully concentrate during classes or exams, and with no hope of finishing my degree, I withdrew from my program. At my worst, I felt alone, and hopeless, until one miraculous medication put me into remission.”
Since then, Peter was able to return to his studies completing his bachelor’s degree in nutrition and master’s degree studying the inflammatory bowel disease microbiome.
For the past eight years, he also has been volunteering with the BC chapter of Crohn’s and Colitis Canada and he became President of his chapter, finding a community of people who, like him, truly understand what it is like to live with the constant unknowns of a chronic disease. Peter is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa, researching a potential new therapeutic treatment for kids with IBD.
We need your support today to ensure the best and most promising research continues – research like Peter’s that will improve lives today and advance discovery, treatment and care. Knowing that Canada is home to some of the most ambitious and promising research in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in the world gives Peter, as a researcher, patient and volunteer, hope.
We can’t afford to turn away projects that could hold the answers we’ve all been looking for. But we need your help. Please ensure critical research continues by investing in innovation today.