Research

Persons from across Canada are being invited to participate in the IMAGINE research study. The IMAGINE Network is investigating the interactions between inflammation, microbiome, diet and mental health in patient with IBD (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IMAGINE is also studying whether new therapies (fecal transplants, diet, probiotics, cognitive behaviour therapy) have the potential to transform the management of IBD and IBS and their associated mental health issues.
 
You may be eligible to participate in this study if you have been diagnosed by your physician with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, or are a healthy individual without gastrointestinal symptoms.

Visit www.imaginespor.com for more information and to find a recruitment site near you.

This research study is looking for women with IBD who are in their first trimester of pregnancy (< 13 weeks) to test the feasibility of using an online program for monitoring IBD disease activity from the comfort of one’s home. Expected time involved is 3-4 hours over the course of your pregnancy and most study tasks can be completed from home. 

Who is eligible to participate?
Pregnant women who are 13 weeks pregnant or less (i.e. their first trimester) and have a confirmed diagnosis of IBD. For the study tasks, participants must have access to and the ability to use a smartphone and the internet. 

Who is not eligible?
Unfortunately participants who meet the following criteria are not able to participate:
- Are pregnant with twins
- Have an ileostomy or colectomy and pouch or symptomatic stricture (CD) or perianal disease (CD)
- Are on a steroid taper
- Have had a change in therapy within the 8 weeks before the screening visit or have a planned change of therapy in the 8 weeks after screening visit
- Unable to understand spoken and written English
This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Board at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Interested in participating or learning more about the study?
Contact Katie O’Connor
Email: Katie.O'Connor@sinaihealthsystem.ca
Phone: 416-586-4800 x 2677

Principal Investigator: 
Dr. Vivian Huang 
Assistant Professor and Clinician Investigator 
Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital & the University of Toronto

This research study is looking for women with IBD who are considering having a baby in the future, currently pregnant or just had a baby to test out a decision aid. The decision aid is web-based and expected time involved is 1 to 1.5 hours.  

Who is eligible to participate?
Women between the ages of 18-45 years old with a confirmed diagnosis of IBD, who are contemplating pregnancy, currently pregnant or have had a prior pregnancy.

This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Board at Mount Sinai Hospital. 

Interested in participating or learning more about the study?
Contact Katie O’Connor
Email: Katie.O'Connor@sinaihealthsystem.ca
Phone: 416-586-4800 x 2677

Principal Investigator: 
Dr. Vivian Huang 
Assistant Professor and Clinician Investigator 
Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital & the University of Toronto

The PedCRaFT (peditric Crohn’s Disease Fecal Microbiota Transplant) Trial is the first Health Canada approved randomized-control fecal transplant study for Pediatric Crohn’s disease in Canada.

Study involves:
i) Colonoscopy-initial baseline colonoscopy under anesthesia, where you will receive an infusion via colonoscopy of either healthy bacteria or a normal saline placebo.
ii) Oral Capsule-2x week for 6 weeks, you will receive pill capsules that may be taken at home. Pill capsules will either contain healthy bacteria or sugar-containing placebo.

We will ask you to provide:
1.) Bloodwork
2.) Urine Samples
3.) Stool samples
4.) Complete a 6-Question survey

This study has been approved by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board.

Who is eligible?
Children between ages 3 to 17 diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or IBD-U favouring Crohn’s disease (as identified by your physician) on a stable therapy (no major changes to medication within the last four weeks).

To participate, please contact:
Lee Hill, BSc (Med)(Hons), PhD (c) hill.lee.devlin@gmail.com  
The PediCRaFT Research Team at PediCRaftTrial@gmail.com
Phone: 514-443-8488

Principal Investigator:
Dr Nikhil Pai
Division of Pediatric GI and Nutrition McMaster Children's Hospital

The Exclusive Enteral Nutrition (EEN) in Crohn’s Disease study is the first clinical study to investigate the combined use of a nutritional formula with Corticosteriods (CS) in order to decrease the activity of Crohn’s Disease (CD) and improve quality of life. Exclusive Enteral Nutrition has been used to induce remission in pediatric cases of Crohn’s Disease, however its use in adults is much less studied. This is the first pilot study to assess the use of EEN together with CS as a means of inducing remission in adults. We think EEN+CS will be more effective than CS alone in inducing remission and that a short course of CS in tandem with nutritional formula will have a similar efficacy than the standard course of CS, with a reduced number of adverse events. We also would like to test whether nutritional formula will lead to beneficial changes in the intestinal bacteria, gastrointestinal transit and inflammatory burden.

Who is Eligible?
Adults ages 18-75 diagnosed with CD who are flaring and are about to start Prednisone prescribed by their doctor.

Who is Not Eligible?
Unfortunately, we are not able to accept patients with the following criteria:
-Treated with antibiotics or probiotics in the last 30 days
- Used prednisone in the last 30 days
- Currently using EEN
- Short Gut
- Started or changed immunosuppressant or biologic medication in the last 90 days
- Started or changed 5-ASA medication in last 30 days
- Pregnancy or lactation

For more information about the study and what to expect if you are able to participate, please see the brochure here.

Principal Investigator Dr. Ines Pinto-Sanchez, McMaster University
This study has been reviewed by the HiREB.

To participate, please contact
Teresa Balart, MD
Phone: 905-525-9140 ext 22278
Email: balartm@mcmaster.ca

Were you diagnosed with pediatric-onset Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis? Are you a parent or caregiver to someone transitioning from pediatric IBD care to adult IBD care? If so, we are interested in hearing from you! As part of research being conducted through our Promoting Access and Care through Centres of Excellence (PACE) Network (https://crohnsandcolitis.ca/PACE), Crohn’s and Colitis Canada will be conducting a series of 1 hour web-based focus groups to learn more about what you feel are important elements for transition care for adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease. For example, an important element for you might be establishing care in a centre able to provide comprehensive care; for someone else, it might be finding an adult provider close to home.

We’re hoping to generate some interesting and informative discussions that cover a range of aspects you think of when you reflect on how you are doing in terms of transitioning from pediatric to adult care, as you manage your Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

Date: Thursday, September 12, 2019
Time: 3-4 PM EST for young people living with Crohn’s or colitis
           4-5PM EST for parents/caregivers of young people living with Crohn’s or colitis
Location: Via webconference

OR

Date: Saturday, September 14, 2019
Time: 11AM-12PM EST for young people living with Crohn’s or colitis
           12-1PM EST for parents/caregivers of young people living with Crohn’s or colitis
Location: Via webconference

Please RSVP to Jacqueline de Guzman at jdeguzman@crohnsandcolitis.ca or by calling (416) 920-5035 ext. 234.

This initiative (#REB 2019-0106-E) was formally reviewed and approved by institutional authorities at Women’s College Hospital.

Principal Investigators:
Dr. Natasha Bollegala 
Division of Gastroenterology, Women’s College Hospital
Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

Dr. Nancy Fu 
Clinical Assistant Professor University of British Columbia
Division of Gastroenterology, Richmond General Hospital
 

The Family Health Lab at University of Saskatchewan is currently conducting an online study looking at the relationship between emotions and IBD-related symptoms in teens with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Who is eligible to participate?
Teens ages 14 to 18 who have been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease who has a parent that will provide consent for the teen to participate.

To register for the study or for more information, please contact:
Lana McAleer
Email: lmm249@mail.usask.ca
Phone: 306-966-5616

Teens and parents able to participate are eligible to enter a draw to win one of three $50 gift cards.

This research is looking at the experiences of young women living with an ostomy as a result of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, looking at the decision-making process up to surgery and actual lived experience of having an ostomy. If you are interested in participating an interview will be arranged at your convenience and take approximately one to two hours.  

Who is eligible?  
Young women between 19-25 living with an ostomy for any length of time.

Interested in participating? Contact Ashley Cark 
Email clarkash@uvic.ca 
Phone 1-250-812-8908

Researcher:
Ashley Clark MA,
University of Victoria, Social Dimensions of Health.

Supervisor/Primary Investigator:
Dr. Andre Smith
Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Victoria.

The human body contains ten bacterial cells for every human cell. This vast, largely unexplored bacterial community, known as the microbiome, has been linked to gastrointestinal health and disease. In the case of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), it is thought that the immune system may be responding inappropriately to the microbiome. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that changing the microbiome may be an effective treatment for IBD. One way to accomplish this is using Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT), an innovative investigational treatment that has proven effective in the treatment of C. difficile infection.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether FMT is similarly safe and effective in the treatment of mild-to-moderate Crohn’s disease. During FMT, a fecal preparation from a carefully screened, healthy stool donor is transplanted into the colon of the patient. There are multiple routes of administration. We will use both in this study. 

Patients will receive a total of eight FMT/placebo treatments in the study. Patients receiving FMT will be assigned a single donor. The first will be given by colonoscopy at week zero, followed by seven others given by capsules taken by mouth each week. At week eight, patients are unblinded and a follow up colonoscopy is performed. Patients who were initially randomized to placebo can go on to have FMT in the open label phase of the study.
 
Who is eligible to participate?
Patients with mild to moderate Crohn’s disease
Recruiting 126 patients at three Canadian centres (Edmonton, Calgary and Hamilton)
 
To register for this study or for more information, please contact:

Edmonton Contacts
Dr. Dina Kao: dkao@ualberta.ca
Dr. Gina Vavek: gina.vavek@albertahealthservices.ca
Phone: 780-492-5313
 
Calgary Contacts
Dr. Humberto Jijon: Humberto.jijon2@ucalgary.ca
Gurmeet Bindra: gkbindra@ucalgary.ca
Phone: 403-210-7013 or 403-399-9790
 
Hamilton Contact
Melanie Wolfe: wolfe@hhsc.ca

We are examining healthcare use and access to care by patients living with inflammatory bowel disease in rural Saskatchewan. The objectives are to: 1) identify differences in access to inflammatory bowel disease-related care by patients in rural versus urban areas and 2) explore care experiences from both rural patient and provider perspectives to identify how healthcare services can be enhanced. Our research team consists of nurses, doctors, a health authority manager, a representative from Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, and two patients living with inflammatory bowel disease and one family member who live in rural areas.

This study involves collecting information from a provincial database that identifies the types of health services used by patients from rural and urban areas and from interviews with rural patients and providers on their care experiences. Our team will make suggestions to government agencies with respect to enhancing patient care experiences and health service delivery, and thus promote quality of life in patients living with inflammatory bowel disease in Saskatchewan’s rural communities.


Who is eligible to participate?

Patients who: live in a rural area of Saskatchewan (an area less than 15,000 people), have been diagnosed with IBD, and are 18 years of age and older 
Healthcare providers (MDs, RNs, NPs) who: work in a rural area of Saskatchewan (an area less than 15,000 people) and who work with patients who have IBD

What does volunteering to participate involve?
1-2 telephone interviews (each interview is approximately 60 minutes in duration)
Patient participants will be asked to provide their input on what it is like living with IBD in rural Saskatchewan, about the healthcare services used, and their opinions on their care experiences. They will also be asked to provide their opinions on how to enhance IBD-related care for patients in rural Saskatchewan.
Healthcare provider participants will be asked to provide their input on caring for patients living with IBD in rural Saskatchewan, about healthcare services used and the challenges encountered. They will also be asked to provide their opinions on how to enhance IBD-related care for patients in rural Saskatchewan.

All participants will be entered into a random draw for an Apple IPad.

This research has been approved by the University of Saskatchewan Research Ethics Board (BEH # 954) and this study is funded through the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation and the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient Oriented Research.

To find out more information about this study or to volunteer, please contact:
Michele Jungwirth
Research Coordinator
Email: michele.jungwirth@usask.ca 

Principal Investigator: Noelle Rohatinsky, RN, PhD 
Associate Professor, College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan
Phone: 306-966-4096
Email: Noelle.rohatinsky@usask.ca

The purpose of this Saskatchewan based study is to obtain an understanding of perceived health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and care experiences in older adults with IBD.

The study objectives are to:1) assess perceived HRQOL and chronic illness care in older adults with IBD; and 2) explore the care experiences of older adults with IBD living in Saskatchewan (SK).

The older adult age group is the fastest growing group of individuals with IBD and obtaining perspectives about older adult’s goals of care and how the care received impacts their quality of life are important considerations for future health service delivery plans. There is not a lot of information on the perspectives from older adults with IBD and our research team wants to increase knowledge in this area.

This project is a 1 year study with 2 ways to participate (You can participate by selecting one or both options).

1. An anonymous online or paper survey – The survey will take you about 20-40 minutes to complete. The questions will ask you about your perceived health related quality of life and chronic illness care as an older adult with IBD. (Survey Link included below)

2. A confidential telephone or in person interview - The research team is looking to conduct 30-60 minute interviews with older adult patients who have IBD. The interview questions will ask you about your IBD history and what it is like living with IBD as an older adult. The questions will also ask you about your healthcare services used and opinions on your care experiences. You will be asked about your opinions on how to enhance IBD-related care for older adult patients in Saskatchewan. The interview can be completed via telephone or in person in Saskatoon.

Who can participate? You can help us if you:
1. Have been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) (either Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis). Diagnosis could have occurred at any age.
2. Are currently 60 years of age or older.
3. Are able to read and speak English fluently.
4. Live in Saskatchewan.

If you are interested in completing the online survey, please enter this link into your web browser. https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/IBDolderadultSK

If you prefer to complete a paper survey, please contact Michele Jungwirth (research coordinator) or Noelle Rohatinsky (principal investigator).

If you are interested in participating in an interview, please contact Michele Jungwirth (research coordinator) or Noelle Rohatinsky (principal investigator).

This study has been approved by the University of Saskatchewan Research Ethics Board (BEH#1381) and this study is funded through the University of Saskatchewan, College of Nursing.

To find out more information about this study or to volunteer, please contact:
Michele Jungwirth
Research Coordinator
Email: michele.jungwirth@usask.ca

Principal Investigator: Noelle Rohatinsky, RN, PhD
Associate Professor, College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan
Phone: 306-966-4096
Email: noelle.rohatinsky@usask.ca

Do you have Crohn's or Colitis? Are you between 16-21 years old?

Seeking individuals diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease to participate in an online study looking at what promotes and diminishes quality of life of teens and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease. We will be offering a chance for a e-gift card for some lucky winners. Participants must be from the ages of 16 to 21 years of age and fluent in English. The study involves completing 3 online surveys over the course of 2 months. 

To learn more and participate, please click on the following link:
 https://queensu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9LAPoqN3gypvb7v 

This study has been approved by The Queen's University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board (HSREB)

To find out more information about this study, please contact:

Dr. Dean A. Tripp
Associate Professor in the departments of Psychology, Anesthesiology and Urology
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario 
Email: dean.tripp@queensu.ca

Julia Moreau and Adam Sunavsky
Department of Psychology
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
Julia Moreau Email: 14jmm11@queensu.ca

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) may undergo colectomy due to a variety of reasons. Ileal-pouch anal anastomosis is often offered to these patients. Unfortunately the pouch commonly develops inflammation, known as pouchitis, which is the most common complication of this procedure and occurs in approximately 50% of patients, with the majority of these patients having multiple episodes.

Enrolling now for Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) for Patients with Active Pouchitis. The study focuses on use of fecal microbiota transplantation for treatment of pouchitis. The study objectives are to learn about a) if alteration of the microbiota in pouchitis helps improve disease symptoms; and b) understand the changes that occur in the gut bacteria during fecal transplantation. This is a randomized controlled trial of fecal microbiota transplantation versus placebo for treatment of pouchitis.

Who can participate?
1. Be 18 or over and be able to give informed consent.
2. Have symptoms of active pouchitis.
3. Have evidence of active pouchitis in screening pouchoscopy.

Qualified Participants Receive:
1. Study-related care from gastroenterologist including screening pouchoscopy and final pouchoscopy.
2. Once weekly FMT enemas for at least 6 weeks.
3. Compensation for parking.

This study has been reviewed by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board. Project ID #4702. 

To register for this study or for more information, please contact:
Mr. Peter Habashi: habashp@hhsc.ca

Seeking individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to participate in an online study investigating well-being. This study will occur over three time points, spaced 4 weeks apart.

Who can participate?
1. Be 18 years of age or older.
2. Be able to fluently read and write in English.
3. Have received a diagnosis of IBD from a specialist (e.g., gastroenterologist).

Qualified Participants Receive:
Participants can choose to be entered into a draw at each time point to win a 50$ CAD (at time 1), 100$ CAD (at time 2), or 150$ CAD (at time 3) Amazon gift card! 

To learn more and participate, please click on the following link:
https://queensu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cGQSvghwfpUHhs1​

This study has been approved by The Queen's University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board (HSREB)

To register for this study or for more information, please contact:
Katherine Fretz
Depatment of Psychology
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario 
Email: 11kf23@queensu.ca