[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Macpherson_Collins.jpg” caption=”Andrew MacPherson, left, and Stephen Collins pose in one of McMaster’s state-of-the-art research labs that is unique among Canadian universities. Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay”]When she was in high school Stephne Buzdygan-Johnson would do detentions for smoking in the washroom, although she hadn't been smoking. She didn't want to talk about the real reason. She had been a sickly child all her life, diagnosed as a “nervous child.”

It was only when she was in university, down to 72 pounds, that an emergency appendectomy discovered the truth. She has Crohn's Disease, a serious inflammatory bowel disease.

Now she's 43 and, after undergoing a series of surgeries over the years, she looks and feels well. She has a post-graduate degree in environmental science and runs the successful Niagara Analytical Laboratories in Niagara Falls with her husband Brian.

Stephne is one of 200,000 Canadians with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), for which Canada has one of the highest prevalence rates. There is an additional 1.8 million who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

McMaster University and its Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine already have a well-earned reputation for leadership in gastrointestinal medical research, but investments of more than $3.5 million in new laboratories, including one unique for its level of sterility, clinic facilities, and the recruitment of international researchers, has it poised for dramatic developments.

“Like others, we've found that success follows success,” said John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences. “Our gastroenterology team has established a reputation of international excellence, and now we've attracted some outstanding young scientists to join us, and donors who are enthusiastic about providing the labs and other resources the researchers require.”

Stephen Collins, University Professor, chief of gastroenterology, and head of the Intestinal Disease Research Program, says its research will range from lab bench to patient bedside.

One recent McMaster addition is Andrew MacPherson from the Institute of Experimental Immunology, Zurich, Switzerland. A new Canada Research Chair in mucosal immunology, he is studying how the intestine's immune system protects against damage from our own intestinal bacteria.

His team of five researchers will soon join him at McMaster in recently constructed state-of-the-art research facilities, including a new sterile laboratory that is unique among Canadian universities. Recent private donations of $3.5 million to the university have assisted in establishing the new labs and an additional endowed chair. An international search is currently on for the first appointee to the Farncombe Family Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

As well, a new Centre of Excellence in Digestive Diseases is being built at Hamilton Health Sciences' McMaster hospital. The clinical research unit, slated to open later this year, is designed to provide multidisciplinary care and one-stop access for patients with gastrointestinal problems.

“We are committed to working together with our academic partners to facilitate the seamless translation of basic scientific research into clinical activities that enhance patient care and advance health care through education and research,” said Murray Martin, president and CEO of Hamilton Health Sciences.

In the scientific community there is now a general acceptance of the critical role of gut bacteria in the expression of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis – inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). These diseases are believed to result from a breakdown in the ability of the immune system to tolerate the presence of the bacteria that normally reside in the gut.

“There is 1.5 kilograms of bacteria in the gut,” said Collins, also a gastroenterologist at Hamilton Health Sciences. “We live with millions upon millions of bacteria in the lower bowel, hundreds more than we have cells. The majority live quite harmoniously together. They help digest our diet and produce chemicals that are important to our health.

“But we suspect that when there is a breakdown, this allows not only the development of IBD, but also other autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, allergies, asthma, thyroid problems and others. This reflects the diversity of our intestinal disease research program.”

Macpherson, director of the new sterile Farncombe facility, added: “There is a beautiful mutualism between the good done by potentially-dangerous bacteria in the intestines.

“Some of this is understood, but much is not. With the new labs, facilities and top-notch research staff, we're going to be able examine this process in a detailed way not possible before. The potential to do work that changes the natural history of a disease is tremendous.”

The role of bacteria in chronic gastrointestinal diseases has been largely underestimated until quite recently, said Collins.

“Take, for example, the case of stomach and duodenal ulcers. These common problems were thought to be due to stress and it was only in the 1980's that these ulcers were found to be due to bacteria that were thought to be harmless. As the stomach contains the least number of bacteria of the entire gut, you can imagine the possibility that some of the bacteria present in huge numbers elsewhere in the bowel contribute to disease.”

Collins' research also addresses how food or water poisoning, such as occurred in Walkerton in May, 2000, can lead to disturbances of the normal bacterial population of the gut and cause chronic bowel disturbances such as the IBS.

Another member of the research team is Paul Moayyedi, who was recruited by the University last year as the first holder of the Richard Hunt-Astra Zeneca Chair in Gastroenterology. Coming from England's University of Birmingham, Moayyedi is continuing his population-based research into common gastrointestinal disorders, health services delivery and the evaluation of decision making strategies around gastrointestinal disease.

Moayyedi has been recognized internationally for his work in evaluating the management of dyspepsia, the potential for population Helicobacter pylori screening and treatment to prevent gastric cancer and has conducted one of the world's largest cross-sectional survey evaluating IBS in the community.

Louis Liu, a Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine graduate who is trained as an engineer and a gastroenterologist, is also joining the research program with an interest in motility problems such as IBS and gastroparesis – a complication of diabetes. Dr. Frances Tse, who is a gastroenterologist with training in advanced endoscopy from McGill University, will be joining the team in July.

This is all good news, says Stephne Buzdygan-Johnson. She's long been a fan of the gastroenterology team at McMaster and Hamilton Health Sciences.

“This magnificent institution has given me hope, dignity and the will to continue to try to develop personally. These new funds will give future generations far more than anyone can imagine, and the support is much appreciated.”