Australian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Microbiome Study
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53% of target number recruited Active participation rate 93%, sample return rate 97%, Survey return rate 98% 526 patients recruited to the study
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The microbiome and links to IBD
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), comprising the 2 main forms – Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a global disease challenge. It affects approximately 1 in 250 Australians, with over 80,000 Australians currently living with IBD. IBD arises from a dysregulated immune response to alterations in the gut microbiota in susceptible individuals. Sufferers can endure numerous attacks or ‘flares’ followed by periods of relative remission; however, the disease trigger remains elusive.
Being able to identify people at risk of IBD prior to symptoms, preventing symptom progression, and being able to define how patients are likely to respond to treatment, plays to the heart of IBD healthcare, namely, to improve patient health.
Who are The Sydney+ IBD Research consortium
The Sydney+ IBD Research consortium was initiated in 2018 to bring together clinicians and researchers to improve IBD patient care. The consortium is an active collaboration comprising early, mid and advanced-career clinicians/scientists with complementary strengths. The first aim of the network was to develop the infrastructure to ensure a unified approach to patient recruitment/sample collection – an issue which hampers many multi-centre studies.
What is The Australian IBD Microbiome (AIM) Study
The Australian IBD Microbiome (AIM) Study is the inaugural study of the consortia and commenced recruitment in June 2019. The AIM study is a longitudinal cohort study with clinical data, patient-reported outcomes data, and biological samples collected from participants over a 24-month period.
The project will deliver:
- Microbial changes associated with onset of IBD symptoms
- Identification of Australian IBD microbial signatures to allow targeted intervention
- Generation of novel predictive models of direct translational utility to the clinic.
| Study commencement date | June 2019 |
| Scheduled end date | February 2025 |
| Study Lead | Professor Georgina Hold |
| Lead recruiting site | St George Hospital, Kogarah, NSW 2017 |
| Current recruiting area | New South Wales |
| Recruiting sites | St Vincent’s Hospital Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Liverpool Hospital Concord Hospital Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick Sydney Children’s Hospital, Westmead Wollongong Hospital Blacktown Hospital Sutherland Hospital Canberra Hospital |
| AIM Study Funding |
The AIM study receives or has received funds and or support from the following organisations: Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA)
Crohn’s Colitis Australia (CCA)
St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation (SSMRF)
Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Facility.
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AIM Study Lead Ph: 91131855 |
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Dr Betty Nan Wu AIM Study PhD student (CCA funded) Ph: 95240229 |
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Associate Professor Daniel Avi Lemberg Lead Clinician – Sydney Children’s Hospital (Randwick) Ph: 91914959 |
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Dr Gabrielle Wark Clinician – St Vincent’s Hospital Email: Gabrielle.Wark@svha.org.au |
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Lead Clinician – St George Hospital Ph: 91131855 |
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Professor Golo Ahlenstiel Clinician – Blacktown Hospital Ph: 9851 6073 |
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Dr Sudarshan Paramsothy Clinician – Concord Hospital Ph: 97676111 |
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Nutritionist – Garvan Institute of Medical Research Email: d.samochabonet@garvan.org.au |
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Dr Astrid-Jane Williams Clinician – Liverpool Hospital |
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Dr Crispin Corte Lead Clinician – Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Ph: 95158578 |
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Lead Clinician – St Vincent’s Hospital Ph: 02 8382 6622 |
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Senior Research Scientist, Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Facility, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, UNSW Ph: +61 2 9385 1678 |
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Study Lead/ Microbiome Scientist – Sydney Children’s Hospital (Randwick) Ph: 938201883 |
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Microbiome Scientist – University of Technology, Sydney Email: Catherine.Burke@uts.edu.au |
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Dr Claire O'Brien Microbiome Scientist – University of Wollongong Ph: 02 6244 4023 |
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Dr Viraj Kariyawasam Lead Clinician – Blacktown Hospital Ph: 02 8670 0086 |
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Dr Craig Haifer Clinician – St Vincent’s Hospital Ph: 283810061 |
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Lead Clinician – Concord Hospital |
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Associate Professor Susan Connor Lead Clinician – Liverpool Hospital Ph: 61287384085 |
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Clinical Associate Professor Thomas Lee Lead Clinician – Wollongong Hospital Ph: 02 4222 5180 |
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Dr Paris Tavakoli Recruitment Lead – St Vincent’s Hospital Ph: 04242 52436 |
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Dr Kelly Lambert Nutritionist – University of Wollongong Email: klambert@uow.edu.au |
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Dr Ramesh Paramsothy Clinician - Blacktown Hospital
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Dr Nerissa Bowcock Microbiome Scientist – Sydney Children’s Hospital (Randwick) Email: n.bowcock@unsw.edu.au
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Research Participants Needed! We are seeking research participants to learn about the changes in the human microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). If we can determine how to prevent or treat disease, then we have the potential to positively change health outcomes for many future generations!
Study summary
- We are looking for:
- participants who have an IBD diagnosis, are between the ages of 6 and 80 years old and receiving healthcare in Australia,
- family members of IBD patients
- healthy controls
- You must be intending to reside in Australia for the next 2 years
- Be willing to have your vital signs, height, weight, medical history collected
- Be willing to complete a series of lifestyle and diet related questionnaires
- Be willing to provide blood samples at 0, 12 and 24 months, and oral swabs and stool samples every 3 months (sample packs provided).
What is involved
If you decide to take part you would:
- Provide samples and answer questionnaires every 3 months over two years
- Be available for the duration of the study, which is 24 months
- Willing to provide height, weight, medical history, lifestyle and dietary assessment
- Willing to provide multi-site microbiome sampling (including oral, stool samples and blood tests)
To learn more about this study and to find out if you can take part, please contact Professor Georgina Hold at AIM_Study@unsw.edu.au for more information.
This study has HREC approval – 2019/ETH11443 and ANZCTR code ACTRN12619000911190
Latest news
Australia IBD Microbiome (AIM) Study: protocol for a multicentre longitudinal prospective cohort study
The protocol paper is now available on line. Click here to access.
New recruitment sites – Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide
Students begin research into the Australian IBD Microbiome
Six medical, science and nutrition students have joined the team and will play their role conducting research into aspects of the Australian microbiome. For more information or if you are interested in joining the team, contact relevant researchers.
The AIM study is running at the following sites across NSW:
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St George Hospital, Kogarah |
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St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst |
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Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Newtown |
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Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool |
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Concord Hospital, Concord |
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