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miGut-Health partners at the 20th ECCO congress

The miGut-Health team was prominently represented at the 20th European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) Congress, held on 19-22 February 2025, in Berlin, Germany. This significant event brought together over 4,000 experts, including researchers, clinicians, and healthcare professionals, to discuss advancements in the understanding and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The congress featured scientific sessions, hands-on workshops, and educational programs, fostering collaboration and the exchange of best practices to enhance IBD care globally. With this year´s main topic being ‘Sustainability in IBD and beyond’, the Congress addressed sustainable approaches in IBD treatment, emphasising prevention, optimal therapy, and efficient resource utilisation.

Our partners contributed significantly to this year´s programme. The leading contribution was from the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology of University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, with the following talks:

  • Dr Silvio Waschina: “Reduced Gut Microbial Amino Acid Auxotrophies and Enhanced Tryptophan Degradation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease”, Digital Oral Presentation (DOP) session 3: Microbiology and Virology in IBD
  • Dr Lina Welz: “Serum metabolites predict endoscopic disease activity and clinical and endoscopic remission in Ulcerative Colitis”, DOP session 10: Clinical IBD
  • Prof. Dr Stefan Schreiber: “Patient-reported quality of life in moderate-to-severe Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: Insights from the communicating needs and features of IBD experiences (CONFIDE) survey”, DOP session 12: Clinical Trials and Diagnostics
  • Session 9: Basic Science: Novel genetic insights chaired by Dr Florian Tran
  • Dr Danielle Harris: “Distinct tryptophan metabotypes associate with disease activity, treatment escalation and future disease progression in Inflammatory Bowel Disease”, DOP session 14: Diagnostics, Biomarkers
  • Dr Hesham ElAbd: “Analysing the T cell receptor beta chain repertoire of 2,800 Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients identifies public T cell responses involved in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and quantifies the impact of surgery and therapy on the immune repertoire of IBD” patients, Session 4: Novel Monitoring Tools

Dr Johan Burisch from Hvidovre Hospital - Region Hovedstaden participated in several sessions:

  • “Assessment of Crohn's Disease activity” during the session 6th ECCO Imaging and Endoscopy Workshop in collaboration with ESGAR & IBUS - Group A: Ultrasound and MRI
  • The V-Sync study: Validation of the synchronization of the ENEIDA and UR-CARE registry during DOP Session 5: Epidemiology and Environment (also chairing the session)
  • Clinical mimics of IBD during 10th H-ECCO IBD Masterclass - Session 2: Mimics, also chairing the session

Dr Arno Bourgonje from the University Medical Center Groningen gave a talk titled Systemic antibody responses predict the onset of Inflammatory Bowel Disease up to 10 years before diagnosis during the Session 1: Sustainability in IBD Care.

Since the miGut-Health project is as much about science and research as it is about the patients and IBD community, it was a true delight to participate in the session organised by EFCCA under the title: “What do IBD patients find important in their treatment? Results from a global Patient Preference survey”. The main point of the research was to identify key factors influencing treatment decisions among patients with IBD. Our Voices from the IBD Community campaign was also shared during the session and at the EFCCA stand, where miGut-Health leaflets were displayed.

Also, miGut-Health partners and research results were highly visible during the Poster session, taking place on Friday, February 22:

The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf presented the poster “Influence of a gluten-free dietary intervention on the gut microbiome and inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease: results from murine experiments and protocol of a prospective proof-of-concept human study as part of the miGut-Health project”, directly leaning onto insights from MiGut-Health, while EngageMinds Hub of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore explained “the role of stress in dietary choices and disease outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease”, based on research conducted on a cohort of Italian IBD patients in the framework of miGut-Health. Notable contributions were also provided by the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences based on their research, with posters “Evaluation of the modulatory potential of polyphenolic compounds on intestinal inflammation at the transcriptomic level”, “The role of caffeine and its metabolites in the modulation of intestinal inflammation and epithelial barrier integrity" and “Personalised co-culture model of intestinal organoids and immune cells for evaluating biological therapy response in ulcerative colitis patients”. The Weizmann Institute of Science contributed with their findings to the poster “Response to biologic treatment in patients with Crohn’s disease is associated with consistent decreased antibody response to bacterial flagellins”.

Finally, the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology of the University Hospital Schleswig Holstein presented numerous insights from their research, with the posters such as:

  • “Crohn’s-associated invariant T Cells are associated with disease severity and location and are not affected by medication intake”
  • “Characterization of drug-specific CD4+ T cells in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases”
  • “Deletion of the autophagy-related gene 16 like 1 (Atg16l1) in the myeloid lineage induces systemic inflammation”
  • “Identification of a serum proteomics signature linked with anti-TNF therapy response outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
  • “Protein-Energy Malnutrition Induces Microbiome-Dependent Long-Lasting Changes in Intestinal Epithelial Composition”
  • “The Role Of Sdf2l1 On Intestinal Physiology And Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
  • “Non-canonical STING signaling in intestinal epithelial cells guides DNA damage-driven stem cell function and protects from intestinal carcinogenesis”
  • “An eosinophilic endotype of ulcerative colitis is linked with a more complicated disease phenotype”
  • “Spatial Metabolic Profiles in Ulcerative colitis patients determine response to therapy”
  • “Evaluating tryptophan as a biomarker for treatment success in Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients undergoing therapy”
  • “A multi-omics approach across multiple chronic inflammatory diseases identifies a distinct type-1-interferon endotype of Inflammatory Bowel Disease”.

Remember, here you can find out how our research is structured and how work packages are interconnected.
You can find out more about the Congress, the programme and a wrap-up video on the official website.

Dr Hesham El Abd of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology of the University Hospital Schleswig Holstein with his presentation: Analysing the T cell receptor beta chain repertoire of 2,800 Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients identifies public T cell responses involved in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and quantifies the impact of surgery and therapy on the immune repertoire of IBD patients
Maria Stella De Rocchis from EFCCA presenting miGut-Health leaflets and our Voices from the IBD Community campaign at the EFCCA stand
Dr Sina Hübener from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf with her poster “Influence of a gluten-free dietary intervention on the gut microbiome and inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease: results from murine experiments and protocol of a prospective proof-of-concept human study as part of the miGut-Health project”
Marta Acampora representing the EngageMinds HUB - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore team with the poster “The role of stress in dietary choices and disease outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
Dr Aya Mahdy of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology of the University Hospital Schleswig Holstein with her poster “Crohn’s-associated invariant T Cells are associated with disease severity and location and are not affected by medication intake”
Dr Florian Tran of the University Hospital Schleswig Holstein presenting a poster “A multi-omics approach across multiple chronic inflammatory diseases identifies a distinct type-1-interferon endotype of Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
Strong representation of young researchers from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences: Dr Ugnė Kūlokienė with her poster “The role of caffeine and its metabolites in the modulation of intestinal inflammation and epithelial barrier integrity" and...
Ruta Inčiūraitė presenting “Evaluation of the modulatory potential of polyphenolic compounds on intestinal inflammation at the transcriptomic level”