The miGut Health Symposium Brings Science Closer to the IBD Community in the Faroe Islands
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, June 2025
The miGut - Health consortium hosted its public event ‘Science Talks to the IBD Community’, at the University of the Faroe Islands, bringing together international researchers, clinicians, and local people to share insights and progress on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) research.
The Faroe Islands, home to just over 50,000 people, are known to have the highest incidence of IBD in the world - with more than 1,000 individuals affected, meaning nearly 1 in every 50 residents live with the disease. This made it especially meaningful to hold the symposium there and connect with Faroese patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, and students as a Faroese IBD cohort is still lacking for research.
The symposium opened with a warm welcome from Dr Andre Franke (UKSH), who introduced the agenda and encouraged an open dialogue between scientists and attendees. Annika Solvara, Director of the Faroese Research Council, offered valuable insights on the unique research environment of the Faroe Islands and its growing role in biomedical research.
Professor Pál Weihe of the National Hospital of the Faroe Islands, affiliated with the University of the Faroe Islands and an internationally renowned expert in toxicology delivered the keynote lecture. His talk explored the health effects of environmental contaminant exposure in the Faroese population, an area with potential links to chronic diseases such as IBD.
Dr Johan Burisch (Hvidovre Hospital, Region H) emphasized the significance of assembling the Faroe Islands’ IBD cohort and presented the research progress achieved to date. Dr Herborg Johannesen, Senior Medical Doctor and Endocrinologist at the National Hospital discussed potential environmental factors influencing thyroid disease (which is also highly present on the Faroe Islands) and parallels that could be made with IBD.
Prof. Ashwin Anantakrishnan (Harvard Medical School) joined online with a keynote presentation titled Nuts and Bolts of IBD Prevention: From Concept to Reality, discussing how genetics, environment, and lifestyle factors interplay in the development of IBD.
The miGut-Health team presented the main research questions the project aims to answer, the ongoing activities, and the progress made so far, which sparked thoughtful questions and engaging discussions with the audience. Three gastroenterologists from the Faroe Islands joined the sessions, contributing to the success of the event. During the meeting, attendees had the opportunity to hear about the specific challenges encountered by the local IBD community. The miGut-Health consortium has already started considering possible solutions and identifying ways to provide meaningful support. The event concluded with a roundtable featuring leading IBD clinicians emphasising the importance of collaboration across disciplines and geographies.
“We are grateful that local patients and healthcare professionals joined us,” said Dr Andre Franke, the coordinator of the miGut - Health project. “Events like this are a great opportunity for patients to get first-hand information on the newest advancements in IBD research but also for us to connect with the community and get more insights.”
The miGut Health project aims to improve early disease prediction, prevention, and gut health for people living with IBD, high-risk individuals, and the general population.
The University of the Faroe Islands kindly hosted both the symposium and the project’s internal progress meeting which took place the next day and focused on the next steps toward achieving the project’s goals. The miGut Health team extends thanks to all participants and partners for their continued dedication and active involvement in this joint mission.
Photo credit: Ranko Gaćeša
