Roughly 2.7 million patients are diagnosed with and living in the US with Inflammatory Bowl Disease (IBD), and that number increases yearly. This disease comes in two forms: Crohn’s disease (patchy inflammation all along the entire digestive tract, even up into the mouth) and Ulcerative Colitis (inflammation in the lower intestine). Both forms have painful flare ups after stretches of no symptoms, resulting in IBD patients being classified as experiencing either “active” or “inactive” disease. There is currently no cure: patients must mitigate their IBD flare ups through medication that suppresses their immune system, and, once the tissue has become necrotic from repeated flare ups,

The Petrey lab is interested in studying how the glycocalyx (the dense layer of glycoproteins and glycolipids coating the outside of our cells) alters during this disease, how platelets interact with components of the glycocalyx during active/inactive IBD, how hyaluronan (HA) receptors change on immune cells during IBD, and many more. In understanding these mechanisms during disease, the lab’s research could result in a future treatment for IBD patients.