Partners
Örebro University
Örebro University’s research spans no less than 36 different subjects, across the humanities and social sciences, medicine and health, and science and technology fields. At the School of Medical Sciences, research and education is offered within a number of specialities. The medical research is primarily patient-oriented and encompasses studies of common diseases, focusing on everything from genetic and molecular aspects to pathophysiology, symptoms and treatment. The school host a number of strong research environments and groups, were Gastrointestinal research is one of the focus areas.
The Örebro Team
| Name | Postition | Role in project |
| Jonas Halfvarson |
Professor at School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University and Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Department of Internal Medicine, |
Coordinator, Work Package leader (2 and 3) |
| Martin Rejler | Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist at Höglandssjukhuset Eksjö | Scientific Coordinator |
| Åsa Kälvesten | Department for Clinical Trials at Clinical Research Centre , Örebro University Hospital | Clinical Project Manager |
| Dirk Repsilber | Professor at School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University | Work Package leader (4), Data Manager |
| Shoaib Bakhtyar | Research Data Administrator | Research Data Administrator |
| Anette Oskarsson | Project Coordinator | Administrative Coordinator |
Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo
Inflammatory bowel disease research group
Group leader Marte Lie Høivik
The main focus in the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research group is clinical epidemiology, prognostic research and patient-reported outcomes research within IBD Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis). We organise and conduct large population-based cohort studies as well as local interventional and quality studies, and we use nationwide patient registries.
The IBD research group has a strong clinical affiliation and a broad network of collaborators in several research fields including epidemiology, health economy, biostatistics and medical informatics, patient reported outcomes research, study of the microbiome, genetics and nutrition.
Over the last years we have had a special interest in the changes in IBD treatment patterns, including the introduction and use of new targeted therapies at local, regional and national level.
Genomics and Metagenomics in Inflammatory Disorders
Group leader Johannes R. Hov
The projects in the genomics and metagenomics group aim to characterize and understand how alterations in the human genome and the gut microbial flora influence disease. We do this by applying modern genotyping and sequencing technologies, as well as metabolomics.
The main current interest of the group is the role of the gut microbiota in multiple inflammatory disease phenotypes, including primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and intestinal diseases, immunodeficiencies (HIV and common variable immunodeficiency) as well as cardiovascular diseases. After an initial phase of defining the gut microbiota in inflammatory diseases, the main focus is now directed towards "Clinical microbiota medicine", that is, studies of the gut microbial content and function gut in human disease – and how the new knowledge can be applied clinically.
Associate professor at the University of Oslo (UiO) Marte Lie Høivik, Senior consultant at the Department of Gastroenterology, Head of the IBD research group at Oslo University hospital (OUH) , principal investigator of the ongoing IBSEN III study and partner in the NORDTREAT. She has broad experience in IBD epidemiology and registry research and has over the last year had a special focus on the changes in IBD treatment patterns, including the introduction and use of new targeted therapies at local, regional and national level. Høivik is partner and head of WP1 in NORDTREAT.
Professor at UiO Johannes R Hov at Norwegian PSC Research Center (NoPSC) and Senior consultant at Section of Gastroenterology. Hov holds a PhD in genetics (2011). He was awarded a Young Research Talent grant (Frimedbio) from the Norwegian Research Council in 2014, and in 2018 he received an ERC Starting Grant of 1.5 mill Euro. Hov has built up the microbiota-related research activity at OUH, and he is co-founder of a microbiota research network and an annual national conference on microbiota (from 2014). He is also leading a strategic research area on Personalized microbiota therapy in clinical medicine (Funded by OUH from 2019) and deputy leader of ReMicS (Regional research network for Microbiota Science), funded by Helse Sør-Øst 2018. Hov is partner and co-head of WP3 with main responsibility for the microbiota research.
Professor at UiO Bjørn Moum, is Head of the research section at Department of Gastroenterology, OUH, and is principal investigator of the IBSEN study, a population based IBD inception cohort, so far prospectively followed for 20 years. Providing important knowledge on the natural disease course, prognostic factors, risk of cancer and mortality, as well as on the psychosocial and economic impact of the disease, the study is highly acknowledged internationally as a gold standard of epidemiological IBD research. More than 100 international publications, 11 finalized PhD-theses and four in progress have been based on data from the IBSEN study. Moum is partner and member of WP5.
Associate professor at UiO Randi Opheim, nurse specialist, PhD, she is member of the steering committee, and leader of WP PROM in IBSEN III. She is member of the IBD Research Group at OUH and member of the Advisory Council for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Health South East. She has extensive clinical and research experience in IBD, and expertise in PROM research. Opheim is member of WP1 and the Ethics committee.
Vendel A. Kristensen, MD, PhD, senior consultant and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Gastroenteorlogy, OUH and currently acting head of Unger-Vetlesen Institute, Lovisenberg. She holds a PhD in the use of f-calprotectin in IBD. She is a member of the steering group of IBSEN III and is also involved in other IBD projects, such as Serological biomarkers in the IBSEN cohort (an IBD cohort followed prospectively for more than 20 years), the BIOSTOP study, the NORDTREAT study, as well as other research projects within achalasia and coeliac disease. Kristensen is member of WP1.
Asle W.Medhus, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, OUH, has a broad scientific background in the field of gastroenterology including IBD, epidemiology, neurogastroenterology and registry studies. Furthermore, he has a degree in economics and administration, as well as comprehensive experience with planning and organizational work at different levels in health organizations and hospitals. Medhus is local PI for the NORDTRAT trial at OUH.
Morten Isaksen, PhD, earned his doctorate in Biotechnology from the University of Oslo. As part of his doctorate, he was visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, and at The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. He has been in involved in the microbiome field for more than a decade, acting as consultant for many commercial biotech companies, and established and run several biotech companies in Norway and the UK. Most recently, Dr. Isaksen, founded and was the CEO of Genetic Analysis from 2008 to 2013, and in 2016 founded and is currently the CEO of Bio-Me.
University Hospital of Southern Jutland - Odense Universitetshospital - Nordic Bioscience A/S
Hospital of Southern Jutland and Odense University Hospital are Hospitals situated in the Region of Southern Denmark.
Partners in Denmark
| Name | Position | Role in project | E-mail adress |
| Vibeke Andersen | Professor, consultant in gastroenterology | Leader of WP3, Local PI, Hospital of Southern Jutland | va@rsyd.dk |
| Jens Kjeldsen | Professor, consultant in gastroenterology | IBD expert, Local PI, Odense University Hospital | |
| Mads Thomassen | Molecular biologist | Genetic analyses | Mads.Thomassen@rsyd.dk |
| David Ellinghaus | Assosiated Professor | Genetic analyses | dellinghaus@health.sdu.dk |
| Robin Christensen | Professor | Statistics and study design | robin.christensen@regionh.dk |
| Berit l. Heitmann | Professor | Lifestyle analyses | berit.lilienthal.heitmann@regionh.dk |
| Signe Bek Sørensen | Post Doc | Study coordinator | Signe.bek.sorensen@rsyd.dk |
| Joachim Høg Mortensen | Senior researcher | Extra-cellular matrix analyses | |
| Kristian Andersen | PhD student | PhD student |
Link to webpage (University Hospital of Southern Jutland)
Link to webpage (Odense University Hospital)
Link to webpage (Nordic Bioscience A/S)
Landspitali- The National University Hospital of Iceland
Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland is the leading hospital in Iceland and the largest workplace for employees in health care. It is funded by the Ministry of Welfare, supervised by the Directorate of Health and provides specialised and general care and has the capacity of approx. 700 beds.
The main role of Landspitali is threefold; service to patients, teaching and training of clinical staff and scientific research. The hospital offers diverse clinical services in outpatient clinics, day patient units, inpatient wards, critical care units, clinical laboratories and other divisions.
Its purpose is to supply health service of the highest quality, be competitive in world wide respective and it emphasizes on compassion, progress, safety and professionalism.
The two main areas are at Hringbraut and at Fossvogur.
The University of Iceland is a research university and places great emphasis on quality in research. The University operates dozens of research institutions and centres, which are the venue for diverse research in various fields. Leading Icelandic scientists take part in research at the University, and each day strong innovative work takes place at the University of Iceland.
The University of Iceland is a large and far reaching institution. Seven study centres connected to the University are operated in rural areas; many of these attend to research based on localised knowledge. The University considers itself responsible for strengthening academia and research everywhere in the country. Consequently, this aspect of the University's operations is growing rapidly.
Partners in Iceland
| Name | Position | Role in project |
| Einar Stefán Björnsson | Professor at School of Medical Sciences, Iceland University and Chief of the Department of Gastroenterology of the Iceland University Hospital |
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| Lóa Guðrún Davíðsdóttir | PhD, Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Department of Gastroenterology of Iceland University Hospital | Coordinator |
| Magdalena Sigurðar dóttir | Nurse at the Department of Gastroenterology in Iceland University Hospital | Study nurse |
| Kjartan Örvar | Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Department of Gastroenterology of Iceland University Hospital |
Linköping University
In close collaboration with society and the business world, Linköping University (LiU) conducts world-leading, boundary-crossing research in fields including materials science, IT and hearing. The university, with 32,000 students and 4,000 employees in four faculties, offers many innovative educational programmes with a clear vocational focus, leading to qualification as, for example, doctors, teachers, economists and engineers.
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences engages in a broad range of scientific activities ranging from basic biomedical and experimental clinical research to applied clinical studies and education and research within the fields of medicine, nursing, and other health sciences. With its main campus built up around Linköping University Hospital, the Faculty offers close links between basic and applied research teams, which facilitate interdisciplinary and translational research in areas such as neuroscience and psychiatry, imaging, cancer, cardiology and circulation, and inflammation. Research in inflammatory bowel diseases has for a long time been one of the strong areas in GI research at LiU.
The Linköping Team
| Name | Position | Role in project |
| Johan D Söderholm, MD PhD | Professor of Surgery, Linköping University, and Senior Consultant Colorectal Surgery, Linköping University Hospital | WorkP leader |
| Henrik Hjortswang, MD PhD | Associate professor, Senior Consultant Gastroenterology, Head of Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Linköping University Hospita | IBD expert, Local PI Linköping University Hospital |
| Åsa Keita, PhD | Associate professor, Linköping University | Scientific coordinator, protein and image analysis |