The Gastroenterology Research Laboratory is dedicated to exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying diseases of the digestive system, liver, bile ducts, and pancreas. Using cutting-edge technologies—including Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), DNA Microarray, RNAseq, real-time PCR, and digital PCR—the laboratory employs approaches in genomics, transcriptomics, metagenomics, epigenomics, and cellular biology. Extensive collections of biological samples gathered over the years are utilized in clinical and preclinical studies with translational goals, aiming to deepen understanding of disease development, progression, and treatment responses.
In close collaboration with the hospital’s clinical units, the laboratory’s research focuses on identifying diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers that have the potential to become innovative therapeutic targets. These efforts are aimed at improving current treatments and optimizing management protocols for gastrointestinal diseases. The laboratory's researchers actively participate in several national and international research consortia dedicated to studying inflammatory and neoplastic disorders.
Key research areas include:
- Identifying novel genetic susceptibility variants and their interactions with social and environmental factors.
- Analyzing the expression profiles of coding (mRNA) and non-coding genes (small ncRNA, long ncRNA) and their associations with clinical phenotypes and outcomes in patient tissues and plasma.
- Investigating germline and somatic mutations in susceptibility genes and genes involved in pathogenic mechanisms.
- Evaluating genomic and transcriptomic profiles in liquid biopsies for gastrointestinal cancers, in correlation with diagnostic parameters, staging, and prognostic stratification during treatment.
- Exploring the role of the gut microbiome in disease onset, progression, and treatment response.
- Applying artificial intelligence for multimodal analysis of omics, clinical, and personal device data to construct a multifactorial "interactome" of exogenous and endogenous factors influencing patient outcomes.
- Developing and utilizing murine preclinical models to study cancer biology, tumor progression mechanisms, and responses to chemotherapy regimens.
- Establishing a fecal microbiota transplant program, in collaboration with the National Transplant Center network, to treat severe and recurrent forms of Clostridium difficile colitis.
