IBD Research Unit

Dr. Sarah E. Ferguson, MD FRCSC

Associate Professor

Dr. Sarah Ferguson is a practicing gynecologic oncologist and member of the Princess Margaret Cancer Program with a joint position in the UHN/MSH Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the UHN Department of Surgical Oncology. She completed a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2006. She has made contributions to the area of molecular predictors of outcome in early stage endometrial cancer and has research interest in Lynch Syndrome-associated gynecologic cancers and screening techniques to identify early cancers in unaffected women. Her other research interests include new imaging technologies and surgical techniques to identify metastatic disease in women with gynecologic cancers. Her other clinical and research interests are the late effects of gynecologic cancer treatment on women, including sexuality and body image. She is the Director of Research for the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and the Lead of Research for Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Toronto.  She is also the Ontario Gynecologic Cancer Lead for Cancer Care Ontario.

Centre
Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases

Contact
Associate Professor
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University Health Network and Sinai Health Systems
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Toronto

Zane Cohen, M.D., F.R.C.S.(C)

Director - Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases (ZCC)
Colorectal Surgeon

Zane Cohen obtained his MD degree in 1969 at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and following this he did his general surgical residency in the Gallie Program at the University of Toronto. During this time he spent two years doing transplantation immunological research with Dr. Rudy Falk, and following his general surgical training he spent two years in the United Kingdom. One clinical year was at St. Mark’s Hospital for Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, and another research year was done at the London Hospital in London, England in transplantation immunology. Zane returned to join the staff of Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto and the Division of General Surgery at the Toronto General Hospital in 1977 as a Lecturer. Over the next 12 years he rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. In 1990 Zane Cohen moved to Mount Sinai Hospital to take up the position of Surgeon-in-Chief. He remained as Surgeon-In-Chief until June 30, 2006. In 1999, he was appointed as Chairman of the Division of General Surgery at the University of Toronto, an appointment which he now held until June 30, 2009. He has served as the Chairman of the Promotions Committee for the Department of Surgery from 1996 to 2001. He is an active member of the Senior Advisory Committee and the Finance Committee of the Department of Surgery. Zane Cohen’s clinical interests have been almost entirely in the area of colon and rectal surgery. Zane had the opportunity to train with Professor Nils Kock on three separate occasions, and developed and brought to the university innovative surgical techniques which have helped thousands of patients afflicted with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and colorectal cancer. He has a specific interest in sphincter saving operations, and introduced the procedures of the Kock Pouch and the Pelvic Pouch techniques at the University of Toronto to patients with ulcerative colitis. He also popularized the use of the double-staple technique for low anterior resections within the Division of General Surgery. Zane Cohen was the Co-Founder, along with Philip Gordon, of the Canadian Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and served as its second president. He was instrumental in developing a Colon and Rectal Training Program at the University of Toronto, amongst several of the teaching hospitals. His initial research interests were in the field of intestinal transplantation, and he, along with Dr. Bernard Langer, carried out the first human intestinal transplantation in the cyclosporine era. Zane Cohen has authored over 230 manuscripts and book chapters, mainly in the area of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and colorectal cancer and intestinal transplantation. He has held peer reviewed research grants from all of the major granting agencies for his initial work in intestinal transplantation and his subsequent research work related to outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease. Zane has been an invited speaker world wide, he has an international reputation, and he is held in esteem by many of the general surgical residents, as well as the colorectal residents/fellows that he has trained. He has been recognized for his achievements on many occasions, most recently by the Finkelstein Award for Continued Excellence in Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, the Mentors Award from the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons in 2004, and the Colin R. Woolf Award for Excellence and Innovation in Course Coordination in 2005 for the General Surgery Update Course. He has been honored by Ben Gurion University of the Negev with a gala affair in Toronto attended by over 800 people. Most recently, he has been again honoured with the naming of the Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases. Within this centre are over 40 clinical researchers from medical students to surgical and medical trainees, as well as faculty, who are all involved in IBD and colon cancer research. The Dr. Zane Cohen lectureship has recently been initiated by a group of his colleagues.

Centre Inflammatory Bowel Disease Group (IBD Group) Familial Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry (FGICR) Contact E-mail: Zane.Cohen@SinaiHealth.ca Secretary Rina Berardi Phone: 416-586-4800 ext: 8346 Fax: 416-586-8644 E-mail: Rina.Berardi@SinaiHealth.ca Office Location Mount Sinai Hospital Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Health Complex 451-600 University Avenue Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5 Publications Cosentino JS, Davies RJ, McLeod RS, Cohen Z. Lymphoma following ileal pouch anal anastomosis. Can J Surg. 2009 Aug;52(4):E123-E126. Scarpa M, Victor CJ, O'Connor BI, Cohen Z, McLeod RS. Validation of an English version of the Padova quality of life instrument to assess quality of life following ileal pouch anal anastomosis. J Gastrointest Surg. 2009 Mar;13(3):416-22. Mastracci TM, Cohen Z, Senagore A; Members of the Evidence Based Reviews in Surgery Group. Canadian Association of General Surgeons and American College of Surgeons Evidence-Based Reviews in Surgery. 24. Fast-track programs in colonic surgery. Systematic review of enhanced recovery programmes in colonic surgery. Can J Surg. 2008 Feb;51(1):70-2. Davies RJ, O'Connor BI, Victor C, MacRae HM, Cohen Z, McLeod RS. A prospective evaluation of sexual function and quality of life after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. Dis Colon Rectum. 2008 Jul;51(7):1032-5. Raval MJ, Schnitzler M, O'Connor BI, Cohen Z, McLeod RS. Improved outcome due to increased experience and individualized management of leaks after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. Ann Surg. 2007 Nov;246(5):763-70. Fenech DS, Takahashi T, Liu M, Spencer L, Swallow CJ, Cohen Z, Macrae HM, McLeod RS. Function and quality of life after transanal excision of rectal polyps and cancers. Dis Colon Rectum. 2007 May;50(5):598-603. Hendren SK, Swallow CJ, Smith A, Lipa JE, Cohen Z, MacRae HM, Gryfe R, O'Connor BI, McLeod RS. Complications and sexual function after vaginectomy for anorectal tumors. Dis Colon Rectum. 2007 Jun;50(6):810-6.

Kenneth Croitoru, MDCM, FRCPC

Dr. Kenneth Croitoru joined the Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital in January 2008. He completed medical school at McGill University in 1981 and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology from 1982-1986. He did a post-doctoral MRC Research Fellowship in Mucosal Immunology with Dr. John Bienenstock at McMaster University. On completion of this research training he joined the Division of Gastroenterology at McMaster in 1992 where he went on to serve as Training Program Director and Associate Director of the Division. During this time, he developed his research program with funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research, Canadian Association of Gastroenterology and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada. He held an Ontario Ministry of Health Career Scientist award for 10 years and then a 5 year CCFC IBD Research Scientist Award. He served as the Chair of the CCFC Medical Advisory Board and helped develop the CCFC IBD Research Institute where he served as Chair of the Executive Committee until 2008.
Dr. Croitoru joined the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital as a Clinician Scientist in 2008 and was appointed to the Lunenfeld-Tannenbaum Research Institute. He is also a full Professor of Medicine and Immunology at the University of Toronto, and a faculty member of the Institute of Medical Sciences.
His research is focused on investigating the fundamental mechanisms of intestinal inflammation, in particular the role of T cell effector and regulatory function in the intestinal mucosal in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The goal of his work is to understand how T cells function to maintain intestinal homeostasis in health and what defects in regulatory T cells allow for the breakdown of these mechanisms.

Dr. Croitoru is also Project Leader of, the GEM Project (www.GEMPROJECT.ca) a global clinical study that is coordinated out of the IBD Research Group and Zane Cohen Center at Mount Sinai Hospital. The study is a prospective cohort study of healthy subjects at risk of developing Crohn's disease that explores the Genetic, Environmental and Microbial factors that lead to Cohn's disease. This study has had over $25 million in funding from Crohn's Colitis Canada, CIHR and the Helmsley Charitable Trust. Dr. Croitoru is a hold of a Canada Research Chair in IBD.

Centre
Mount Sinai Hospital
Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) Group

Contact
Phone: 416-586-4800 ext. 7454
Fax: 416-586-4747
Clinic E-mail: DrCroitoru.Clinic@sinaihealth.ca

Administrative Secretary
Alice Trinh
Phone: 416-586-4800 ext. 7454
Fax: 416-586-4747
E-mail: Alice.Trinh@sinaihealth.ca

Office Location
Mount Sinai Hospital
Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Health Centre
437-600 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5G 1X5

Board Certificates
Royal College Certificate in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
Specialist Certificate, Quebec, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
American Board of Internal Medicine Certification

Professional Organizations
American Gastroenterological Association
American Association of Immunologists
Canadian Association of Gastroenterology
Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver
Canadian Medical Association
Canadian Society for Immunology
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada (Professional Member)
Ontario Association of Gastroenterology
Ontario Medical Association
Society for Mucosal Immunology

Publications (10 years)

• Zanello, G., Goethel, A., Forster, K., Geddes, K., Philpott, D.J., Croitoru, K. Nod2 Activates NF-kB in CD4⁺ T cells but its Expression is Dispensable for T cell-Induced Colitis. PloS One 8(12):e82623, 2013.
• Philpott, D.J., Sorbara, M.T., Robertson, S.J., Croitoru, K., Girardin S.E. NOD proteins: regulators of immunity in health and disease. Nature Reviews Immunology 14(1):9-23, 2014.
• Smith, M.I., Turpin, W., Tyler, A.D., Silverberg, M.S., Croitoru, K. Microbiome analysis – from technical advances to biological relevance. F1000Prime Reports 6:51 eCollection, 2014.
• Zanello, G., Kevans, D., Goethel, A., Silverberg, M., Tyler, A., Croitoru K. Genetics and Innate and Adaptive Immunity in IBD. Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop Series 79:41-55, 2014.
• Hirsh, V., Blais, N., Burkes, R., Verma, S., Croitoru, K.Management of EGFR-TKI–Induced Diarrhea. Current Oncology 21(6):329-336, 2014.
• Kevans, D., Turpin, W., Madsen, K., Meddings, J., Shestopaloff, K., Xu, W., Moreno-Hagelsieb, G., Griffiths, A., Silverberg, M.S., Paterson, A., Croitoru, K.; GEM Project. Determinants of intestinal permeability in healthy first-degree relatives of individuals with Crohn's disease. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Journal 21(4):879-87, 2015.
• Luck, H., Tsai, S., Chung, J., Clemente-Casares, X., Ghazarian, M., Revelo, X.S., Lei, H., Luk, C.T., Shi, S.Y., Surendra, A., Copeland, J.K., Ahn, J., Prescott, D., Rasmussen, B.A., Chng, M.H., Engleman, E.G., Girardin, S.E., Lam, T.K., Croitoru, K., Dunn, S., Philpott, D.J., Guttman, D.S., Woo, M., Winer, S., Winer, D.A. Regulation of Obesity-Related Insulin Resistance with Gut Anti-Inflammatory Agents. Cell Metabolism 21(4):527-42, 2015.
• Benchimol, E.I., Manuel, D.G., To, T., Mack, D.R., Nguyen, G.C., Gommerman, J.L., Croitoru, K., Mojaverian, N., Wang, X., Quach, P., Guttmann, A. Asthma, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus, and inflammatory bowel disease amongst South Asian immigrants to Canada and their children: a population-based cohort study. PLoS One 10(4): e0123599, 2015.
• Malhi, G., Thanabalan, R., Croitoru, K., Silverberg, M., Steinhart, A.H., Nguyen, G. Vaccination in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: Attitudes, Knowledge and Uptake. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis 9(6):439-44, 2015.
• Zittan, E., Kelly, O., Burns, J., Stempak, J., Nguyen, G., Croitoru, K., Van Assche, G., Silverberg, M.S., Steinhart, A.H. High Fecal Calprotectin Correlate with Active Colonic Disease but Not with Small Intestinal Crohn's Disease Activity. Gastroenterology, 2015 Apr; 148(4): S-448.
• Murthy, S.K., Steinhart, A.H., Silverberg, M.S., Croitoru, K., Nguyen G.C., Greenberg G.R.Extent of Early Clinical Response to Infliximab Predicts Long-Term Treatment Success in Active Ulcerative Colitis.Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Journal, 2015 Sep; 21(9):2090-6.
• Waterman, M., Knight, J., Dinani, J., Xu, W., Dinani, A., Stempack, J., Croitoru, K., Nguyen, G.C., Cohen, Z., McLeod, R.S., Greenberg, G.R., Steinhart, A.H., Silverberg, M.S. Predictors of Outcome in Ulcerative Colitis. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Journal, 2015 Sep; 21(9):2097-105.
• Kevans, D., Silverberg, M.S., Borowski, K., Griffiths, A., Xu, W., Onay, V., Paterson, A.D., Knight, J., Croitoru, K.; GEM Project. IBD Genetic Risk Profile in Healthy First-Degree Relatives of Crohn's Disease Patients. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. 2016 Feb; 10(2):209-15.
• Zittan, E., Kelly, O.B., Kirsch, R., Milgrom, R., Burns, J., Nguyen, G.C., Croitoru, K., Van Assche, G., Silverberg, M.S., Steinhart, A.H. Low Fecal Calprotectin Correlates with Histological Remission and Mucosal Healing in Ulcerative Colitis and Colonic Crohn's Disease. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Journal. 2016 Mar;22(3):623-30
• Bodea, C.A., Neale, B.M., Ripke, S; International IBD Genetics Consortium, Daly, M.J., Devlin, B., Roeder, K. A Method to Exploit the Structure of Genetic Ancestry Space to Enhance Case-Control Studies. American Journal of Human Genetics. 2016 May 5;98(5):857-68
• Zittan, E., Kabakchiev, B., Milgrom, R., Nguyen, G.C., Croitoru, K., Steinhart, A.H., Silverberg, M.S. Higher Adalimumab Drug Levels are Associated with Mucosal Healing in Patients with Crohn's Disease. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. 2016 May; 10(5):510-5.

• Nguyen, G.C., Croitoru, K., Silverberg, M.S., Steinhart, A.H., Weizman, A.V. Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Is Associated with Worse Adherence to Conventional Therapy: The COMPLIANT Study. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Journal. 2016 Jun;22(6):1412-7.
• Zanello, G., Goethel, A., Rouquier, S., Prescott, D., Robertson, S.J., Maisonneuve, C., Streutker, C., Philpott, D.J., Croitoru, K. The Cytosolic Microbial Receptor Nod2 Regulates Small Intestinal Crypt Damage and Epithelial Regeneration following T Cell-Induced Enteropathy. The Journal of Immunology. 2016 Jul; 197(1):345-55.
• Rivas, M.A., Graham, D., Sulem, P., Stevens, C., Desch, A.N., Goyette, P., Gudbjartsson, D., Jonsdottir, I., Thorsteinsdottir, U., Degenhardt, F., Mucha, S., Kurki, M.I., Li, D., D'Amato, M., Annese, V., Vermeire, S., Weersma, R.K., Halfvarson, J., Paavola-Sakki, P., Lappalainen, M., Lek, M., Cummings, B., Tukiainen, T., Haritunians, T., Halme, L., Koskinen, L.L., Ananthakrishnan, A.N., Luo, Y., Heap, G.A., Visschedijk, M.C.; UK IBD Genetics Consortium; NIDDK IBD Genetics Consortium, MacArthur, D.G., Neale, B.M., Ahmad, T., Anderson, C.A., Brant, S.R., Duerr, R.H., Silverberg, M.S., Cho, J.H., Palotie, A., Saavalainen, P., Kontula, K., Färkkilä, M,, McGovern, D.P., Franke, A., Stefansson, K., Rioux, J.D., Xavier, R.J., Daly, M.J., Barrett, J., de Lane, K., Edwards, C., Hart, A., Hawkey, C., Jostins, L., Kennedy, N., Lamb, C., Lee, J., Lees, C., Mansfield, J., Mathew, C., Mowatt, C., Newman, B., Nimmo, E., Parkes, M., Pollard, M., Prescott, N., Randall, J., Rice, D., Satsangi, J., Simmons, A., Tremelling, M., Uhlig, H., Wilson, D., Abraham, C., Achkar, J.P., Bitton, A., Boucher, G., Croitoru, K., Fleshner, P., Glas, J., Kugathasan, S., Limbergen, J.V., Milgrom, R., Proctor, D., Regueiro, M., Schumm, P.L., Sharma, Y., Stempak, J.M., Targan, S.R., Wang, M.H. A protein-truncating R179X variant in RNF186 confers protection against ulcerative colitis. Nature Communications. 2016 Aug 9; 7(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12342
• Zittan, E., Milgrom, R., Ma, G.W., Wong-Chong, N., O?Connor, B., McLeod, R.S., MacRae, H.M., Greenberg, G.R., Nguyen, G.C., Croitoru, K., Steinhart, A.H., Cohen, Z., Silverberg, M.S. Preoperative Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis Is Not Associated with an Increased Risk of Infectious and Noninfectious Complications After Ileal Pouch-anal Anastomosis. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Journal. 2016 Oct; 22(10), 2442-2447. https://doi.org/10.1097/MIB.0000000000000919
• Turpin, W., Espin-Garcia, O., Xu, W., Silverberg, M.S., Kevans, D., Smith, M.I., Guttman, D.S., Griffiths, A., Panancionne, R., Otley, A., Xu, L., Shestopaloff, K., Moreno-Hagelsieb, G., The GEM Project Research Consortium, Paterson, A.D., Croitoru, K. Association of Host Genome with Intestinal Microbial Composition in a Large Healthy Cohort. Nature Genetics. 2016 Nov; 48(11):1413-1417. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3693
• Zittan, E., Kabakchiev, B., Kelly, O.B., Milgrom, R., Nguyen, G.C., Croitoru, K., Steinhart, A.H., Silverberg, M.S. Development of the Harvey-Bradshaw Index-pro (HBI-PRO) Score to Assess Endoscopic Disease Activity. Crohn’s Disease Journal of Crohn's and Colitis. 2016 Dec; 6 jjw200. doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjw200. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3693
• Rumman, A., Candia, R., Sam, J., Croitoru, K., Silverberg, M., Steinhart, H., Nguyen, G.C. Public versus private drug insurance and outcomes of patients requiring biologic therapies for inflammatory bowel disease. Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017 Jan; 2017(Article ID 7365937). https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7365937
• Turpin, W., Bedrani, L., Espin-Garcia, O., Xu, W., Silverberg, M.S, Smith, M.I., Guttman, D., Griffiths, A., Moayyedi, P., Panaccione, R., Huynh, H., Steinhart, H., Aumais, G., Shestopaloff, K.,Dieleman, L.A., Turner, D., CCC IBD GEM Project research team, Paterson, A.D., Croitoru, K. FUT2 genotype and secretory status are not associated with fecal microbial composition and inferred function in healthy subjects. Gut Microbes. 2018 Feb; 1-12. 9(4), 357-368. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2018.1445956
• Turpin, W., Goethel, A., Bedrani, L., Croitoru, K. Determinants of IBD heritability: genes, bugs and more. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. 2018 March; 24(6): 1133-1148. https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izy085

• Liu, J., Nicum, S., Reichardt, P., Croitoru, K., Illek, B., & Schmidinger, M., Rogers, C., Whalen, C., Jayson, G. Assessment and management of diarrhea following VEGF receptor TKI treatment in patients with ovarian cancer. Gynecologic Oncology. 2018 April; 150(1), 173-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygyno.2018.03.058
• Goethel, A., Croitoru, K., & Philpott, D. The interplay between microbes and the immune response in inflammatory bowel disease. J Physiol. 2018 May 28; 596(17), 3869-3882. doi: 10.1113/JP275396.
• Wang, J., Kurilshikov, A., Radjabzadeh, D., Turpin, W., Croitoru, K., & Bonder, M. Jackson, M., Medina-Gomez, C., Frost, F., Homuth, G., Rühlemann, M., Hughes, D., MiBioGen Consortium Initiative (2018), Timpson, N., Franke, A., Wijmenga, C., Meyer, K., Kacprowski, T., Franke, L., Paterson, A.D., Raes, J., Kraaij, R., Zhernakova, A. Meta-analysis of human genome-microbiome association studies: The MiBioGen consortium initiative. Microbiome. 8 June 2018: 6(1). doi: 10.1186/s40168-018-0479-3
• Zezos, P., Kabakchiev, B., Weizman, A. V., Nguyen, G. C., Narula, N., Croitoru, K., Steinhart, A. H. & Silverberg, M. S. (2018). Ulcerative Colitis Patients Continue to Improve Over the First Six Months of Vedolizumab Treatment: 12-Month Clinical and Mucosal Healing Effectiveness. Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, 3(2), 74-82. doi: 10.1093/jcag/gwy065
• Radhakrishnan, D., Guttmann, A., To, T., Reisman1, J.J., Knight, B.D., Mojaverian, N., Manuel, D.G., Gommerman, J.L., Croitoru, K., Benchimol, E.I. Generational patterns of asthma incidence among immigrants to Canada over two decades: A population-based cohort study. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 2019 Feb; 16(2) 248-257. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201803-187OC.
• Weizman, A.V., Sharma, R., Afzal, N.M., Xu, W., Walsh, S., Stempak, J.M., Nguyen, G.C., Croitoru, K., Steinhart, A.H., Silverberg, M.S. Stricturing and Fistulizing Crohn’s Disease Is Associated with Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor-Induced Psoriasis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 2018; 63 (9), 2430-2438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-018-5096-2
• Espin-Garcia, O., Croitoru, K., Xu, W. A Finite Mixture Model for X-Chromosome Association with Emphasis on Microbiome Data Analysis. Genet. Epidemiol. 2019 Jan 18; 43(4), 427-439. doi:
• Goethel, A., Turpin, W., Rouquier, S., Zanello, G., Robertson, S.J., Streutker, C., Philpott, D.J., Croitoru, K. Nod2 Influences Microbial Resilience and Susceptibility to Colitis Following Early Life Antibiotic Exposure. Mucosal Immunology. 2019 Jan 16; 12(3), 720-732. doi: 10.1038/s41385-018-0128-y
• Tandon, P., Huang, V., Jaffer, N., Kirsch, R., Croitoru, K. A Rare Presentation of Hypovolemic Shock Secondary to Whipple’s Disease. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 Jan 28; 31(5), 642-645.doi: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000001363
• Robertson, S., Lemire, P., Maughan, H., Goethel, A., Turpin, W., Bedrani, L., Croitoru, K., Girardin, S., Philpott, D.,Comparison of co-housing and littermate methods for microbiota standardization in mouse models.Cell Reports. 2019 May 7; 27(6), 1910-1919.e2.doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.04.023.
• Turpin, W., Kelly, O., Borowski, K., Boland, K.,Tyler, A., Cohen, Z., Croitoru, K., Silverberg, M. Mucosa associated microbiota in ileoanal pouches may contributes to clinical symptoms, particularly stool frequency, independent of endoscopic disease activity. Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology. 2019 May 22; 10(5).doi: 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000038.
• Turpin, W., Espin-Garcia, O., Bedrani, L., Madsen, K., Meddings, J., Raygoza Garay, J., Silverberg, M., Smith, M., Griffiths, A., Moayyedi, P., Marshall, J., Mack, D., Seidman, E., Ropeleski, M., Feagan, B., Jacobson, K., Turner, D., Walters, T., Paterson, A.; CCC GEM Project Research Consortium, Xu, W., Croitoru, K.Analysis of Genetic Association of Intestinal Permeability in Healthy First-degree Relatives of Patients with Crohn's Disease. Inflammatory Bowel Disease. 2019 Jun 28; 25(11), 1796-1804.doi: 10.1093/ibd/izz116
• Ho, S., Lewis, J., Mayer, E., Plevy, S., Chuang,E., Rappaport, S., Croitoru, K., Korzenik, J., Krischer, J., Hyams, J., Judson, R., Kellis, M., Jerrett, M., Miller, G., Grant, M., Shtraizent, N., Honig, G., Hurtado-Lorenzo, A., Wu, G. Challenges in IBD Research: Environmental Triggers. IBD Journal, June 2019; 25(S2), S13-S23.
• Romagnoni, A., Jégou, S., Van Steen, Wainrib, G., Hugot, JP. Comparative performances of machine learning methods for classifying Crohn Disease patients using genome-wide genotyping data. Scientific Reports. 2019 Jul 17; 9(1), 1-18. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46649-z.
• Boland, K., Greener, T., Kabakchiev, B., Stempak, J.Tessolini, J., Li, R., Soriano, J., Croitoru, K., Nguyen, G., Steinhart, A.H., Weizman, A., Silverberg, M. Identification of target golimumab levels in maintenance therapy of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis associated with mucosal healing, IBD J.17 September 2019; 26(5), 766-773. https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izz199
• Boland, K., Bedrani, L, Turpin, W., Kabakchiev, B., Stempak, J., Borowski, K., Nguyen, G., Steinhart, A.H., Smith, M., Croitoru, K., Silverberg, M.S. Persistent Diarrhea in Patients With Crohn's Disease After Mucosal Healing Is Associated With Lower Diversity of the Intestinal Microbiome and Increased Dysbiosis.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Mar 24; 19(2), 296-304. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2020.03.044. 
• Turpin, W., Lee, S.H., Raygoza Garay, J.A., Madsen, K.L., Meddings, J.B., Bedrani, L., Power, N., Espin-Garcia, O., Xu, W., Smith, M.I., Griffiths, A.M., Moayyedi, P., Turner, D., Seidman, E.G., Steinhart, H.A., Marshall, J.K., Jacobson, K., Mack, D., Huynh, H., Bernstein, C.N., Paterson, A.D., Croitoru, K.; CCC GEM Project Research Consortium. Increased Intestinal Permeability is Associated with Later Development of Crohn's Disease, Gastroenterology. 2020 Dec; 159(6), 2092-2100. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.
• Turpin, W. Bedrani, L., Espin-Garcia, O., Xu, W., Silverberg, M.S., Smith, M.I., Raygoza Garay, J.A., Lee, S.H., Guttman, D.S., Griffiths, A., Moayyedi, P., Panaccione, R., Huynh, H., Steinhart, H.A., Aumais, G., Dieleman, L.A., Turner, D., Paterson, A.D., Croitoru,K. Associations of NOD2 polymorphisms with Erysipelotrichaceae in stool of in healthy First Degree Relatives of Crohn’s Disease subjects. BMC Medical Genetics. 2020 Oct 15; 21(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12881-020-01115-w.
• Irrazabal, T., Thakur, B. K., Croitoru, K. & Martin, A. Preventing Colitis-associated Colon Cancer with antioxidants: A systematic Review. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2021 Jan 5; 11(4), 1177-1197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmgh.2020.12.013.
• Kurilshikov, A., Medina-Gomez, C., Bacigalupe, R., Radjabzadeh, D., Wang, J., Demirkan, A., Le Roy, C. I., Raygoza Garay J. A., Finnicum, C. T., Liu, X., Zhernakova, D.V., Bonder, M. J., Hansen, T. H., Frost, F., Ruhlemann, M. C., Turpin, W., Moon, J., Kim, H., Lull, K., Barkan, E., Shah, S. A., Fornage, M., Szopinska-Tokov, J., Wallen, Z. D., Borisevich, D., Agreus, L., Andreasson, A., Bang, C., Bedrani, L., Bell, J. T., Bisgaard, H., Boehnke, M., Boomsma, D. I., Burk, R.D., Claringbould, A., Croitoru, K., Davies, G. E., Van Duijn, C. M., Duijts, L., Falony, G., Fu, J., Van der Graaf, A., Hansen, T., Homuth, G., Hughes, D. A., Ijzerman, R. G., Jackson, M. A., Jaddoe, V. W. V., Joossens, M., Jorgensen, T., Keszthelyi, D., Knight, R., Laakso, M., Laudes, M., Launer, L. J., Lieb, W., Lusis, A. J., Masclee, A. A. M., Moll, H. A., Mujagic, Z., Qibin, Q., Rothschild, D., Shin, H., Sorensen, S. J., Steves, C. J., Thorsen, J., Timpson, N. J., Tito, R. Y., Vieira-Silva, S., Volker, U., Volzke, H., Vosa, U., Wade, K. H., Walter, S., Watanabe, K., Weiss, S., Weiss, F. U., Weissbrod, O., Westra, H., Willemsen, G., Payami, H., Jonkers, D. M. A. E., Arias Vasquez, A., De Geus, E. J. C., Meyer, K. A., Stokholm, J., Segal, E., Org, E., Wijmenga, C., Kim, H., Kaplan, R. C., Spector, T. D., Uitterlinden, A. G., Rivadeneira, F., Franke, A., Lerch, M. M., Franke, L., Sanna, S., D’Amato, M., Pedersen, O., Paterson, A. D., Kraaij, R., Raes, J., Zhernakova, A. Large-scale association analyses identify host factors influencing human gut microbiome composition. Nature Genetics. 2021 Jan 18; 53, 156-165. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-020-00763-1.
• Copeland, J. K.,Chao, G., Vanderhout, S., Acton, E., Wang, P. W., Benchimol, E. I., Sohami, A. E., Croitoru, K., Gommerman, J. L., Guttman, D. S., & the GEMINI Research Team. The Impact of Migration on the Gut Metagenome of South Asian Canadians. Gut Microbes. 2021 Jan; 13(1), 1-29. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1902705.
• Power, N., Turpin, W., Espin-Garcia, O., Smith, M. I., The CCC GEM Project Research Consortium, Croitoru, K. Serum zonulin measured by commercial kit fails to with physiologic measures of altered gut permeability in first degree relatives of Crohn’s disease patients. Frontiers in Physiology. 2021 Mar 25; 12, 334. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.645303.
• Galipeau HJ, Caminero A, Turpin W, Bermudez-Brito M, Santiago A, Libertucci J, Constante M, Raygoza Garay JA, Rueda G, Armstrong S, Clarizio A, Smith MI, Surette MG, Bercik P; CCC Genetics, Environmental, Microbial Project Research Consortium, Croitoru K, Verdu EF. Novel Fecal Biomarkers That Precede Clinical Diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis. Gastroenterology. 2021 Apr;160(5):1532-1545. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.12.004. Epub 2020 Dec 10.

• Lee SH, Turpin W, Espin-Garcia O, Raygoza Garay JA, Smith MI, Leibovitzh H, Goethel A, Turner D, Mack D, Deslandres C, Cino M, Aumais G, Panaccione R, Jacobson K, Bitton A, Steinhart AH, Huynh HQ, Princen F, Moayyedi P, Griffiths AM, Silverberg MS, Paterson AD, Xu W, Croitoru K; Crohn’s and Colitis Canada Genetics Environment Microbial Project Research Consortium. Anti-Microbial Antibody Response is Associated With Future Onset of Crohn's Disease Independent of Biomarkers of Altered Gut Barrier Function, Subclinical Inflammation, and Genetic Risk. Gastroenterology. 2021 Jul 20:S0016-5085(21)03243-1. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.07.009. Epub ahead of print.
• Torres J, Halfvarson J, Rodríguez-Lago I, Hedin CR, Jess T, Dubinsky M, Croitoru K, & Colombel J-F. Results of the Seventh Scientific Workshop of ECCO: Precision Medicine in IBD—Prediction and Prevention of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis. 2021 Mar; 15(9): 1443–1454. https://doi.org/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjab048
• Currie E, Coburn B, Porfilio EA, Lam P, Rojas OL, Novak J, Yang S, Chowdhury R, Ward LA, Wang PW, Khaleghi K, An J, Crome SQ, Hladunewich MA , Barbour SJ, Cattran DC, Parekh RS, Licht C, John, R, Kaul R, Croitoru K, Gray-Owen SD, Guttman DS, Gommerman JL and Reich HN.Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy is characterized by anti-commensal humoral immune responses. J Clinical Investigation, Insight,Mar 8, 2022;7(5):e141289. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.141289.PMID: 35133979.
• Turpin W, Dong M, Sasson G, Raygoza Garay JA, Espin-Garcia O, Lee SH, Neustaeter A, Smith MI, Leibovitzh H, Guttman DS, Goethel A, Griffiths AM, Huynh HQ, Dieleman LA, Panaccione R, Steinhart AH, Silverberg MS, Aumais G, Jacobson K, Mack D, Murthy SK, Marshall JK, Bernstein CN, Abreu MT, Moayyedi P, Paterson AD; Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (CCC) Genetic, Environmental, Microbial (GEM) Project Research Consortium, Xu W, Croitoru K. Mediterranean-Like Dietary Pattern Associations With Gut Microbiome Composition and Subclinical Gastrointestinal Inflammation.Gastroenterology. 2022 Sep;163(3):685-698. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2022.05.037.
• Leibovitzh H, Lee SH, Xue M, Raygoza Garay JA, Hernandez-Rocha C, Madsen KL, Meddings JB, Guttman DS, Espin-Garcia O, Smith MI, Goethel A, Griffiths AM, Moayyedi P, Steinhart AH, Panancionne R, Huynh H, Jacobson K, Aumais G, Mack DR, Abreu M, Bernstein CN, Marshall JK, Turner D, Xu W; CCC GEM Project Research Consortium, Turpin W, Croitoru K. Altered gut microbiome composition and function are associated with gut barrier dysfunction in healthy relatives of patients with Crohn's disease. Gastroenterology. 2022 Jul 15: 163(5):163(5):1364-1376.e10. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2022.07.004.
• Livanos AE, Dunn A, Fischer J, Ungaro RC, Turpin W, Lee SH, Rui S, Del Valle DM, Jougon JJ, Martinez-Delgado G, Riddle MS, Murray JA, Laird RM, Torres J, Agrawal M, Magee JS, Dervieux T, Gnjatic S, Sheppard D, Sands BE, Porter CK, Croitoru K, Petralia F; CCC-GEM Project Research Consortium; OSCCAR Consortium; Colombel JF, Mehandru S. Anti-integrin ?v?6 autoantibodies are a novel biomarker that antedate ulcerative colitis. Gastroenterology. 2023 Jan 9: S0016-5085(23)00010-0. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2022.12.042. Epub ahead of print.
• Leibovitzh H, Lee SH, Raygoza Garay JA, Espin-Garcia O, Xue M, Neustaeter A, Goethel A, Huynh HQ, Griffiths AM, Turner D, Madsen KL, Moayyedi P, Steinhart AH, Silverberg MS, Deslandres C, Bitton A, Mack DR, Jacobson K, Cino M, Aumais G, Bernstein CN, Panaccione R, Weiss B, Halfvarson J, Xu W, Turpin W, Croitoru K; Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (CCC) Genetic, Environmental, Microbial (GEM) Project Research Consortium. Immune response and barrier dysfunction-related proteomic signatures in preclinical phase of Crohn's disease highlight earliest events of pathogenesis. Gut. 2023 Feb 14:gutjnl-2022-328421. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2022-328421. Epub ahead of print.
• Raygoza Garay JA, Turpin W, Lee SH, Smith MI, Goethel A, Griffiths AM, Moayyedi P, Espin-Garcia O, Abreu M, Aumais GL, Bernstein CN, Biron IA, Cino M, Deslandres C, Dotan I, El-Matary W, Feagan B, Guttman DS, Huynh H, Dieleman LA, Hyams JS, Jacobson K, Mack D, Marshall JK, Otley A, Panaccione R, Ropeleski M, Silverberg MS, Steinhart AH, Turner D, Yerushalmi B, Paterson AD, Xu W; CCC GEM Project Research Consortium; Croitoru K. Gut Microbiome Composition is associated with future onset of Crohn's Disease in Healthy First-Degree Relatives. Gastroenterology. 2023 May 30:S0016-5085(23)00805-3. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2023.05.032. Online ahead of print.

Tae Hart, PhD

Associate Scientific Staff

Dr. Tae Hart’s research centers on psychological factors associated with adjustment to illness in chronically-ill individuals and their spouses/partners. Primarily, Dr. Hart’s work has investigated quality of life, psychological distress, and symptom burden in patients who have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.  Dr. Hart currently has a grant funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research to examine physical and psychological health and quality of life in long-term survivors of colorectal cancer who are participants in the Ontario Familial Colorectal Cancer Registry.  Dr. Hart has expanded her program of research to examine the psychological impact of having Lynch syndrome and factors involved in managing risks associated with Lynch syndrome as well as other familial cancers (i.e., familial gastric cancer).

Centre Mount Sinai Hospital Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases Contact E-mail: ZaneCohenCentre.MSH@SinaiHealth.ca Publications Hart, SL, Hoyt, MA, Diefenbach M, Anderson, DR, Kilbourn, KM, Craft, LL, Steel, JL, Cuijpers P, Mohr DC, Berendsen, M, Spring, B, Stanton AL. (2012). Meta-analysis of the efficacy of psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic interventions for depressive symptoms in adults diagnosed with cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 104(13), 990-1004. Hart, SL, Charles, ST (2012). Negative affect and appraisals about cancer: Application of strength and vulnerability integration (SAVI). Health Psychology. [Epub ahead of print]. Kowalkowski, M.A., Hart, S.L., Du, X.L., Baraniuk, S., Latini, D.M. (2012). Cancer perceptions:  Implications from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey. Journal of Cancer Survivorship. DOI: 10.1007/s11764-012-0217y [Epub ahead of print]. Hart SL, Torbit, LA,  Crangle, CJ,  Esplen, MJ, Holter, S.,  Semotiok, K.,  Borgida, A.,  Ardiles, P.,  Rothenmund, H., & Gallinger, S. (2011). Moderators of cancer-related distress and worry after a pancreatic cancer genetic counselling and screening intervention.  Psycho-Oncology. doi: 10.1002/pon.2026. [Epub ahead of print] Wang JY, Hart SL, Wilkowski KS, Lee JW, Delmotte EC, del Rosario KM, del Rosario AS, Varma MG. (2011). Gender-specific differences in pelvic organ function after proctectomy for inflammatory bowel disease. Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, 54, 66-76