In the Section on Gastroenterology, faculty members conduct a wide variety of clinical, translational, and molecular research studies. The broad research areas include:

• Colorectal Cancer Screening and Treatment
• Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS): Outcomes and Development of New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Uses 
• Esophageal Disorders and Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) 
• Gastrointestinal Neuromuscular and Motility Disorders 
• Gastrointestinal Oncology 
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease 
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome 
• Liver Disease 
• Nutrition and Obesity 
• Pancreatobiliary Disease
  

Among the ongoing clinical research activities are:

Endoscopic Techniques

Clinical research being carried out by Jason Conway, M.D., and John Gilliam, M.D.

Retrospective Review Of Data Obtained From Double Balloon Enteroscopy Performed From The Oral And Anal Approaches. (Conway) IRB00008808

Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS): Outcomes and Development of New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Uses

Clinical research being carried out by Jason Conway, M.D., Jerry Evans, M.D., and Girish Mishra, M.D.

Performance Of 22 Vs. 25 Gauge Needles During Endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Fine Needle Sampling Of Solid Lesions. (Conway) IRB00006009

Utilization Of Endosoft(TM) Database For Endoscopic Research. (Mishra) IRB00000215

Gastrointestinal Neuromuscular and Motility Disorders

Clinical research being carried out by Kenneth Koch, M.D., John Long, M.D., and Nyree Thorne, M.D.

Nortriptyline For Idiopathic Gastropares. (Koch) IRB00006003

Gastric Emptying Time, Gastric Myoelectrical Activity, and Upper GI Symptoms in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Effects of Aggressive Glucose Control. (Koch) IRB00004957

Understanding The Pathological Basis Of Gastroparesis And Identification Of The Molecular Factors Involved In Its Pathogenesis. (Koch) IRB000003135

Effects of BioDiasSuper on Gastric Emptying and Gastric Myoelectrical Activity after a Standard Meal in Healthy Subjects and Subjects with Functional Dyspepsia. (Koch) IRB00004778

NIH Gastroparesis Clinical Research Consortium: Gastroparesis Registry. (Koch) IRB00001288

Enterra Therapy (Gastric Electrical Stimulation) For The Treatment Of Gastroparesis Refractory To Medical Therapy. (Long) IRB00003537

Diagnostic Performance Of Electrogastrography (EGG) And The Water Load Test (WLT) As Screening Tests For Gastroparesis. (Long) IRB00002864

SmartPill Colonic Transit Time Validation Study in Patients with Chronic Constipation. (Thorne) IRB00008322

Esophageal Disease

Clinical research being carried out by John Long, M.D.

Incidence, Etiology, And Outcome Of Esophaeal Food Impactions In Adults At Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center From 2004 To 2008 (Long). IRB00009012

Gastrointestinal Oncology

Clinical research being carried out by Girish Mishra, M.D.

A Randomized Study Of The Efficacy And Safety Of Oncogel™ Treatment As An Adjunctive Therapy To Systemic Chemotherapy And Concurrent External Beam Radiation Prior To Surgery In Subjects With Localized Or Loco-Regional Esophageal Cancer. (Mishra) IRB00005322 

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Clinical research being carried out by Richard Bloomfeld, M.D.

A Non-Interventional Long-Term Post-Marketing Registry Of Patients Treated With Certolizumab Pegol (Cimzia®) For Crohn's Disease. (Bloomfeld) IRB00009187

A Phase 3, Open Label Study To Determine The Long Term Safety And Efficacy Of Vedolizumab (MLN0002) In Patients With Ulceratvie Colitis And Crohns Disease. (Bloomfeld) IRB00008778

Correlating Clinical Features Of Crohn's Patients With MR Enterography: A Retrospective Examination. (Bloomfeld) IRB00008503

Investigating Natalizumab Through Further Observational Research And Monitoring Register. (Bloomfedl) IRB00008528

A Phase 3, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Blinded, Multicenter Study Of The Induction And Maintenance Of Clinical Response And Remission By MLN002 In Patients With Moderate To Severe Crohn's Disease. (Bloomfeld) IRB00007574

A Phase 2/3 Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo Controlled Double-Blind Study To Evaluate The Safety And Efficacy Of Golimumab Induction Therapy, Administered Subcutaneously In Subjects With Moderately To Severely Active Ulcerative Colitis. (Bloomfeld) IRB00007492

A 5-Year Registry Study Of HUMIRA® (Adalimumab) In Subjects With Moderately To Severely Active Crohn’s Disease (CD). (Bloomfeld) IRB00004422

A Multi-Center National Prospective Study Of Pregnancy And Neonatal Outcomes In Women With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Exposed To Immunomodulators And Biologic Therapy. (Bloomfeld) IRB00002911

A Phase III, Multicenter, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Double-Blind Durability And Retreatment Study To Evaluate The Safety And Efficacy Of Prochymal™ (Ex Vivo Cultured Adult Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells) Intravenous Infusion For The Maintenance And Re-Induction Of Clinical Benefit And Remission In Subjects Experiencing Treatment-Refractory Moderate-To-Severe Crohn’s Disease. (Bloomfeld) IRB 00002910

A Phase III, Multicenter, Placebo Controlled, Randomized, Double-Blind Study To Evaluate The Safety And Efficacy Of Prochymal Intravenous Infusion For The Induction Of Remission In Subjects Experiencing Treatment Refractory Moderate To Severe Crohn’s Disease. (Bloomfeld) IRB00002909

Randomized Controlled Trial Of The Use Of Conjugated Linoleic Acid In Subjects With Crohn’s Disease. IRB00001823

A Pilot Study Of The Effects Of Dietary Soy Supplementation On Crohn’s Disease. (Bloomfeld) IRB00001741

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Clinical research being carried out by Nyree Thorne, M.D.

Utilization of a Database for Research on Unexplained Abdominal Pain. (Thorne) IRB00005290

Liver Disease

Research being carried out by Nathan Shores, M.D., Marina Nunez, M.D., Larry Rudel, Ph.D.

The Relationship Of ACAT 2 Activity To Hepatocyte Lipid Content In Human Liver Tissue. (Shores, Rudel) IRB00006444

Tissue Storage Repository For The Study Of ACAT 2 And Its Role In Hepatic Lipid Storage And Atherosclerosis. (Shores, Rudel) IRB00007116

Quantitative Measurement Of Hepatic Triglyceride Using Computed Tomography. (Shores, Rudel) IRB00010545

Pparα And Pparg Expression In Liver Biopsies From HIV-HCV-Coinfected And HCV-Monoinfected Patients. (Shores, Nunez) IRB00007037

Collection And Storage Of Blood And Liver Tissue Samples For Future Research On Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, And HIV Infections. (Shores, Nunez) IRB00003381

Factors Associated With Transaminase Levels In HIV-HCV-Co-Infection. (Shores, Nunez) IRB00006539

Data Repository For Clinical Research On Hepatitis C And B. (Shores, Nunez) IRB00005154

Nutrition and Obesity

Clinical research being carried out by Richard Weinberg, M.D.

Bitter Taster Status and Nauseau Susceptibility. (Weinberg) IRB00007203

Genetics of Human Lactation. (Weinberg) IRB00002742

Absorption of Long Chain Highly Saturated Fatty Acids. (Weinberg) IRB00001070

Structure and Function of Human Apolipoprotein A-IV. (Weinberg) IRB BG99-332

Pancreatic and Biliary Disease

Clinical research in , being carried out by Paul Dawson, Ph.D.

Mutations in the Ileal Sodium-Dependent Bile Salt Transporter and Pigment Gallstone Formation. (Dawson) IRB00003241