Inflammatory Bowel Disease Centre

May 11 brought tulips blooming throughout Ottawa and Gnomes to the CHEO IBD Centre IBD Youth Gut Together held at the University of Ottawa!

A record number of families were part of a fun, educational, interactive morning with the IBD G-nomes. The VIPs took their friends and families down the garden path to meet Gnomes and make friends along the way. Everyone participated at the station stops guided by our leader Gnomes Gillian and Nathan.

• Happy and I Gnome It – Photo Booth with Richard
• G-nome Jeopardy – Little Gnome Facts with Shelley & Lynn
• No Gnome-sense Endoscopy with Olympus, Dr. Stanisz, Dr. Jimenez
• Go Big or Go Gnome – Mini Lab with James & Alex
• Metabo-gnomics -  Deciphering the language of gut microbes with Peter & Kenny
• Gut Garden Gnome Guardian Microbes with Faiha & Sasanka
• Getting to Gnome You – Gnomies with Krystel
• Happy to Gnome You – Guardian Gnomes with Emily

Videos

• IBD Youth Gut Together Video
• IBD Youth Gut Together Song Video
• IBD Youth Gut Together Summary Video

Photos

• IBD Youth Gut Together We have lots of Photos!
• IBD Youth Gut Together Gnome Pics!

May 13 had perfect weather for Youth Gut Together (YGT) space travel. Exploring space reminds us in many ways of the science of the human gut. Both are dark, mysterious and prone to potential hazards. However, as we learn new ways to investigate and make new discoveries, there are wondrous possibilities we are just beginning to imagine. So whether you explored the IBD labs on the Enterprise Tour or visited Galactic Genomes, we hope you learned more about our guts and what the CHEO IBD Centre team and our IBD scientist colleagues at uOttawa are doing to try to preserve human health and think about what could be next.

Interesting facts we shared at the event

Galactic Genomes

A critical part of IBD research is finding associations between the microbes in a person’s gut and their disease. Based on the presence of good and bad microbes in a microbiome, we are learning how to treat each patient better. While DNA reading technologies enable us to profile ALMOST all the microbes in the gut, some microbes are missing and are waiting to be discovered. "Galactic Genomes" demonstrated how DNA is decoded by sequencing technologies and how newly discovered microbes get added to databases.

DNA is out of this world!

At the DNA extraction station, participants could isolate the DNA from a “space banana” (Bananakin skywalkerus) or “space strawberry” (Strawbacca wookeii). After extracting it from the fruit, the DNA could be seen and touched! DNA is an important part of our IBD research because we use it to identify which microbes are present in different people. The DNA also helps us figure out what the microbes are doing in our bodies. Using DNA-based technology, we are learning more and more about the importance of gut microbes in IBD.

Starch Wars

The microbes in your gut have their own preference for certain types of resistant starch, which can impact their growth and activity. Some types of resistant starch can be more helpful than others depending on the microbes that are present. This station demonstrated how different microbes prefer one resistant starch over the other.

Astoolnauts on the go

In order to grow the microbes in a stool sample for IBD research, we first must process the stool to remove food debris and fibers. This processing must be done in a specific environment (the anaerobic chamber) to keep the microbes in the stool sample alive and happy in the low oxygen environment they prefer. Once the microbes have been isolated, we can see how they grow in the lab and predict how they would grow inside your own gut.

Revealing our inner aliens

Gut microbes differ in their ability to grow using different nutrients (sugar/protein/sugar-alcohols) and they may use these nutrients in unexpected ways. By growing microbes in the lab using different growth conditions, we can see which microbes are present and how they grow in the presence of different nutrients. This will help us determine the key nutrients that are needed by the good microbes in your gut.

Videos

• Recap video
• Social media reel

Photos

• Out of this world photos for the time capsule (let us know if you want your photo on any other backgrounds you see - contact us at rsingleton@cheo.on.ca)

• Event photo album

• Revealing our inner aliens (from Dr. James)
• Exoplanets
• Solar systems
• Space log
• Your volunteer space travellers

Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Expedition IBD was quite a journey!

Expedition IBD was a huge success! Attendees at the IBD Youth Gut Together 2019 were guided on an expedition by IBD doctors and researchers to discover the work being done to uncover the newest IBD discoveries. The microbes literally flew (thank you Dr. Figeys!) as we heard from world renowned IBD experts. We put our skills to the test and performed actual experiments using techniques the researchers use to learn more about IBD. As our Expedition Tour Guides took us through the depths of the laboratories, exclusively opened up to the YGT participants, we learned more and saw firsthand where the IBD research is done. The Olympus station had our doctors watching US do the endoscopes! An amazing morning of interactive learning and fun for kids and families affected by IBD.

Are you a student living with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and are seeking a diploma, associate, undergraduate, or graduate degree from a Canadian university, college or trade school in fall 2023? If yes, please apply for one of 15 one-time scholarships of up to $5,000 for students living with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Crohn’s and Colitis Canada’s AbbVie IBD Scholarship Program supports students in achieving their academic goals while they make a lasting and meaningful difference in their communities. As of 2022, they award $5,000 scholarships to 15 inspiring students attending a Canadian post-secondary institution for the upcoming fall semester. The program, made possible by an educational grant from AbbVie Canada, helps alleviate financial barriers, enabling students to spend more time on their studies, pursue their passions, and get involved with causes close to their hearts. You can learn more about eligibility and the application requirements below.

The AbbVie IBD Scholarship is a competitive bursary. All applications must be submitted online at IBD Scholarship. 

The Clinton Shard Memorial Scholarship honours the memory and impact of Clinton Shard, a 2012 AbbVie IBD Scholarship recipient who made significant contributions to the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) community. As of 2022, one AbbVie IBD Scholarship recipient will be selected by Clinton’s family as the Clinton Shard Memorial Scholarship recipient in addition to receiving the $5,000 scholarship payment. Read more about Clinton Shard and his legacy.

Camp Got2Go is an overnight summer camp that takes place in Atlantic (Nova Scotia), Eastern (Ontario), and Western (Alberta) Canada for children and teens living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. To find out about the camp and application requirements, visit Camp Got2Go's website.

Camp Guts & Glory is an overnight summer camp for children and youth aged 7-18 living with Crohn’s, colitis, an ostomy, an ileostomy, or a cecostomy.

Campers will participate in a wide range of camp activities, make meaningful connections with others, and build valuable skills that will help them succeed outside of the camp environment. All of this takes place during a week full of exceptional fun! 

Food sensitivities or special diet? Tube feed or ostomy? Brigadoon Village aims to include all campers with dietary restrictions and health concerns. The menus for each camp are carefully planned by the camp's Executive Chef and a pediatric dietitian from the IWK Health Centre. 

Visit the Camp Guts & Glory webpage to learn more.

Genome Canada recently awarded Dr. David Mack, Dr. Alain Stintzi along with a team of researchers at the University of Ottawa and CHEO $9.1 million to help crack the mystery of the intestinal microbiome in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (Inflammatory Bowel Disease - IBD) and find better treatments. With these funds, the team expects to make a significant difference in the lives of children like Sebastien. Read Sebastien's story.

The “Wheels of Research” is an interactive tool that engages families in Research Projects. Made possible by the generous funding and resources of the IBD Foundation, the “Wheels” are spinning with new ideas, research overviews and the opportunity for discussion. Placed in the CHEO IBD Centre beside a wall of published articles already produced from research that our families have participated in, families are encouraged to ask about research and have opportunity to be involved.

The book "Your Child with Inflammatory Bowel Disease" is an educational resource for parents of children and adolescents who have been diagnosed with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. It was written by expert specialists in pediatric IBD who are members of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN). Dr. Mack, Director of the CHEO IBD Centre, is a contributing author to this book. It is designed to help families understand what is happening or might happen to their child when he or she has been diagnosed with this chronic intestinal condition. The family of every child diagnosed with IBD at the CHEO IBD Centre is given a copy of this book to take home thanks to a generous donation and the continued support by the IBD Foundation.

RedBlacks President Jeff Hunt and the IBD Foundation hosted the “Kick Off For Kids” Tailgate Party to raise awareness and funds for the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Centre at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Event ambassador Angus Albinati, 11 yrs old, donated funds he raised and stored in his piggy bank to total the dollars raised at the event to over $17,000.00! Pictured are IBD Champions who were given the VIP treatment at the home opener and were illuminated on the Big Screen while feeling what is like to stand on the field at half time!