Barrett Lab

Robert Barrett, PhD, and his laboratory have extensive expertise in both human intestinal organoid (HIO) and small microengineered Chip technology. The overall research goal is to utilize these novel technologies to develop personalized in vitro models to learn about the mechanisms underpinning inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Two current areas of interest involve developing a model of intestinal fibrosis, which is a common and potentially serious complication of IBD, and a Paneth cell model to determine how genetic variations may influence the functioning of this cell type. In both models, induced pluripotent stem cells are generated from IBD patients with either stricturing complications or altered Paneth cell phenotypes, directed to form HIOs and subsequently incorporated in small microengineered Chips whereupon it can be established how cytokines/microbes/cell-cell interactions each play a role in these processes.