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Examining the role of FGFR2 in the pathogenesis of Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by inflammation of the innermost lining of your large intestine and rectum. Current treatment options for treating this condition are limited to targeting key proteins such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) which play an important role in disease progression. Moreover, only 40% of UC patients being treated with these drugs (i.e. Vedolizumab and Infliximab) respond to this treatment option. There is thus an immediate need to identify molecules/genes that control this low response rate in patients. By identifying these molecules, it will allow us to better predict patient response to these standards of care drugs in UC and ultimately improve overall patient well-being. One of the molecules we will investigate is a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) which is proposed to be linked to disease-associated genes in patients who have had a positive response to the aforementioned treatment options. This proposed study aims to further understand how FGFR2 controls genes that are involved in determining response to standard-of-care drugs in UC patients.