Inflammatory Bowel Disease

A diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be life-changing for children and their families, who must learn new ways of looking at food and cope with a barrage of medical appointments and treatments. No two cases of this lifelong condition are alike. The best hope for young patients to heal and live their fullest lives is to receive personalized treatment.

Dr Michael Rosen in his lab at the Stanford Center for Pediatric IBD and Celiac Disease.

No More Trial and Error

Today, finding the right treatment for a child with IBD can involve months—or even years—of trial and error. Children may cycle through multiple medications, enduring side effects and ongoing symptoms before finding one that works.

Caring for children who come from across the country, researchers and physicians at the Stanford Center for Pediatric IBD and Celiac Disease are working toward a different future: understanding what drives IBD in each child and predicting which therapies are most likely to help. The goal is to replace guesswork with precision—and get children the right treatment sooner.

25%

of individuals with IBD are diagnosed in childhood

80,000

children in the United States are living with IBD

Nearly 90%

of IBD patients reach remission at Stanford Children's, compared to roughly 60% nationally

Meet an IBD Innovator

Colleagues describe Jonathan Moses, MD, clinical associate professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology and the Endowed Medical Director of Pediatric IBD, as an exceptional clinician who “lives and breathes IBD.”

But surprisingly, Dr. Moses says, “I didn’t really pick IBD, it chose me.” With plans to go into general clinical care, he researched immunity to hepatitis B among children with IBD who were taking an anti-inflammatory drug, and his career took a big shift. He dove into treating children with IBD and rose to become a national expert in the field.

Dr. Moses came to the Center for Pediatric IBD and Celiac Disease in 2023. He appreciates the center’s proximity to the adult hospital—making it easy to collaborate with other care providers and treat patients as they age. He looks forward to offering children more opportunities to participate in clinical trials and advance research through Stanford’s biobank, which collects tissue samples and shares them with investigators across the country.

Most of all, Dr. Moses enjoys getting to know his young patients and watching them grow up. During visits, he asks about their interests and dreams. “We’re not big, scary people,” he says of his team at Stanford. “We remember that we’re taking care of kids.”

Opportunities for Impact

At Stanford, we have built a strong foundation for research and care for children with IBD in record time. We are poised to make game-changing discoveries, and philanthropy will propel us forward. Help us to:

Advance leading-edge research.

Using tiny 3D models of human tissue—namely, organoids and mini guts—we aim to develop new therapies and test their effectiveness before a child receives a single dose.

Uncover why IBD diet responses differ.

Research by top Stanford scientists in related fields like the gut microbiome and nutrition could eventually lead to customized treatment approaches for every child.

Support early-stage IBD research and trials.

First up would be researching health inequities and their impact on the screening, diagnosis, and quality of care for children with IBD.

Establish an endowed surgical directorship.

to recruit and retain a top surgeon with expertise in advanced IBD surgeries who will not only improve traditional surgeries but also suggest new approaches.