The Israeli IBD Research Nucleus: collaborative advancements in Israeli IBD research.
Authors
Affiliations (11)
Affiliations (11)
- Division of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, 39 Jabotinsky St, Petah Tikva 4941492, Israel.
- Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Gastroenterology Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Soroka Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel.
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
- Department of Gastroenterology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
- Bruce Rappaport School of Medicine, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
- Division of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.
- Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
- Juliet Keidan Institute of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, The Eisenberg R&D Authority, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
- Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are increasing worldwide, requiring multidisciplinary care and coordinated research infrastructures. Leveraging Israel's integrated healthcare system with IBD centers of specific and complementary research expertise, a national collaborative consortium was established: the Israeli IBD Research Nucleus (IIRN). In this narrative article, we review a decade of IIRN structure, scientific outputs, and lessons learned. The IIRN included five tertiary academic IBD referral centers across Israel, with expertise in epidemiology, mucosal immunology, diet and microbiome, imaging, and psychosocial care. We summarized the IIRN key activities, findings, and contributions across these domains. Publications (2015-2025) were identified using a structured bibliometric approach and included studies aligned with core research programs of the IIRN. This collaborative consortium has been supported since its inauguration by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, providing funding, advice, and partnership. The IIRN provided significant contributions in several domains. It established a population-based nationwide registry (epi-IIRN) that integrates data from the four national health maintenance organizations, enabling studies of disease prevalence, course, comorbidities, and treatment patterns. Prospective cohorts of patients with Crohn's disease provided longitudinal insights linking multidisciplinary programs, Mediterranean diet and lifestyle, and psychosocial interventions with patient-reported outcomes, inflammatory markers, and microbiome features. Integrating imaging, video-capsule endoscopy, and biomarker assessment informed monitoring strategies and treat-to-target concepts. Exploratory translational work in microbiome, transcriptomics, and therapeutic drug monitoring refined insights regarding treatment response and sequencing. Artificial intelligence applications explored image and report interpretation to predict Crohn's disease. The IIRN experience illustrates how coordinated national collaborations can leverage epidemiology, prospective cohorts, translational research, and multidisciplinary care programs. This experience highlights both the opportunities and challenges of shared research infrastructure and may inform similar collaborative efforts in other healthcare settings.