PI

Shehzad Z. Sheikh, MD, PhD
Full Professor with Tenure – Medicine and Genetics
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Center of Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Email: shehzad_sheikh@med.unc.edu
Office Telephone: 919-843-4893
Fax: 919-966-8929

Junior Faculty

Erin Steinbach, MD, PhD
(erin_klein@med.unc.edu)

Peanut allergy is the #1 cause of fatal anaphylaxis associated with a food allergy; increased intestinal barrier permeability in patients with peanut allergy is associated with more peanut allergen absorption and more severe reactions. I am studying why the intestinal barrier is dysfunctional in peanut allergy so we can develop targeted therapies for severe allergic reactions to peanut.

Matthew Egberg, MD, MPH, MMSc

(matthew.egberg@med.unc.edu)

Dr. Egberg is a physician scientist specializing in the field of Pediatric Gastroenterology.

Dr. Egberg’s research interests include studies of the clinical and comparative effectiveness of treatments for IBD using real-world data to evaluate the risks and benefits of treatments used in everyday clinical practice. His work leverages novel prediction modeling methods including supervised machine learning and precision medicine to empower key stakeholders in medical decision-making.

Post Doctoral Fellows

Anna Salvador, Ph.D, RD, LDN (Anna_Salvador@med.unc.edu)	The role of diet in the in the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease remains unresolved. I am a dietitian-scientist with an interest in dietary antigens contributing to inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis in genetically susceptible individuals.
AdamRosenstein, MD, PhD (Adam_Rosenstein@med.unc.edu)	Gastroenterology fellow with a long-standing interest in mucosal immunology, integrating multi-omics techniques and cell biology in better understanding the pathophysiology underlying the varied clinical manifestations and phenotypes of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Graduate Students

Co-Mentored by the Sheikh & Furey labs Meaghan Marie Kennedy Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (meagkenn@live.unc.edu)	I am using RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, and other omics data to understand molecular differences between Crohn’s Disease (CD) and non-IBD patients, as well as the heterogeneity within CD. In particular, I am interested in how long non-coding RNAs alters the expression of protein-coding genes and affects the chromatin structure.
Co-Mentored by the Sheikh & Furey labs Nina Nishiyama Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (nnishi@email.unc.edu)	Crohn’s Disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are complex diseases with several susceptibility loci, but their role in the disease development is not fully understood. I apply statistical methods to combine genetic variant and molecular phenotype datasets to discover new regulatory mechanisms behind Crohn’s Disease and IBD susceptibility.
Katie Clough Toxicology and Environmental Medicine (cloughk@email.unc.edu)	Currently, there is no cure for peanut allergy, which has been associated with increased intestinal permeability. I work with Dr. Steinbach investigating intestinal epithelial cell subtype differences associated with allergy susceptibility. Understanding the mechanisms of allergy-associated gut barrier dysfunction will advance the treatment of food allergies, improving the quality of life for many patients.

Clinical Coordinators

Benjamin Huan (Benjamin_Huan@med.unc.edu)	Our research connects biological data from patient samples to clinical data on the patient and their disease. As a clinical coordinator, I will act as a liaison between the research team and patients, collecting and processing IBD tissue for future study. My focus is to improve and expand the content of our IBD database/tissue-base, empowering our researchers to investigate more aspects of IBD outcome, treatment, and sub-types.
David Weaver (David_Weaver@med.unc.edu)	As our lab continues to dive into the complex underpinnings of IBD, I serve as a key player in the acquisition of samples and clinical data to connect them with genomic research. This will serve to further our understanding of IBD on a genomic as well as clinical level. I hope to focus on environmental determinants of IBD, specifically as it pertains to diet by connecting gold standard dietary questionnaires with proteomic and metagenomic data acquired from our samples.
Ariana Lacorte (Ariana_LaCorte@med.unc.edu)	As the newest clinical coordinator, I will learn from the other coordinators how to navigate connecting patients and their clinical realities to research. My focus is to aid in sample collection, sample processing, and the overall organization of multiple ongoing IBD studies in our lab. I hope to help further our understanding of the wide range of phenotypes associated with IBD, as well as how these phenotypes are affected by genetic, environmental, and/or other external factors.

Lab Manager

Matthew Schaner
(mrs364@email.unc.edu)

Lab manager responsible for equipment maintenance, supply ordering, and project organization/management. Research projects include ATAC-seq, CUT&RUN, RNA-seq, and IEC/LPMC isolation from mouse and human models.

Technician

Nathan VanLandingham (nathvanl@email.unc.edu)	My work focuses on supporting fore-front research into gastrointestinal health, with a particular interest in elucidating the underlying mechanisms of food allergies. My responsibilities include assisting with experimental design, performing laboratory protocols, and analyzing data; contributing to our lab’s overall mission of advancing knowledge in GI biology and disease in order to improve patient outcomes. I am thrilled to be part of this amazing team, and I am thrilled to contribute to groundbreaking discoveries in this field.
Ayesh Awad (away@email.unc.edu)	As the role of computation is growing larger and larger within biology, my role is to support the wet lab from a computational standpoint. I apply statistical methods and high-throughput sequencing to combine genetic variant, molecular phenotype and clinical outcomes to unravel the heterogeneity within Chron’s Disease with a focus on transcriptomic data.
Viguna Thomas (viguna_thomas@med.unc.edu)	In Crohn’s disease, fibroblast play a crucial role in the development of intestinal fibrosis & stricture formation, contributing to the disease progression & complications. It’s important to use relevant models to study the molecular & cellular drivers of fibrosis. I collaborated with Dr Aadra Butt & Dr Jihad Aljabban to study the biochemical pathway responsible for Crohn’s fibrosis. I work with Dr Anna Salvador ‘s Oxalate time series project . I am in charge of human organoid culture , tissue dissection and molecular biology assays like Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qpcr), western blot & Elisa(Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay)
Antonio Arias (antonio_arias@med.unc.edu)	As a computational research technician, my primary goal is to provide and implement bioinformatics techniques to make the usage of biological data more readily accessible. I am excited to continue learning and contributing my skills as I further immerse myself in the growing field of IBD research.