Robert Barrett, PhD, and his laboratory are using human intestinal organoid technology to learn more about the mechanisms underpinning IBD. The current research focus of the Barrett Lab is on developing a personalized model of intestinal fibrosis, which is a common and potentially serious complication of IBD. This fibrosis model involves directing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), generated from affected IBD patients, to form human intestinal organoids and subsequently determining their responses to cytokines associated with this complication. Small microengineered Chip technology will be used to examine how microbes and cell-cell interactions play a role in this process.