“The Gut Cell Atlas, as well as the Human Cell Atlas, are at the forefront of scientific research, as we try to understand complex biological systems by examining the activities and interactions of large numbers of individual cells,” said Qiu, principal investigator of the Helmsley-funded project called “Longitudinal tracking and reference-based interpretation of single-cell characteristics in treatment-naïve patients with Crohn’s disease.”

His collaborators are co-principal investigators Subra Kugathasan, physician and inflammatory disease researcher at Emory and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Greg Gibson, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of the Center of Integrative Genomics at Georgia Tech.

Together, they’ll expand the scope of Crohn’s research, taking it beyond that single time point. They’re working under the hypothesis that an evaluation of 50 newly diagnosed pediatric patients who have never undergone treatment for their illness, across several time points, will lead to a comprehensive understanding of the Crohn’s disease landscape. 

They plan a quantitative analysis of each patient, generating single-cell RNA-sequencing data — first, to set a baseline at initial diagnosis, then again once or twice over the next three years. They’ll also compare the baseline data with down-the-road treatment outcomes, searching for specialized cell populations and gene expression signals that can predict how patients respond to, or resist, treatment.

“Longitudinal studies at such a single-cell level will provide deeper understanding and lead to new ideas for disease prevention and treatments,” Qiu said. “If we’re successful, those cell populations and genes will be useful for developing hypotheses for personalized treatment, and ultimately, improving patients’ qualify of life.”