Principal Investigators:

Sourav Halder, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar, Northwestern Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

Wenjun Kou, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology and Hepatology)

Every year, diagnoses are growing of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic, destructive allergic condition with many sub-types, that causes white blood cells (eosinophils) normally found elsewhere in the body to accumulate in the esophagus. Their presence causes inflammation, scarring, and stiffening of the esophagus. This damage impairs the ability of the esophagus to move foods and liquids from the throat to the stomach via esophageal muscle contractions—a process called peristalsis. Problems swallowing is the hallmark of EoE, which contributes to thousands of food impactions requiring urgent endoscopies each year.

An innovative diagnostic tool recently developed by Northwestern gastroenterology investigators called FLIP Panometry has provided a novel method for diagnosing EoE through contraction patterns. This year’s DHF grant will support Dr. Halder’s team in their efforts to better define and classify the many different forms of the disease EoE. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to analyze FLIP data, the researchers hope to improve the current one-size-fits-all diagnostic approach by personalizing treatments to specific types of EoE and offering patients their best quality of life.