Khaberni - Mount Sinai Hospital in the USA and the Medical City at King Saud University in Riyadh announced the launch of a research collaboration aiming to understand the causes behind the prevalence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in certain Saudi families.
The project, which will last for three years, will focus on Saudi families with several members suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
By identifying environmental factors and biomarkers that cause the disease and determine its course in these high-risk families, the parties aim to accelerate the development of new diagnostic tools and treatments specifically designed to fit patients around the world.
As part of this collaboration, the Medical City at King Saud University will identify and register qualified participants, and collect samples of whole blood, serum, and stool, in addition to medical information and family histories from individuals suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases and their relatives who are at increased risk.
Mount Sinai Hospital will lead the discovery of advanced biomarkers and integrative analyses using "multi-level bioinformatics" techniques and other advanced research tools.
The collaboration is designed to enable the organized collection of samples, data sharing, and collaborative analysis, creating a unique resource of high-quality biological samples linked to detailed clinical information and family maps.
By studying families more prone to genetic and non-genetic, and biological factors affecting inflammatory bowel diseases, the project aims to support the development of a new generation of diagnostic and therapeutic tools. If successful, the results may help doctors identify individuals at risk early, assess risks in highly afflicted families, and tailor treatments more precisely.
Dr. Miriam Merad, Head of the Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy at Mount Sinai, says: "Familial inflammatory bowel diseases provide a rare opportunity to study the immune system in a context where the genetic factor clearly interacts with the environment. When several people in the same family are affected, we can track how immune signals change over time and begin to understand why some relatives get sick while others do not."
She added: "Combining high-quality samples with detailed medical histories will allow us to map these immune changes more clearly. This knowledge is essential if we want to build diagnostics or treatments that truly meet patients' needs, rather than relying on a standardized model of care."
