Living with chronic bowel conditions can have a huge impact on children’s lives. It’s been announced that Cambridge Children’s Research Institute will include a specialist research centre that is already working to improve gut health in children and young people.
Thirteen-year-old Arthur is a positive person, something he projects to the world. If you met him, you’d have no idea that he lives with a lifelong disease that affects and interrupts every aspect of his life, from school to hobbies to holidays. He has also spent significant time in hospital. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the age of nine, after struggling with symptoms since he was a toddler.
Arthur’s condition has been resistant to treatment, with steroids the only medication that provide some relief to his persistent flare ups. His mother Sian says taking part in research is something that brings hope to Arthur. He joined the Translational Research in Intestinal Physiology and Pathology (TRIPP) study (opens in a new tab) at the University of Cambridge soon after his diagnosis.
We have to assume that this is going to be forever, but there is always this little thought that research will find something that can help. Research happening does give some hope.
Sian, Arthur's mum
Doing research in a whole new way
The Cambridge Children’s Research Institute will sit within the heart of the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital, the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England. The CCRI will house research centres that will collectively tackle some of the most serious impediments to health and wellbeing affecting children and young people aged 0-19 in the UK and globally.
It’s been confirmed that the current Centre for Children’s Gut Health (CCGH), which formally launched in Cambridge in 2025, will become the seventh research centre to have a presence within the CCRI when it opens. Professor Matthias Zilbauer said this will provide opportunities for scientists at the CCGH to expand their work, building on their existing clinical and translational research programme, and develop new collaborations.
The Centre for Children's Gut Health pioneers:
- AI-enabled personalised medicine
- Patient-derived “mini-gut” disease models
- Precision drug testing
- Next-generation diagnostics
- Integrated mental and physical healthcare
- Global collaborative research networks
The number of cases of Crohn’s disease and IBD are rising dramatically worldwide, particularly amongst younger children, but despite decades of research, no one knows what causes it.
Matthias Zilbauer, Professor of Paediatric Gastroenterology, University of Cambridge, and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Gastroenterology, Cambridge University Hospitals (Addenbrooke's Hospital)
Professor Zilbauer said that current treatments are largely trial and error, work for around only half of patients, and often lose effectiveness over time, leaving many children with progressive disease and reduced quality of life.
Holistic care at Cambridge Children's Hospital
Alongside the world-leading research of the CCRI, Cambridge Children’s Hospital will provide a new model of clinical care where mental and physical health are treated together under one roof. This means children will receive support for their psychological wellbeing, along with wraparound care for their whole family.
From a really young age, you must learn to manage and plan what you want to do around how you’re feeling. Sometimes it can weigh quite heavily especially when there’s been a long period of not feeling well, or disappointments when medication doesn’t work. It can be hard to stay positive.
Sian, Arthur's mum
Additionally, all patient rooms at the new hospital will be single and ensuite, something Sian said will be a game changer for those with gut health conditions. “If you’re going to be in the bathroom for a long time and you’re aware that other people might want to use it, that’s not very nice. A room that’s got its own toilet would take a lot of that stress away.”
Cambridge Children’s Hospital will have plentiful outside space, a hospital school, and child friendly diagnostics and theatres, all of which will improve the experience for patients and families.
The benefits of bringing research and clinical care under one roof cannot be underestimated and I’m delighted that our seventh centre at the Cambridge Children’s Research Institute will focus on gut health. This will be an opportunity to expand on the pioneering work already being undertaken by the team in Cambridge.
Dr Rob Heuschkel, Clinical Director, Cambridge Children’s Hospital, and Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
A partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust and the University of Cambridge, Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England. It is supported by a £100million fundraising campaign, which will enable the hospital’s world-first model of integrated holistic care and research to become a reality.