LSMU - Lietuvos Sveikatos Mokslu Universitetas
The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) is the largest institution in Lithuania dedicated to medical and health sciences education and research. Over the years, LSMU has become a leading center for biomedical and clinical research in the Baltic region. The university hosts modern laboratories, research institutes, and teaching hospitals, enabling the integration of education, research, and practical healthcare. The Institute for Digestive Research and the Department of Gastroenterology at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) form a leading research team in the field of microbiome, inflammatory, and malignant gastrointestinal disease research in the Baltic countries. They participate in top-level international and national research projects and consortia, focusing on molecular profiling of premalignant and malignant gastrointestinal diseases, as well as gut microbiome research. Their translational research covers chronic inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal cancers, utilising next-generation sequencing (exome, metagenome, smallRNAseq, RNAseq, 16S rRNA, etc.), cell sorting, bioinformatics, functional studies, in cell lines, intestinal organoids, and more. Additionally, these institutions have a large biobank of various biological gastrointestinal specimens.
Role within PerPrev-CID
The task of LSMU is to conduct translational research focused on inflammatory bowel diseases, developing innovative diagnostic tools, and contributing to early risk detection. Specifically, LSMU participates in the setup of joint analyses through the harmonisation of clinical data and the integration of existing datasets from pre-disease and early-stage individuals. Their work focuses on combining clinical data from across Europe to better understand the early stages of these conditions, validating new tools for risk assessment, and supporting the initiation of a randomised, placebo-controlled nutrition-based intervention trial for inflammatory bowel disease. Through these efforts, the team aims to help identify risks earlier and develop more effective strategies for patient care.
