Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic conditions causing swelling of tissues in the gastrointestinal tract. In particular, treatment plans for IBD patients include the use of anti-TNF- monoclonal antibodies, which are used across a variety of autoimmune diseases. However, many patients who respond to these anti-inflammatory drugs develop resistance to anti-TNF antibodies over time, while some patients simply do not respond at all. Through my project, I hope to use single-cell RNA sequencing techniques to study differences in gene expression and cell types between responders and non-responders, and I hope to further use classification tools and machine learning techniques to build a classifier which predicts the treatment outcome for current and future cases of IBD.

I am excited to be a SuperUROP scholar to develop good writing and presentation skills, ultimately learning more about my research during the process. In addition, I am excited to learn about good research techniques that will help me get the most of of my SuperUROP experience.