The MIRO Study

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  Project Lead
  Professor Michael Kamm

Project Details

Microbial Restoration in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (MIRO Study)

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases are usually treated with drug therapy. While this gets most patients better and keeps them better, some patients do not respond or do not wish to take medicines that suppress their immune system. They will have to live with their condition remaining active and troublesome, while others will require an operation.

A new approach to treatment is emerging, and our team of researchers is at the global forefront of this research.

The bacteria in the gut, which drive the soreness of the bowel in these conditions, can be replaced by gut bacteria from healthy people. We have recently concluded a world-first study - The FOCUS Study using faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT or poo transplant) to treat ulcerative colitis. This study was published in the world’s highest rated medical journal, The Lancet in 2017.

The FOCUS study demonstrated that faecal microbiota transplantation can heal the bowel in some patients, providing a potential alternative to drug therapy.

This research was recently presented at the world’s foremost annual gastroenterology meetings in Europe and the US. It was the highest rated of several thousand presentations.

Parallel scientific FOCUS studies have identified which bacteria in the faecal transplant make this a successful therapy. This work was published in the world’s leading specialist journal, Gastroenterology.

​Our clinicians and scientists are now undertaking The MIRO Study (Microbial Restoration in IBD) to examine further the efficacy of FMT for treatment and maintenance of disease remission in a range of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Researchers

Professor Michael Kamm – Group Leader

Dr. Chamara Basnayake - Gastroenterologist

Dr Sasha Fehily – Gastroenterologist and PhD Fellow

Dr. Amy Hamilton – Clinical Scientist

Ms. Alyson Ross – Research Nurse

Ms. Annalise Stanley – Research Nurse

Dr. Gina Trakman – Research Dietitian

Dr. Emily Wright – Gastroenterologist

Dr. Amy Wilson-O’Brien – Clinical Scientist

Collaborators

Dr Sam Costello and Dr Robert Bryant - The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide

Dr Sam Forster – The Hudson Institute, Monash University, Melbourne

Professor Mark Morrison – The University of Queensland and The Diamantina Institute, Brisbane

Funding

NHMRC – Dr Sasha Fehily