Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University
Treating chronic gastrointestinal (GI) diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis remains a significant challenge in modern medicine. These conditions often cause persistent inflammation and damage to the gut lining, leading to debilitating symptoms that are difficult to manage with current therapies.
At the forefront of efforts to address this problem is Neel Joshi, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Northeastern University. Joshi and his team at The Joshi Lab are pioneering innovative solutions by engineering bacteria to create therapeutic materials, offering the potential to transform how these complex diseases are treated and bring new hope to patients.
Engineering Bacteria for Therapeutic Applications
The Joshi Lab focuses on genetically modifying microorganisms to produce therapeutic proteins that can be delivered directly into the human body. The technology behind this is innovative yet simple: engineered probiotic bacteria are designed to be ingested orally, allowing them to travel through the digestive system and proliferate in the gut.
“Just like normal probiotics, the bacteria go to your intestine and make a therapeutic material inside your gut,” Joshi explains.
Unlike traditional medications, where the medicine is produced, delivered, and often processed in different ways before it reaches the target area, this method allows the therapeutic to be produced right where it’s needed most—in the GI tract.
This approach opens up new possibilities for treating gut-related diseases, giving patients a treatment option that works from within their own bodies.
Innovative Gut Health Applications
The Joshi Lab has developed a platform technology that creates what he describes as a “living bandage” inside the gut. These engineered probiotics form a mesh-like structure that can self-assemble within the gastrointestinal tract, releasing therapeutic proteins to treat conditions such as IBD, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.
“It’s kind of like making a living bandage for the inside of your intestine,” Joshi explains. This “bandage” is particularly beneficial for patients with chronic inflammation, where mucosal wounds form on the gut wall and are notoriously difficult to heal. By directly targeting these wounds, the engineered probiotics offer a new method of healing that current treatments struggle to achieve.
This technology represents a significant shift in how gut health conditions are treated. It moves beyond symptom management, addressing the root cause of mucosal wounds and offering a more holistic healing process.
Addressing the Challenges of Current Gut Health Treatments
Traditional treatments for gastrointestinal diseases often focus on symptom relief, such as reducing inflammation or managing pain. However, they rarely address the underlying issue of mucosal wounds, which are common in conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. This is where Joshi’s research diverges from conventional methods.
“Our approach allows you to take an orally administrable therapeutic, which directly influences the healing of these mucosal wounds, which is different from many current therapeutics,” Joshi notes. Unlike typical treatments that may not directly target the damaged tissues, the engineered probiotics actively work to heal the gut wall, offering a more effective solution to a persistent problem.
This new approach has the potential to change the standard of care for gut health treatments. Patients could benefit from faster healing times and fewer complications, improving their overall quality of life.
Translating Research to Real-World Applications
Joshi and his team are primarily focused on translating this technology into practical, real-world applications. With intellectual property developed in the Joshi Lab, they are actively seeking industry partners to help bring this breakthrough to market.
“We are looking for industry partners to help translate this technology to benefit patients,” Joshi emphasizes.
This research represents a promising frontier in the field of gut health, offering new ways to treat chronic gastrointestinal diseases through engineered probiotics. This work has the potential to redefine how conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are treated, providing more effective solutions for patients.
By collaborating with industry partners, Joshi hopes to move from experimental research to clinical trials and, ultimately, to develop new therapies to provide relief and healing for patients with gastrointestinal diseases.
If you are interested in licensing this technology, or if you are a venture capitalist, investor, or venture studio seeking to engage with the related startup, NeuroFieldz, please contact Senior Commercialization Manager, Vaibhav Saini.
Written by Elizabeth Creason