Calies Menard-Katcher
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, CO·Medicine & Clinical Research
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a long-lasting, immune-driven inflammation of the esophagus, the tube that carries food to the stomach. It has become a common cause of trouble swallowing in children and adults, and it is becoming more frequent.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Microbiology & Immunology
- Topics
eosinophilic esophagitis
EoE
esophageal stricture
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Mar 2027
What they work on
- Compare dupilumab, an antibody drug that blocks inflammatory and scarring pathways, with swallowed fluticasone in a pilot randomized trial of adults and children with fibrostenotic eosinophilic esophagitis.
- Test EndoFLIP-measured esophageal distensibility, a balloon-based readout of how much the esophagus stretches, as a treatment-response outcome and relate it to patient-reported swallowing symptoms.
- Build a biorepository of esophageal biopsies and Esophageal String Test samples linked to trial outcomes to explore the mechanisms of treatment response and esophageal remodeling.
- Assess the feasibility of recruitment and trial procedures to design a definitive multicenter comparative trial for fibrostenotic EoE.
More about the research
In some patients, called fibrostenotic EoE, the esophagus becomes scarred, stiff and narrow. These patients have worse symptoms and respond less well to treatment. Current guidelines do not account for this narrowing, and they do not yet include newly approved biologic drugs, antibody medicines that block specific immune pathways.
Why it matters
People with narrowed, scarred esophagi from eosinophilic esophagitis struggle to swallow and often resist current treatments. Comparing dupilumab with swallowed fluticasone could give patients and doctors evidence for choosing between them. It also lays the groundwork for a definitive multicenter trial and for better ways to measure treatment response.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Sachin Wani
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, CO·Medicine & Clinical Research
Compare rates of progression to high-grade dysplasia or esophageal adenocarcinoma between surveillance endoscopy and endoscopic eradication therapy in a randomized trial of 530 patients with Barrett's esophagus and low-grade dysplasia.
Brad Constant
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, CO·Medicine & Clinical Research·Early-career
Compare the effectiveness of anti-TNF and anti-interleukin biologics in children with Crohn's disease, using causal inference methods in a validated multicenter retrospective cohort.
Steven Frank
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX·Medicine & Clinical Research
Characterize late radiation-associated dysphagia (L-RAD) and identify its subtypes by extending follow-up of a 440-patient randomized trial of proton therapy (IMPT) versus X-ray therapy (IMRT) to 10 years.
The school
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus: 41 labs on PI Pages, $766M a year on research, 205 research doctorates a year.
More about University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.