TOpClass Consortium Meeting at ECCO 2026

Upcoming Events

Apr 9

Written By AB

The meeting will take place on Thursday 19th February 2026 from 19:00–20:30 (CET) at Stockholm Messe, Sweden - Room K16. A hybrid set-up will be available for virtual attendees. Agenda to follow.

Related Research Groups

Consortium Members

Europe

The Fistula Research Unit at St. Mark’s Hospital

Europe

City: London | Country: United Kingdom
The Fistula Research Unit at St. Mark’s Hospital is headed by Professor Ailsa Hart and Mr Phil Tozer. The centre has a strong history of championing research in the field of perianal Crohn’s Disease and progressing the medical and surgical management of perianal fistula.

Europe

America

University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, U.S.A

America

City: Chicago | Country: USA

Consortium description coming soon

America

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

America

City: Vancouver | Country: Canada

Astrid Williams has joined the team at the IBD centre of B in 2024. From 2018 to 2023, she was a Staff Specialist Gastroenterologist at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney, Australia.

America

Europe

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Europe

City: Cambridge | Country: United Kingdom

Dr Nuru Noor is a Clinical Lecturer in Gastroenterology based at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He also works as an Honorary Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit

Europe

Middle East

Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi

Middle East

City: Abu Dhabi | Country: United Arab Emirates

Dr. Sara El Ouali is a consultant gastroenterologist at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio …

Middle East

Europe

Nottingham Fistula Research Group

Europe

City: London | Country: United Kingdom

The Fistula Research Group at the University of Nottingham and Motilent is at the forefront of research in perianal Crohn’s disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Europe

The Proctology Department at Hôpital Paris Saint-Joseph

Europe

City: Paris | Country: France

The Proctology Department at Hôpital Paris Saint-Joseph is a department specialising in the medical, instrumental and surgical treatment of diseases of the anus.

Europe

Icahn School University Hospital of Ghent

Europe

City: Ghent | Country: Belgium

The perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease clinical and research program at The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at Mount Sinai is co-led by gastroenterologist Dr. Serre-Yu Wong and colorectal surgeon Dr Sergey Khaitov.

Europe

America

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

America

City: New York | Country: America

America

Europe

IBD Leuven Fistula Research Unit

Europe

City: Leuven | Country: Belgium

The perianal Fistula Research Program within the IBD referral centre of UZ/KU Leuven is coordinated by colorectal surgeons Gabriele Bislenghi and André D’Hoore and gastroenterologists Séverine Vermeire and Bram Verstockt.

Europe

America

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

America

City: Washington I Country: America

The Fistula Research Unit at St. Mark’s Hospital is headed by Professor Ailsa Hart and Mr Phil Tozer. The centre has a strong history of championing research in the field of perianal Crohn’s Disease and progressing the medical and surgical management of perianal fistula.

America

Australia

St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne Fistula Research Group

Australia

City: Melbourne | Country: Australia

The St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne Fistula Research Group is a passionate team of Australian researchers based in Melbourne, focused on expanding current and future research in the area of perianal fistulising Crohn’s disease. Our expert research team includes colorectal surgeon Dr. Cori Behrenbruch and Mr Michael Johnston, radiologist Dr. Leon Winata, gastroenterologists A/Prof John Ding and Dr. Michael De Gregorio, and research fellow Dr. Imogen Hartley and Dr Nicholas Clark.

Australia

America

Lightner Lab at Calibr Skaggs in San Diego, US

America

City: San Diego | Country: United States

Led by Dr. Amy Lightner, a colorectal surgeon and Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Professor of Immunology, the Lightner Lab at Scripps Research is dedicated to pioneering research in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and advancing novel treatment strategies for both complex luminal disease and perianal fistulizing disease…

America

South America

The IBD Unit at Santa Cruz Hospital

South America

City: Sāo Paulo | Country: Brazil

The IBD unit at the Santa Cruz Hospital, led by Prof. Dr. Natália Queiroz, is a recently established team, just three years old. Despite being a young unit, we are committed to providing multidisciplinary care with a patient-centered approach to treating IBD

South America

Browse Projects

Projects

Classification

Perianal Crohn’s disease can present with ‘fistula’. Fistula are abnormal tunnels, or tracts, that develop between the skin on the outside of the buttock/anal area and the anal canal on the inside (called the ‘rectum’). They can cause unpleasant symptoms like discharge and pain.

Optimising Treatment

The consortium has published guidance on how to optimise and implement a synergistic medical and surgical treatment plan for perianal Crohn's disease.

Priority Setting Partnership

The TOPClass Consortium led a Global Priority Setting Partnership in collaboration with the James Lind Alliance. This initiative brought together patients …

TOpClass Consortium Meeting at ECCO 2026

Related Research Groups

Browse Projects

Perianal Fistulising Crohn’s Disease – Associated anorectal and fistula cancers: Systematic Review and Expert Consensus

Research