Midgette Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology
Co-Director, UNC Multidisciplinary Center for IBD Research and Treatment
Contact Information
Room 7309A Biomolecular Building (MBRB)
111 Mason Farm Road, CB# 7032
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7032
Phone: (919) 966-0149
Fax: (919) 843-6899
E-mail: rbs@med.unc.edu
Clinical Interests: Management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and pouchitis).
Academic Interests: Basic and translational investigation of mechanisms of chronic intestinal inflammation and mucosal homeostasis. These studies are performed in genetically engineered (knockout and transgenic) mice, raised under specific pathogen-free, germ-free (sterile), or selectively colonized gnotobiotic conditions. Our studies investigate the ability of specific components of the intestinal microbiota to induce chronic T-cell mediated inflammation in genetically susceptible hosts vs. protective mucosal immune responses in normal hosts. Parallel studies investigate the ability of dietary products such as iron, sucrose, and fructose to modify the composition and function of intestinal microbiota. Recent studies have extended these microbial-host interaction studies to human samples, including mucosal biopsies and resected tissues from normal, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis patients.
Education and Training
| Degree | Institution | Area |
| BS | Washington-Lee University | Pre-medicine |
| MD | Baylor College of Medicine | Medicine |
| Fellowship | University of North Carolina | Gastroenterology |
| Post-doctoral training | University of North Carolina | Host-microbial interaction |
| Sabbatical | National Institutes of Health-NIDR | Molecular biology, immunoregulation |
