At the forefront of digestive and liver health, our Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Team is dedicated to advancing clinical knowledge and improving patient outcomes through cutting-edge research.

Based at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, our multidisciplinary team of clinicians and research nurses work closely together to investigate some of the most pressing challenges in digestive and liver disease.

Our Research Team collaborates strictly with many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across the world and with the most important Universities in the UK with the goal of improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

Why Participate?

Many of our studies are currently open for patient enrolment. By participating in a clinical trial, you contribute to vital medical discoveries and may benefit from access to the latest diagnostic tools and treatments under expert care.

Get in touch with our Team

If you are interested in taking part in any of the research studies listed above, please get in touch with us.

Phone number: 0151 706 4194

Email address: gastro_hepatologyresearch@liverpoolft.nhs.uk

Current research 

Oesophageal cancer

This study aims at developing a non-invasive breath test for early detection of oesophageal cancer. The goal is to diagnose oesophageal cancer earlier, increasing treatment options and improving survival rates.

More info about this study can be found here: ViSON 

>AROMA 1: This study aims at constructing a cancer detection model based on the augmented breath test, and to refine the baseline breath test.

More info can be found here: AROMA 

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

A Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Induction Therapy With RO7790121 in Participants With Moderately to Severely Active Crohn's Disease.

For more info please click here: SIBERITE

 An observational study on perianal and fistulating Crohn’s disease. The primary objective is to provide data on diagnosis, treatment and outcomes in this population.

For more info please click here: GONDOMAR 

Ulcerative colitis

A Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Induction Therapy With RO7790121 in Participants With Moderately to Severely Active Ulcerative Colitis.

For more info please click here: AMETRINE

IBD (either Crohn’s or Ulcerative colitis)

The IBD BioResource aims to support studies looking at how genes and environmental factors influence IBD and response to therapy.

For more info please click on the following here: IBD BioResource 

The aim of this study is to validate a predictive model for clinical response of failure to respond to biologic, JAKi or S1PR modulating therapies in IBD and to determine the relationship between clinical response and remission to a specific advanced therapy agent.

For more info please click here: IBD-RESPONSE 

This Phase 2 study is testing rosnilimab in people with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.

Surgical studies

The primary aim of this trial is to determine whether pre-operative Exclusive Enteral Nutrition (EEN) is more clinically and cost effective compared with usual diet in patients undergoing surgery for Crohn’s disease (CD).

For more info please click here: OCEaN

The aim of this study is to describe the differences in practice regarding surgical intervention in Ulcerative Colitis (UC) across European countries, to document the morbidity rates for all UC interventions, to document the physical history of surgery for UC in large volumes and to identify potential differences that correlate to better outcomes.

Liver cirrhosis

A study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of RTX001 Autologous Macrophages in participants with liver cirrhosis who have hepatic decompensation.

For more info click here: EMERALD

A study that evaluates the cost-effectiveness of the CirrhoCare digital home monitoring and management system in patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

For more info please click here: CirrhoCare

Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC)

This trial is looking at aspirin to reduce the risk of cancer, liver disease and the need for a liver transplant in patients affected by primary sclerosing cholangitis and IBD.

For more info please click here: Asp-PSC

Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)

The study is looking at the identification of genetic variants associated with primary biliary cholangitis.

For more info click here: UK-PBC

OPERA is a new trial evaluating a novel treatment strategy in newly diagnosed patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).

For more info click here here: OPERA

Alcohol related liver disease

BASIS is a multi-centre trial looking at the effect of baclofen in the treatment of alcohol use disorder in patients with liver damage.

For more info click here: BASIS Trial

General 

This trial tests if infliximab, a medicine that reduces inflammation, can help patients recover faster from acute pancreatitis. Patients get the treatment early, and doctors will monitor their recovery and health for 90 days.

The study will use a system to randomly assign participants to one of three treatment groups without anyone knowing who gets what. Patients and study staff won’t know the treatment given to keep the trial fair. Randomisation will consider if a patient has type 2 diabetes and their liver fibrosis level.

The CirrhoCare trial tests a new home-monitoring system for cirrhosis patients that tracks vital signs and mental ability to help doctors manage treatment remotely.

This trial is testing whether long-term abdominal drains (LTADs) improve quality of life for patients with fluid buildup in the belly from liver scarring (cirrhosis) compared to the usual hospital drainage.

This Phase 1/2 study tests a new cell therapy, RTX001, for patients with liver cirrhosis after a serious complication.