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Northbridge Financial Corporation Chair to tackle little known disease

September 19, 2011

Dr. Anne Griffiths with IBD patient, Hailee Ram

The rates of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are rising among children and adolescents and thanks to a $2-million donation from Northbridge Financial Corporation, SickKids now has a new chair to help tackle the relatively misunderstood and unknown disease.

Dr. Anne Griffiths, one of Canada’s leading IBD researchers and clinicians, was named The Northbridge Financial Corporation Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at an event at SickKids yesterday.

The gift ‘heightens our responsibility to improve the lives of children with IBD,” said Dr. Griffiths. Part of her current research is focused on how environmental factors, such as bacteria, might trigger the disease in children who are genetically susceptible to it.

“Giving back is simply the right thing to do,” said Mark Ram, in explaining why he championed the donation from Northbridge. Ram, Vice-Chair of the Northbridge Board, has a young daughter, Hailee, with the disease. She was diagnosed at SickKids one and a half years ago.

“Our country is very lucky to have SickKids,” said Ram, adding that the chair is a celebration of hope for the future.

Hailee echoes that. “I chose to look at the glass as half full. I’m hoping there will be new ways to deal with IBD and hopefully they will come up with a way to end it once and for all.”

There are currently about 2,000 children and adolescents under 18 living with IBD in Ontario, a number which has been rising for about 20 years. Despite this, IBD – which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis – remains little understood.

Dr. Griffiths, Division Head of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Associate Scientist, Genetics & Genome Biology Program at SickKids and Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto, is a world leader in the study and treatment of IBD. Her appointment helps solidify SickKids position as a leading centre making strides against the disease. This summer alone, SickKids announced two exciting developments: the identification of a gene that may play an important role in the development of ulcerative colitis; and the creation of a new mobile application to help teenagers with IBD better transition to adult care.