Overview

The Cellular and Molecular Physiology of Gastrointestinal Disorders Laboratory of Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., at Mayo Clinic studies the regulation of gastrointestinal motility in cells and disease models. The lab translates its discoveries into improved treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders, including gastroparesis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic constipation.

Dr. Farrugia's lab is discovering targeted disease-modifying agents, using state-of-the-art techniques, including high-resolution imaging, ion channel activity recording and next-generation sequencing, and creating cellular and tissue models of disease to develop new strategies to treat these diseases.

Dr. Farrugia's research team goal is to restore the gastrointestinal tract to normal function. Understanding the mechanisms of normal gastrointestinal function and the defects that result in disease is vital to discover rational strategies to treat symptoms of disease, and reverse the underlying defect.

Resources

American Gastroenterological Association

American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society

American Physiological Society

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Affiliations

Dr. Farrugia's Cellular and Molecular Physiology of Gastrointestinal Disorders Lab is an integral part of the Enteric Neuroscience Program at Mayo Clinic and works closely with these gastrointestinal health research groups and organizations:

The Cellular and Molecular Physiology of Gastrointestinal Disorders Lab is also affiliated with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Gastroparesis Clinical Research Consortium (GpCRC).

Research in Dr. Farrugia's lab is funded by multiple long-standing grants from the National Institutes of Health and other foundations.

About Dr. Farrugia

In addition to his role as president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, Dr. Farrugia is a gastroenterologist and hepatologist in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering and is a professor of medicine and physiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. His research interests include genomics, mechanosensitive ion channels and ion channel regulation in gastrointestinal smooth muscle. He also studies the role of interstitial cells of Cajal in the regulation of gastrointestinal motility in health and disease with the goal of developing better treatments for gastrointestinal motility disorders.