23 COVID-19 and IBD During the period inwhich the studies described in this thesiswere performed, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), spread globally and posed a major challenge to our society and public health. Simultaneously, it had a great impact on science, and triggered actions to unravel COVID-19 pathophysiology, to develop diagnostic methods, and to deliver therapeutic agents and vaccinations in order to combat the disease. Soon it became clear that COVID-19 also affected the gastrointestinal tract, and this triggered us to investigate its impact on patients with IBD. In the final part of this thesis, we present a series of studies that resulted from these efforts, highlighting consequences of COVID-19 for patients with IBD and the importance of biobanks and biomarkers in medicine. Aim of this thesis The overall aim of this thesis is to identify and apply novel biomarker signatures in patients with IBD, while also assessing their utility to predict clinical outcomes (e.g., disease activity or response to established medical treatment) and their potential for therapeutic modulation (e.g., through dietary interventions). By exploring potential disease markers from different biological systems (e.g., the immune system) and biological mechanisms (e.g., inflammation, oxidative stress, fibrosis), together with detailed phenotypic stratification, this thesis is aimed to contribute to the characterisation and validation of translational, evidence-based, and clinically applicable biomarker signatures in IBD by adopting both experimental and clinical approaches (Figure 2). Concomitantly, this thesis aims to unravel complex interactions between pathophysiological factors and to gain more insight into the pathogenesis of IBD. General introduction and outline of the thesis
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