Conducting primary research and creating new knowledge is how we push the boundaries of science, how we assess new and/or alternative treatments, and ultimately what underpins decisions on who to treat, when, and how to treat them. It is fundamental to the concept of evidence-based medicine (EBM).  Many people working within the field of gastroenterology will be directly involved in conducting epidemiological research. In this article, we discuss some of the common pitfalls that may render such research less useful than hoped.  This is, of course, a brief overview and if we were able to stress one thing from our experience of conducting research it would be to ensure that you have the right mix of people and skills in place from the outset of your project. Collaborative research allows people with different backgrounds and knowledge bases to address a single problem from different angles, and ultimately makes for better, and more enjoyable, research. 

Experimental colitis models are used to study the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and develop new treatments. There are more than 50 models, but they have limited use in predicting the clinical relevance of therapeutic targets in IBD. These models broadly fit into four groups: spontaneous colitis, induced colitis from genetic abnormality, induced colitis from targeted mutation or transgene introduction, induced colitis from exogenous causative agents, and induction of colitis by manipulation of the immune system. There is a necessity to improve the methodological quality of animal studies.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic relapsing gastrointestinal disease, often affecting young people during their fertile years. The chronic character of IBD means that lifelong medical treatment is often required. As such, it is not surprising that questions often arise about fertility and pregnancy in patients with IBD. The most important risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes in IBD patients is the presence of disease activity during pregnancy. Indeed, negative pregnancy outcomes (e.g. spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery and low birth weight) are associated with disease activity at the time of conception and during pregnancy.