Nick Croft

After starting his clinical training as a paediatrician in Edinburgh and Glasgow he entered the speciality of paediatric gastroenterology whilst working for his PhD in the field mucosal immunology (awarded 1997) in the GI Unit at Edinburgh University (with the late Professor Anne Ferguson). Since his appointment in 1998, his work has largely been in leading, and supporting, clinical and translational research in the field of paediatric gastroenterology, in addition to his teaching roles as the course organizer for the MSc in Gastroenterology and member of the undergraduate paediatric teaching programme. The MSc supports research both via projects run within the course and by attracting quality students to study for higher degrees.

His research interests are based around clinical and translational studies focussing on paediatric gastroenterological diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, food allergy, gastro-oesophageal reflux, and gastrointestinal infections. This has recently included examining the underlying genetics of growth failure in IBD and the growth response to enteral nutrition in children.

He is a recently appointed (2006) co-director of the London SENCE Medicines for Children Local Research Network, which has been funded to support the development and running of randomized controlled trials of treatments in children, and increase the evidence base for treatments.

Publications:

Key publications:

Sawczenko A, Azooz O, Paraszczuk J, Idestrom M, Croft NM, Savage MO, Ballinger AB, Sanderson IR. 'Intestinal inflammation-induced growth retardation acts through IL-6 in rats and depends on the -174 IL-6 G/C polymorphism in children' Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2005; v 102: pp 13260–65.

Monteleone G, Holloway J, Salvati VM, Pender SL, Fairclough PD, Croft NM, MacDonald TT. 'Activated STAT4 and a functional role for IL-12 in human Peyer's patches'. J Immunol 2003; v 170: pp 300-07.

Monteleone G, Kumberova A, Croft NM, McKenzie C, Steer HW, MacDonald TT. 'Blocking Smad7 restores TGF-beta1 signaling in chronic inflammatory bowel disease'. J Clin Invest 2001; v 108: pp 601-09.

Croft NM, Ferguson A. 'High intraluminal fluid flow increases intestinal IgA output'. Scand J Gastroenterol 2000; v 35: pp 726-31.

Croft NM, Marshall TG, Ferguson A. 'Gut inflammation in children with cystic fibrosis on high-dose enzyme supplements'. Lancet 1995; v 346: pp 1265-67.