Mount Sinai’s Jean-Frédéric Colombel, MD, to Deliver the 31st Anatomy Lesson in Amsterdam, Highlighting Global Efforts to Prevent and Cure Crohn’s Disease
In a high honor, Jean-Frédéric Colombel, MD, a leading inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) expert at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, will deliver the 31st Anatomy Lesson on Thursday, November 20, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His lecture, “Tackling the Growing Problem of Immune Diseases—Crohn’s Disease as an Example,” will explore Mount Sinai’s pioneering work in the early detection, prevention, and treatment of IBD.
The Anatomy Lesson, an annual public lecture organized by Amsterdam UMC, invites leading international physicians and researchers to reflect on medicine’s evolving relationship with society. Dr. Colombel’s presentation will highlight how Mount Sinai and international collaborators are moving closer to the long-sought goal of preventing immune diseases before they begin.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—debilitating inflammatory bowel disorders that often strike people in their 20s and 30s—can upend young lives just as careers, families, and relationships begin to form. Dr. Colombel has dedicated nearly five decades to restoring quality of life for these patients while pursuing the goal of discovering the cause of Crohn’s disease and, ultimately, a cure.
Dr. Colombel is Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology) and Director of the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is internationally recognized for his discoveries that have reshaped how clinicians understand and diagnose IBD. His research has revealed early disease biomarkers such as the ASCA blood test, identified genetic drivers including the NOD2 mutation, and characterized disease-associated gut bacteria. These findings allow physicians to identify patients at increased risk of IBD—even before symptoms develop—and to intervene earlier with personalized care strategies.
“The earlier we can detect inflammation and intervene, the greater our chances of altering the course of disease and preserving a patient’s life plans,” said Dr. Colombel. “At Mount Sinai, we are driven by one mission: to give our patients their lives back—not just through medication or surgery, but by finding and addressing the root causes of IBD.”
Dr. Colombel’s current collaborations include INTERCEPT, a large European study on the early prediction and prevention of Crohn’s disease, and work with the U.S. Department of Defense Serum Repository, which houses more than 80 million blood samples. These studies aim to identify biological “signatures” years before clinical onset—potentially transforming how autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as IBD, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis are managed.
“Jean-Frédéric Colombel has advanced the field of gastroenterology through relentless curiosity and compassion for his patients,” said Bruce E. Sands, MD, MS, Chief of the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai. “His leadership in early detection, precision medicine, and translational research continues to shape our understanding of Crohn’s disease and drives innovation across our entire digestive health enterprise.”
Mount Sinai’s Feinstein IBD Center, one of the largest and most comprehensive programs of its kind, has become a global hub for IBD research, patient care, and clinical innovation. The Center’s multidisciplinary teams integrate advanced genomics, microbiome analysis, and digital health data to develop personalized treatment approaches that improve remission rates and long-term outcomes.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.