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Prof. Dr. Marc Ferrante is full professor at KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) and staff member of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University Hospitals Leuven since 2012. He is a lecturer for the students of Biomedical Sciences and Medicine.

Marc Ferrante introduced the ex vivo intestinal organoid technique at KU Leuven. He performed research on the influence of microbiota on intestinal stem cell behaviour and differentiation in patients with IBD. Besides, he also started a research line on patient reported outcomes, quality indicators and eligibility criteria for clinical trials.

Marc Ferrante published more than 380 papers in high ranked gastroenterology journals (H index: 80). He was awarded as Rising Star in Gastroenterology at the European Congress of Gastroenterology in 2014.

Marc Ferrante holds a basic-clinical research position at the Flemish Foundation for Scientific Research (FWO Vlaanderen). He is Secretary of the Belgian IBD Research and Development (BIRD) group. He has been Chair of both the Young, Clinical and Scientific Committee of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO).

Gionata Fiorino is a Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist and a Clinical Researcher, Head of the IBD Clinical Trial Unit at San Camillo-Forlanini Hospital in Rome, Italy. He is also Scientific Consultant at the San Camillo-Forlanini Hospital in Rome, Italy.

He got his MD degree in 2004, his specialty in Gastroenterology in 2009, and PhD degree in 2013. Since he was a medical student, IBD have been his main interest. His main fields of research are new molecules for the treatment of IBD, non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring of IBD, quality of life in IBD, and quality of care in IBD. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers, and participated in more than 100 clinical trials at national and international level. He founded Y-ECCO in 2006, he has been member of the GuiCom and the ECCO Confer Steering Committee, and has participated in several ECCO Consensus. He has been ECCO Educational Officer from 2023 to 2026, member of the ECCO e-learning taskforce, and he is currently the leader of the E-Quality project.

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Dr. Maria Hermanson is a consultant colorectal surgeon at Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Östra in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her clinical and research interests focuses on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and intestinal failure.

She obtained her PhD from Lund University in 2017 and completed a clinical fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, in 2024. She was awarded the Bengt Ihre Research Fellowship 2023–2025.

Dr. Hermanson is actively involved in clinical research in IBD and has contributed to several peer-reviewed publications in the field. She also supervises PhD candidates, surgical trainees, and medical students.

In addition to her clinical and academic work, she serves as treasurer of the Swedish Gastroenterological Association and the Swedish Organisation for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (SOIBD).

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Professor Kaija-Leena Kolho is a pediatric gastroenterologist, currently serving as Vice Dean and pediatric professor at the University of Helsinki and Head Physician at Helsinki University Hospital, Finland.

Her main research interest is inflammatory bowel disease, particularly in monitoring disease activity, assessing therapeutic responses, and the gut microbiota in these conditions and during infancy. She has authored more than 300 original peer-reviewed articles, several other articles, and book chapters, and supervised several PhD studies.

She has served as chair of the Educational Committee of the Finnish Society of Gastroenterology and the Society of Digestive Surgery, as a member of the pediatric committee of ECCO (P-ECCO), as the representative of ESPGHAN (European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) on the Scientific Committee of UEG (United European Gastroenterology), and as a member of the IBD study group Porto group of ESPGHAN. She was the local Chair of the 57^th Annual Meeting of ESPGHAN, 14-17.5.205 in Helsinki, Finland, with more than 5,800 participants from 111 countries.

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Jonas F. Ludvigsson is Pediatrician in Örebro and Professor at Karolinska Institutet. His research emanates from a long-standing expertise in Swedish healthcare registers and epidemiology, where he focuses IBD and celiac disease. Ludvigsson continues to work clinically.

In 2024, he received HM. The King of Sweden’s Medal of the 8^th size in the Order of the Seraphim ribbon for outstanding research contributions. He is currently the Scientific Secretary of the Swedish Society of Medicine, and has more than 700 scientific publications, including several books.

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Simona Radice is a clinical nurse specialized in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), with extensive experience gained in leading Italian referral centers such as Humanitas Research Hospital and San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. Over the years, she has developed an advanced role as an IBD Nurse, becoming a key figure in the holistic care of people with IBD and in the coordination of multidisciplinary care pathways. A cornerstone of her professional journey has been her active involvement in N-ECCO. As a member of the N-ECCO Committee and present chair, she advocates for the visibility and evolution of nursing practice in IBD care, ensuring that nurses are recognized not only as caregivers but as clinical researchers, educators and strategic partners in healthcare innovation. Her academic background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and a Master’s in Nursing Case Management. Beyond clinical practice, she is deeply engaged in education and research, teaching on IBD Case Management and the nursing role in clinical studies at Pavia and Padua Universities. As a peer reviewer for the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis and an active member of IG-IBD (Italian Group for the study of IBD) and Amici Onlus (Italian Patient Association), she contributes to shaping the future of IBD care through scientific collaboration and advocacy. Simona is deeply involved in clinical research: since 2015 she has contributed to more than eighty national and international IBD clinical trials, supporting patient recruitment, protocol adherence, monitoring, and data quality. She also serves as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. Her professional identity blends clinical expertise, educational vision, and strong networking skills, contributing significantly to the advancement of IBD nursing care in Italy and across Europe.

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