MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that have been shown to post-transcriptionally regulate a vast majority of human genes and play major roles in many diseases such as various types of cancers and also common inflammatory disorders. Because of their presence in tissues as well as body fluids, such as blood and/or serum, miRNAs carry a high potential as noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic markers or may be used to predict therapeutic outcomes.

Our workgroup investigates the diagnostic potential of miRNAs through next-generation sequencing based profiling, machine-learning-based data interpretation and in-depth characterization of candidate miRNAs in a variety of common complex inflammatory diseases and especially inflammatory bowel disease.