The Wong Laboratory (Website Currently Under Construction)

Perianal fistulas are abnormal tunnels that form between the anorectal canal and the skin, affecting approximately 20% of people with Crohn's disease. They can cause pain and persistent drainage and often fail to heal, with profound effects on physical and mental health and substantial healthcare costs. More effective treatments are urgently needed.

Our program spans clinical investigation and laboratory research, with insights from patients driving mechanistic studies in the laboratory and discoveries from the laboratory informing new approaches to patient care. We ask fundamental questions: How do perianal fistulas form? Why do they persist? And what enables them to heal? To answer these questions, we have built multidisciplinary collaborations spanning surgery, radiology, and dermatology on the clinical side, and microbiology, stem cell biology, and immunology on the scientific side. Our goal is to uncover the biological mechanisms that drive fistula formation and failed healing and translate these discoveries into new approaches to treatment.