The Sherman laboratory at SickKids focuses on gastrointestinal disorders including necrotizing enterocolitis and colic in infants and irritable bowel syndrome and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases in older children and adults. Using complementary in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models of disease we investigate mechanisms by which non-traditional therapies such as probiotics (beneficial bacteria that, when ingested in sufficient amounts, provide health benefits to the host), prebiotics (non-digestible food ingredients that promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria), and dietary micronutrients (vitamin D, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids) affect microbial homeostasis, mucosal inflammation, and influence the onset and progression of disease.

Selected Publications:

1. Määttänen P, Lurz E, Botts SR, Wu RY, Yeung CW, Li B, Abiff S, Johnson-Henry KC, Lepp D, Power KA, Pierro A, Surette ME, Sherman PM. Ground flaxseed reverses protection of a reduced fat diet against Citrobacter rodentium-induced colitis. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2018 Nov 1;315(5):G788-G798
2. Wu RY, Määttänen P, Napper S, Scruten E, Li B, Koike Y, Johnson-Henry KC, Pierro A, Rossi L, Botts SR, Surette MG, Sherman PM. Non-digestible oligosaccharides directly regulate host kinome to modulate host inflammatory responses without alterations in the gut microbiota. Microbiome. 2017 Oct 10;5(1):135.
3. Vong L, Pinnell LJ, Määttänen P, Yeung CW, Lurz E, Sherman PM. Selective enrichment of commensal gut bacteria protects against Citrobacter rodentium-induced colitis. Am J Physiol. 2015 Aug 1;309(3):G181-92.
4. Assa A, Vong L, Pinnell LJ, Rautava J, Avitzur N, Johnson-Henry KC, Sherman PM. Vitamin D deficiency predisposes to adherent-invasive Escherichia coli-induced barrier dysfunction and experimental colonic injury. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2015 Feb;21(2):297-306.
5. Vong L, Lorentz RJ, Assa A, Glogauer M, Sherman PM. Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus inhibits the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps. J Immunol. 2014 Feb 15;192(4):1870-7.