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Researchers at the Crick are tackling the big questions about human health and disease, and new findings are published every week.

Our faculty have picked some of the most significant papers published by Crick scientists, all of which are freely available thanks to our open science policy.

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ETS2 genes in areas of disease

Major cause of inflammatory bowel disease discovered

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, working with UCL and Imperial College London, have discovered a new biological pathway that is a principal driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and related conditions, and which can be targeted using existing drugs. They found an enhancer in a 'gene desert', which was active in macrophages and boosted a gene called ETS2. This gene was essential for almost all inflammatory functions in macrophages, including several that directly contribute to tissue damage in IBD. The team then found that MEK inhibitors, drugs already prescribed from other non-inflammatory conditions, could reduce inflammation in macrophages and also gut samples from patients with IBD.

A disease-associated gene desert directs macrophage inflammation through ETS2

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Published in Nature

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Research case studies 

Explore a selection of recent case studies that spotlight particular areas of research at the Crick.