- Overview
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Dr. Smyth’s research focuses on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis), specifically in outcomes of advances therapies and non-invasive diagnosis and management strategies. Intestinal Ultrasound (IUS) in IBD is a specialized use of ultrasound to detect and monitor inflammation in the GI tract, does not require sedation or radiation, and can be done quickly in clinic to allow treating clinicians to make informed treatment decisions for a patients care at the time of the clinic visit. Dr. Smyth leads IUS programs at BCCH and the IBD Centre of BC, and his research program aims to expand the understanding of how the bowel responds to different medicines, and how we can use ultrasound to guide treatment in order to maximize a patient's chance of achieving disease remission.
- Publications
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Risankizumab Is Effective for The Management of Crohn’s Disease of the Pouch
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Kayal, M. and Spencer, E.A. and Smyth, M. and Raffals, L. and Qazi, T. and Deepak, P. and Beniwal-Patel, P. and Chang, S. and Higgins, P. and Cross, R.K. and Anderson, C. and Long, M. and Herfarth, H.H. and Dubinsky, M.C. and Barnes, E.L.
DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izae164
2025Sonographic Transmural Induction Outcomes Across Advanced Therapies in Crohn’s Disease
Digestive Diseases and Sciences
Smyth, M.J. and Dolinger, M.T. and Kellar, A. and Spencer, E.A. and Dubinsky, M.C.
DOI: 10.1007/s10620-025-09181-x
2025Insights Into Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Effects of Dietary Fatty Acid Intake With a Focus on Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Using Preclinical Models
Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology
Smyth, M. and Lunken, G. and Jacobson, K.
DOI: 10.1093/jcag/gwad058
2024Response from the Canadian Children Inflammatory Bowel Disease Network to the US Food and Drug Administration Draft Guidance for Industry on pediatric inflammatory bowel disease: developing drugs for treatment
Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology
Wine, E. and Debruyn, J. and Crowley, E. and Griffiths, A.M. and Jeong, J. and Jacobson, K. and Lawrence, S. and Piper, H. and Smyth, M. and Tropini, C. and Vallance, B. and de Bruyn, J. and Huynh, H. and Carroll, M. and Isaac, D.M. and Armstrong, H. and El-Matary, W. and Grover, Z. and Bax, K. and Brill, H. and Dowhaniuk, J. and Prowse, K. and Sherlock, M. and Zachos, M. and Hart, L. and Popalis, C. and Griffths, A.M. and Muise, A. and Ricciuto, A. and Benchimol, E. and Jones, N. and Carman, N. and Church, P. and Walters, T. and Mulder, D. and Mack, D. and Stanisz, J. and Stintzi, A. and Pai, N. and Deslandres, C. and Breton, J. and Grzywacz, K. and Jantchou, P. and Chapuy, L. and Schneider, R. and Otley, A. and Burnett, D. and Critch, J. and Dinn, S.
DOI: 10.1093/jcag/gwae034
2024Cross-Sectional Analysis of Quality of Life in Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in British Columbia, Canada
The Journal of Pediatrics
Matthew Smyth and Justin Chan and Kathi Evans and Carlie Penner and Alam Lakhani and Theresa Newlove and Kevan Jacobson
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.07.036
11/2021Comparing Health Administrative and Clinical Registry Data: Trends in Incidence and Prevalence of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease in British Columbia
Clinical Epidemiology
Justin M Chan and Matthew W Carroll and Matthew Smyth and Zachary Hamilton and Dewey Evans and Kimberlyn McGrail and Eric I Benchimol and Kevan Jacobson
DOI: 10.2147/clep.s292546
02/2021Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM version 4.0 short form generic core scale across pediatric populations review data
Data in Brief
Smyth, M. and Jacobson, K.
DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.107599
2021Capsule Endoscopy Complements Magnetic Resonance Enterography and Endoscopy in Evaluating Small Bowel Crohn’s Disease
Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology
David O Prichard and Zachary Hamilton and Thomas Savage and Matthew Smyth and Carlie Penner and Alam Lakhani and Matthew W Carroll and Ahmed Al Sarkhy and Daniel A Lemberg and Robert Enns and Douglas Jamieson and Kevan Jacobson
DOI: 10.1093/jcag/gwz028
09/2019Consecutive fecal calprotectin measurements for predicting relapse in pediatric Crohn’s disease patients
World Journal of Gastroenterology
Alice Jane Foster and Matthew Smyth and Alam Lakhani and Benjamin Jung and Rollin F Brant and Kevan Jacobson
DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i10.1266
03/2019Concomitant Therapy with Immunomodulator Enhances Infliximab Durability in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Julianna Cheng and Zachary Hamilton and Matthew Smyth and Collin Barker and David Israel and Kevan Jacobson
DOI: 10.1097/mib.0000000000001212
10/2017Capsule Endoscopy Complements Magnetic Resonance Enterography and Ileo-Colonoscopy in the Evaluation of Suspected Small Bowel Crohn’s Disease in Pediatric Patients
Gastroenterology
David O. Prichard and Zachary Hamilton and Thomas Savage and Matthew Smyth and Carlie Penner and Alam Lakhani and Matthew Carroll and Ahmed A. Alsarkhy and Daniel Lemberg and Robert A. Enns and Robert J. Prosser and Daniel Jamieson and Kevan Jacobson
DOI: 10.1016/s0016-5085(17)32196-0
04/2017Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among South Asians Living in British Columbia, Canada
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Matthew W. Carroll and Zachary Hamilton and Hira Gill and Jonathan Simkin and Matthew Smyth and Victor Espinosa and Brian Bressler and Kevan Jacobson
DOI: 10.1097/mib.0000000000000651
02/2016 - Research
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Intestinal Ultrasound vs Colonoscopy in children
Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) accurately detects intestinal inflammation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). On ultrasound, inflamed bowel appears thickened (an increase in bowel wall thickness, BWT) and hyperemic (an increase in vascular flow within in the bowel wall, measured using doppler), and extra-luminal features are often present including inflammatory fat and lymphadenopathy. The transmural (ultrasound) features of normal bowel are well established in the adult population, with measurement thresholds that correlate well with colonoscopy findings. Colonoscopy is the gold standard assessment tool for IBD, and is the test used to guide therapy decision: however, with the exceptional accuracy of IUS for predicting colonoscopy, decisions are frequently made based on IUS alone. However, pediatric transmural findings differ significantly compared to adult norms, specifically in young children. There is a significant gap in our understanding of ultrasound findings in young patients: there is an urgent need to understand pediatric norms and establish pediatric-specific thresholds for macroscopic changes on colonoscopy. This study looks to definitively establish pediatric norms, and develop measurement thresholds for ultrasound that correlate to mild, moderate, and severe changes on colonoscopy. This will initially be looked at retrospectively, which will subsequently be used at the background for a prospective multi-centre study.Transmural treatment response across advanced therapies in IBD: a prospective, multi-centre observational study
Advanced therapies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are rapidly expanding in number and immune pathways targeted. However, not all patients respond to a given therapy. Intestinal Ultrasound (IUS) offers a non-invasive way to assess for treatment response in patients with IBD, which can help guide dosing and therapy decisions to help maximize a patients chance of achieving disease remission. Historically, a patient will wait 12 months after a treatment is initiated before a re-assessment of their response is done by colonoscopy. However, IUS can detect changes in bowel inflammation within days of starting treatment. This study aims to look at transmural (ultrasound) changes after 3 months of therapy, and understand what factors predict disease remission at 1 year of therapy. Furthermore, in patients who do not achieve a transmural response after 3 months of therapy, we look to understand whether therapy optimization based on IUS improves the chance of remission on that therapy at 12 months.
This study will be conducted at BC Children’s Hospital, the IBD Centre of BC, and potentially 3-4 other sites across Canada/US.Honours & Awards2023–2024 - Advanced fellow, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
2023 - Laura Macrae Award, UBC Department of Pediatrics
2023 - Fellowship Research Award, UBC Department of Pediatrics
BCCHR laboratories hosting Indigenous students for seed2STEM program
For the first time, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) is participating as one of the host institutes in the seed2STEM program — a research summer program that aims to increase participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among Indigenous youth.
