Mount Sinai Launches the World’s First Inflammatory Bowel Disease Prevention Clinic 

Mount Sinai has established the world’s first Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Prevention Clinic, a groundbreaking initiative co-directed by Elizabeth A. Spencer, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Pediatrics, and Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Ryan Ungaro, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Medicine (Gastroenterology), Icahn School of Medicine. This pioneering program reflects Mount Sinai’s commitment to advancing precision health and early intervention for children and families at risk for IBD.

By combining state-of-the-art intestinal ultrasound technology with a multidisciplinary prevention model, the Mount Sinai IBD Prevention Clinic represents a paradigm shift from reactive treatment to proactive, presymptomatic detection and prevention. As part of Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital and the Icahn School of Medicine, the clinic serves as a national resource and a blueprint for the future of precision gastroenterology.

Dr. Spencer brings both clinical expertise and personal experience to her role. “This clinic was inspired by patients like myself. I have ulcerative colitis and several family members with IBD, and worry about my own children,” she says. “I wanted to be able to tell people what we already know they can do today, and to create a pathway that facilitates the preventive strategies of tomorrow.”

Her words underscore the clinic’s mission, not only to detect early signs of disease, but also to empower families with knowledge and tools to reduce risk and take proactive steps toward prevention.

“We now understand that IBD is a progressive disease,” says Dr. Ungaro. “There’s a window of opportunity early in its course when intervention is most effective.” By identifying risk before symptoms emerge, we can potentially change the trajectory of the disease and improve long-term outcomes.”

The Mount Sinai IBD Prevention Clinic offers comprehensive, noninvasive risk stratification for first-degree relatives of patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, who are known to carry a higher lifetime risk of developing IBD. Each participant undergoes a streamlined assessment using intestinal ultrasound, blood-based immune markers, and stool testing (including a fecal marker of intestinal inflammation) to detect early biological changes that may precede clinical disease. Results are integrated into a personalized risk profile that guides individualized counseling and follow-up.

Beyond testing, the program emphasizes preventive counseling and modifiable risk reduction. “We provide families with tailored education on nutrition, environmental exposures, and stress management—factors increasingly recognized as contributors to IBD onset,” says Dr. Ungaro. For participants with potential signs of subclinical disease, the clinic provides expedited referrals to Mount Sinai’s pediatric and adult IBD specialists for prompt diagnostic evaluation and initiation of care.

Importantly, participants are also offered the opportunity to enroll in ongoing research studies aimed at developing novel preventive strategies and accelerating progress toward a cure for IBD. This optional research pathway supports discovery while giving families access to cutting-edge advances in risk prediction, monitoring, and early intervention.

"We are looking ahead to build a global prevention network to share protocols, harmonize data, and scale this model internationally, so families at risk for IBD can benefit from proactive, evidence-based prevention wherever they live,” says Dr. Ungaro.

Currently, the clinic is open to relatives of current Mount Sinai IBD patients, with plans to expand over time. The program is supported by the generosity of The Goldsmith Family IBD Prevention Program and is housed within Mount Sinai’s Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center.