Pre-conference workshop · Add-on to registration
Hands-On IBD Research Workshop 2026
From Local Question to Evidence Generation
Target audience
- Senior Internal Medicine residents
- GI and IBD fellows
- GI specialists
- Gastroenterologists
5–6 groups of 7–8 participants. Group, mentor and research question assignments are made at registration.
Workshop goals
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Articulate the case for generating local IBD evidence and the limits of extrapolating from international cohorts.
- Describe the core design choices that make a local IBD registry sustainable and optimised for research.
- Recognise the strengths, limitations and common pitfalls of real-world evidence studies in IBD.
- Understand interpretation pitfalls and when and how to use systematic review, meta-analysis and network meta-analysis in IBD.
- Frame a local IBD research question using a structured PICO approach and match it to the appropriate study design.
- Draft a one-page research concept ready for further development into an IRB-ready protocol.
Detailed programme
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:25 | Why local IBD research matters: closing the evidence gap |
| 09:25 – 09:50 | Building a sustainable and optimised local IBD registry for evidence generation |
| 09:50 – 10:15 | Generating real-world evidence in IBD: from question to publication |
| 10:15 – 10:45 | Systematic review, meta-analysis and network meta-analysis in IBD |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Break |
| 11:00 – 11:55 | Hands-on workshop: design your local IBD study |
| 11:55 – 12:00 | Closing remarks |
Hands-on workshop structure (11:00 – 11:55)
Briefing (5 min)
Workshop chair walks through the on-screen checklist and explains the deliverable: each group completes a one-page research concept following the checklist.
Guided group work (40 min)
Each group works through the checklist with their mentor, making explicit decisions at every step. Mentors guide and challenge; they do not lecture.
Group pitches (10 min)
90 seconds per group: question, design, biggest worry. A faculty panel offers one piece of feedback per group.
Session format
- All blocks are interactive and facilitator-led.
- Real local IBD examples used throughout.
- No pre-reading material required — all content delivered in session.
- Small-group work with live mentor feedback during the hands-on session.
- Tangible deliverable: one completed research concept per group.
Group structure
- Limited to 40 participants, divided into 5–6 small groups of 7–8.
- Each group is assigned a mentor for direct supervision throughout the hands-on workshop.
- Group, mentor and research question assignments are made at registration.
Companion EBM Course
Prepare for the workshop with the accompanying Evidence-Based Medicine course — self-paced online.
Companion course
Evidence-Based Medicine for the GI Fellow
Eight modules covering the 5-step EBM cycle, study designs, measures of effect, bias & confounding, diagnostic-test evaluation, systematic reviews, critical-appraisal frameworks (RoB 2, ROBINS-I, GRADE, AGREE II), and applying evidence in practice — every worked example drawn from the GI/IBD literature. Approximately 13 hours of self-paced content, with case-based discussions and formative self-checks throughout.
Open the courseWorkshop checklist — all groups follow this format
Every group will produce a one-page research concept that addresses each of the eight checklist items below.
1. Research question (PICO)
- Population — who exactly? Adult or paediatric? Newly diagnosed or biologic-experienced? Inclusion and exclusion criteria.
- Intervention / exposure — which drug, intervention or risk factor is being studied?
- Comparator — what is the reference group? Or is this descriptive (no comparator)?
- Outcome — primary outcome and secondary outcomes.
- One-sentence statement of the research question.
2. Local rationale
- One to two sentences on why this question matters to answer locally and what gap it fills.
3. Study design
- Type — retrospective cohort, prospective cohort, cross-sectional, case-control, registry-based, systematic review, meta-analysis or network meta-analysis.
- One-line justification for why this design fits the question.
- Setting — single centre, specific clinic or department, time period.
4. Primary outcome definition
- The outcome itself (e.g. steroid-free clinical remission, mucosal healing, drug discontinuation).
- The validated tool used to measure it (Mayo, UCEIS, SES-CD, MaRIA, fecal calprotectin cutoff, SIBDQ, etc.).
- The time point at which it is assessed.
5. Sample and feasibility
- Estimated sample size (rough).
- Data source — EMR, paper charts, existing registry, prospective collection.
- Realistic timeline to completion.
- Resources needed — research assistant, statistician, IRB pathway.
6. Top two threats to validity
- Identify the two most important threats — selection bias, confounding by indication, immortal time bias, misclassification, loss to follow-up, missing data.
- One-line mitigation strategy for each.
7. Ethics
- IRB pathway — minimal risk / expedited / full review.
- Consent — waiver possible, or required?
8. Monday-morning step
- One concrete action the group would take to advance this project the day they return to work.
Faculty & mentor pool
The final 5–6 mentors will be selected from this pool.
Prof. Majid Al Madi
King Saud University
Prof. Mahmoud Mosli
King Abdulaziz University · Jeddah
Dr. Othman Al Harbi
King Saud University
Dr. Badr Al Bawardy
KFSH&RC · Riyadh
Dr. Abdulelah AlMutairdi
KFSH&RC · Alfaisal University
Dr. Turki Al Ameel
Saudi Gastroenterology Association
Dr. Majid Al Sahafi
King Abdulaziz University · Jeddah
Dr. Nabil Quraishi
Guest faculty
Dr. Mohamed Shehab
Guest faculty
Candidate research questions
A pool from which the final 5–6 workshop questions will be selected — one per group. Questions are framed as single-centre, local studies feasible from chart review, EMR data or a local registry.
- 01.Rate of serious and opportunistic infections in patients on biologics at our centre over the past 5 years.
- 02.Latent TB screening outcomes and TB reactivation rates among biologic-treated IBD patients.
- 03.Hepatitis B reactivation risk and screening adherence in IBD patients on immunosuppression.
- 04.Haematologic toxicity with thiopurines — incidence, timing and predictors.
- 05.Herpes zoster incidence in JAK inhibitor users at our centre.
- 06.Vaccination uptake and gaps (pneumococcal, influenza, HPV, zoster) in our IBD cohort.
- 07.Infusion reaction rates with infliximab and management outcomes.
Reserve your workshop seat
The workshop is capped at 40 participants. Add it to your IBD Masterclass registration — the workshop fee is set at the standard workshop rate for your category (SGA member, non-member or nurse/trainee).
Register now