The Celiac Disease Foundation is proud to spotlight the work of Dr. Amelie Therrien, recipient of the Celiac Disease Foundation – Society for the Study of Celiac Disease (SSCD) Outreach Program to Improve Detection of Celiac Disease Research Award. Dr. Therrien’s innovative project seeks to bridge critical gaps in diagnosis by bringing celiac disease screening directly to communities that may face challenges in accessing traditional care.
Dr. Therrien is the Director of Research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Diagnosed with celiac disease at just 18 months old, her experiences with the condition have fueled her passion for advancing care and understanding of what individuals with celiac disease navigate on a daily basis.
“I have lived with celiac disease all my life and was fortunate to have great GI care in both pediatric and adult settings,” she shares. “During my medical training, I realized that there was a lack of clinical awareness that individuals with celiac disease needed follow-up. I also saw that celiac research was blooming to try to address the several unmet medical needs.”
A Closer Look at the Research
Dr. Therrien’s project aims to uncover potential disparities in diagnosis by focusing on individuals of Latin American descent, a population shown in recent data to have similar rates of histologic signs of celiac disease as the general population. Yet, these individuals remain underrepresented in the patient population of many celiac disease centers.
“We are concerned that we are missing celiac disease in some populations because of lack of access to care or misconceptions about who may develop the disease,” Dr. Therrien explains. “Our research involves offering screening to patients at a community primary care clinic affiliated with our center. We’re also learning more about their awareness of celiac disease, their ability to follow a gluten-free diet, and how easily they can identify gluten on ingredient labels.”
In addition to assessing undiagnosed rates, the study explores community beliefs about celiac disease and tests a promising new outreach approach: at-home screening using a simple finger-prick blood test. This innovative model has the potential to improve early diagnosis for patients who might otherwise go undetected due to geographic or socioeconomic barriers.
The Importance of this Research
Celiac disease is vastly underdiagnosed, and research has shown that individuals who live farther from endoscopy centers are less likely to be diagnosed. By testing a community-based outreach program, Dr. Therrien hopes to build a model that can be adapted for underserved populations across the U.S.
“Our research aims to get a better understanding of the rate of celiac disease in the population and barriers to care, as well as pilot an outreach program that may help populations in the USA with difficult access to care to be screened for celiac disease.”
A Message of Hope
Dr. Therrien sees this work as part of a broader movement to raise awareness and improve quality of life for those living with celiac disease.
“In the last 30 years, there has been a lot of progress in our understanding of celiac disease and our ability to screen for and diagnose the disease,” she reflects. “By raising your voice and joining together with advocacy groups such as the Celiac Disease Foundation, you are breaking the misconception that someone with celiac disease will ‘just have to follow a gluten-free diet and be fine.’ These realizations have also yielded a boom in drug development for celiac disease.”
Dr. Therrien’s research is a vital step toward improving access to celiac disease diagnosis and care for underserved communities. We are honored to support her work and look forward to the impact this project will have on early detection and outreach strategies nationwide.