Mira M. Wouters, MD
Department of Gastroenterology, Translational Research Center for
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Leuven, Belgium
Title: Histamine receptor H1-mediated sensitization of TRPV1 mediates visceral hypersensitivity and symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology 2016;150:875-87.
Dr. Mira Wouters is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Gastroenterology, Translational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID) in KU Leuven, Belgium. Her primary area of focus has been on the mechanisms underlying increased visceral pain perception as a hallmark symptom of IBS, with particular interest in neuronal sensitization by immune mediators. More recently, she expanded her research interests to identify molecular receptors and their signaling pathways involved in modulating neuronal sensitization and contributing to the development of
visceral pain.
In 2000, Dr. Wouters completed her MS in Biochemistry at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Later, she completed her doctoral studies at Janssen Pharmaceutica in collaboration with Université libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, USA. During her time at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Wouters’ primary research interests were in unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying slow wave generation and proliferation of the interstitial cells of Cajal (pacemaker cells) in the gastrointestinal tract. Since joining TARGID in 2008, Dr. Wouters established a novel research line on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying IBS using clinical data and animal models.