Member Research Update

Dr Stephanie Brown is a paediatric gastroenterology dietitian and researcher based in Christchurch, where she combines clinical practice with a clinically embedded research programme focused on improving outcomes for children with gastrointestinal disease. Her work centres on evidence-based dietary strategies in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), alongside related psychosocial and feeding challenges that can significantly affect nutrition, growth, and quality of life.

At the forefront of her current research is the Christchurch arm of a multi-collaborative international randomised controlled trial, the first of its kind in paediatric Crohn’s disease. This study brings together Christchurch with Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and IWK Health Centre in Halifax, and is evaluating a whole-food smoothie intervention as an alternative nutrition therapy for children with Crohn’s disease. The trial reflects a growing international interest in food-based therapies that are both clinically effective and more acceptable for children and families, with the potential to broaden therapeutic dietary options beyond traditional exclusive enteral nutrition.

Alongside this trial, Stephanie is leading research exploring ultra-processed food intake in children with IBD through an international collaborative study involving New Zealand, Connecticut, and British Columbia. This work is examining how dietary patterns may relate to disease activity and outcomes in children with IBD, and contributes to a rapidly expanding area of gastroenterology research focused on the role of food quality and food processing in chronic inflammatory disease.

She is also involved in Australasian collaborative work evaluating outcomes of the Crohn’s Disease Exclusion Diet in real-world clinical care. This research aims to strengthen the evidence base for therapeutic dietary approaches in paediatric Crohn’s disease and to support translation of emerging evidence into practical clinical guidance.

A further current area of research is the validation and potential development of a screening tool to identify food fears and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in children with paediatric IBD. This work is being undertaken with a postgraduate student and reflects an important but often under-recognised issue within this cohort. Feeding anxiety, food avoidance, and fear-based eating behaviours can be highly prevalent in children with IBD, particularly where symptoms, restrictive diets, or past negative food experiences shape eating patterns. Improving recognition of these challenges is an important step toward more holistic and effective care.

Across all of this work, Stephanie’s aim is to generate research that is directly translatable to clinical practice. By combining clinical insight with collaborative, patient-focused research, she hopes to contribute to better dietary treatments, improved screening and support for feeding difficulties, and stronger evidence to guide the care of children living with gastrointestinal disease.