Professor Gwo-Tzer Ho
- Professor of Gastroenterology (Immunology & Infection)
Biography
Gwo-tzer trained in Medicine in Glasgow, where he first became interested in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD).
He followed his research trail to Edinburgh – undertaking a PhD in genetics with Professor Jack Satsangi, then to Chapel Hill (USA) with an MRC award in gut immunology with Professor Balfour Sartor; and returned to set up his own lab in Centre for Inflammation of Research, University of Edinburgh.
Now, he leads a Scotland-wide translational science group that investigates the complexities of IBD spanning mucosal immunology and human clinical studies.
He has a strong interest in understanding the processes that govern gut mucosal healing in Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis; and bridging discovery science to the clinic. He continues to care for IBD patients in the clinic and maintains a keen interest in patient-public engagement.
Publications
2026
Hegarty, Lizi M., Jones, Gareth-Rhys 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7355-2357, Biram, Adi, Adams, Claire E., Gentek, Rebecca M., Ho, Gwo-Tzer, Emmerson, Elaine and Bain, Calum ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8884-327X
(2026)
Tissue resident colonic macrophages persist through acute inflammation and adapt to aid tissue repair.
Mucosal Immunology, 19(1),
pp. 1624-1635.
(doi: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2025.11.007)
(PMID:41248849)
Chuah, C. S. et al. (2026) Machine learning approach to dissect the clinical heterogeneity of IBD-associated fatigue. BMJ Digital Health and AI, 2(1), e000037. (doi: 10.1136/ bmjdh-2026-000037)
2025
Halligan, Molly J., Thompson, Aerin E., Docherty, Destiny, Kelly, Patricia, Pryde, Emma, Chuah, Cher Shiong, Hall, Rebecca and Ho, Gwo-Tzer (2025) Patient-led thematic analysis on the impact of living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: a contemporary appraisal of 415 patient-reported outcomes to improve care and research. Crohn's and Colitis 360, (Accepted for Publication)
Articles
Hegarty, Lizi M., Jones, Gareth-Rhys ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7355-2357, Biram, Adi, Adams, Claire E., Gentek, Rebecca M., Ho, Gwo-Tzer, Emmerson, Elaine and Bain, Calum ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8884-327X
(2026)
Tissue resident colonic macrophages persist through acute inflammation and adapt to aid tissue repair.
Mucosal Immunology, 19(1),
pp. 1624-1635.
(doi: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2025.11.007)
(PMID:41248849)
Chuah, C. S. et al. (2026) Machine learning approach to dissect the clinical heterogeneity of IBD-associated fatigue. BMJ Digital Health and AI, 2(1), e000037. (doi: 10.1136/ bmjdh-2026-000037)
Halligan, Molly J., Thompson, Aerin E., Docherty, Destiny, Kelly, Patricia, Pryde, Emma, Chuah, Cher Shiong, Hall, Rebecca and Ho, Gwo-Tzer (2025) Patient-led thematic analysis on the impact of living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: a contemporary appraisal of 415 patient-reported outcomes to improve care and research. Crohn's and Colitis 360, (Accepted for Publication)
Grants
Grants and Awards listed are those received whilst working with the University of Glasgow.
- Mitochondrial DAMPs as mechanistic biomarkers of mucosal inflammation in Crohn's disease (MUSIC)
Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust
2024 - 2025
