00:03Ronan Summers is battling a hidden illness.
00:07His ulcerative colitis has at times left him unable to do the things he loves.
00:12It just made my stomach hurt and cramp and when I tried to do exercise it would hurt.
00:20The disease is marked by painful inflammation and ulcers in the large intestine.
00:25Ronan's journey to diagnosis and treatment has been long and tough.
00:30He's missed one in five school days this year.
00:33He went on a lot of medication that didn't work so it was a bit of a trial and error
00:36kind of stage.
00:38It's a trajectory researchers at Monash are looking to turn around.
00:42For the first time using human samples they've developed these organoids nicknamed mini guts.
00:49Tiny 3D models of paediatric IBD patients intestinal lining stored alongside its accompanying bacteria.
00:57The benefit is it allows us to study the disease in living tissue in the lab so we don't have
01:02to go to the patient.
01:04But it also allows us to develop and test new therapies.
01:09They've also found a way to inject that same gut bacteria back into the patient's own organoid.
01:14And really try to understand you know in a very detailed way the interaction between the bacteria
01:22and the lining of the bowel to see if we can understand what's driving inflammation.
01:27Researchers here have been able to create a bank of mini guts from many different patients.
01:32It'll mean future research is relevant and specific to the Australian population.
01:37For Ronan finding the right treatment means he's now symptom free and has a newfound confidence.
01:43I'm much more energetic now and I never used to have this but I like talking to people a lot
01:50more now.
01:51I'm taking care of my customers in the house.
01:51For Ronan finding a person who was a physician who is a physician who was a physician who was a
01:51physician.
01:51What's going to do with a doctor?
01:51He was just not aware of that I did, and I've been very well to the doctor.
01:51He said it's a physician, and he's been a physician.
01:53He looked a car in the hospital.
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