Lauren Collen

Lauren Collen, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and an Attending Physician in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Boston Children’s Hospital. She specializes in the clinical care and research of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly in very early-onset IBD (VEOIBD) and refractory cases. Her research focuses on understanding disease pathways to advance personalized medicine approaches.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
• Medical degree from University of Massachusetts Medical School (Worcester, MA)
• Pediatric residency at Boston Combined Residency Program
• Pediatric gastroenterology fellowship and Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital

Research Interests:

Dr. Collen investigates underlying genetic and immunological mechanisms driving IBD, with emphasis on monogenic forms and treatment-resistant cases. Her work combines clinical insights with genomic analysis and machine learning to improve diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic strategies.

Key Awards:

• Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Research Fellows Award

Clinical & Research Contributions:

She leads studies evaluating anti-TNF-alpha therapies in VEOIBD patients and explores discordance between clinical variant classification and AI-driven genomic analysis in rare diseases. Her clinical practice integrates patient-reported outcomes to tailor treatment plans.

Affiliations:

Dr. Collen is affiliated with the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and holds certifications in Pediatric Gastroenterology and General Pediatrics from the American Board of Pediatrics.