Torunn Bruland

Torunn Bruland is a top-level researcher and leader in gastroenterology and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She holds leadership roles as Co-Leader of CAG-IBD (Precision Medicine in IBD) and Unit Leader for Gastroenterology, Inflammation, and Clinic-Based Research within the Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Her research focuses on IBD mechanisms, organoid-based drug testing, epithelial biology, and microbiota interactions. She has authored/co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications since 2001, with recent work emphasizing stem cell behavior, chemokine regulation, and biomarker discovery in IBD. Collaborations include international teams studying fungal microbiota in IBD and hypoxia’s role in organoid differentiation.

Key contributions include developing protocols for culturing patient-derived colon organoids and identifying NGAL as a potential biomarker for collagenous colitis. Her work bridges basic science and clinical translation, with a focus on precision medicine for IBD. Awards and grants are not explicitly listed, but her leadership roles suggest sustained institutional and collaborative support.

Research interests span IBD pathogenesis, epithelial-immune interactions, and therapeutic innovation. She advises graduate students and collaborates with researchers like Drs. Ingunn Bakke, Shreya Gopalakrishnan, and Atle van Beelen Granlund. Her lab’s work is published in journals like Scientific Reports, Frontiers in Immunology, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.