Dr. Sands' research as a clinical investigator focuses on extending basic pathogenetic observations in the inflammatory bowel diseases--Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis--to translational research and clinical trials.  I have been an active investigator in clinical trials of novel agents directed at specific pathophysiologic targets in IBD in all phases of study. His earliest clinical trial work was with infliximab, a chimeric monoclonal anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody that has revolutionized the treatment of Crohn's disease. Dr. Sands was among the first to report on the efficacy of infliximab in ulcerative colitis, later borne out in large randomized controlled trials. Dr. Sands was also overall principal investigator for a large randomized controlled trial of  infliximab in fistulizing Crohn's disease, the largest such study to date.  In addistion to his work in clinical trials, Dr. Sands's research has included extensive work in observational studies in IBD, including outcomes research and epidemiologic studies.  Most recently, he is the principal investigator of OSCCAR, the Ocean State Crohn's & Colitis Area Registry, a novel, prospective, population-based inception cohort of inflammatory bowel disease based in the state of Rhode Island.  The goals of this study are to 1) develope robust predictive models for outcomes in IBD, and 2) to elucidate the role of environmental risk factors in the onset of IBD.