Mike Kappleman
Principal Investigator COMBINE trial, CCFA-IBD Project, Steering Committee Member
Dr. Michael D. Kappelman, MD, MPH is a pediatric gastroenterologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an interest in the clinical care of children and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease. He also devotes considerable effort to quality improvement and epidemiological and outcomes research in this area. This includes studies of the prevalence, natural history, costs, and utilization of resources by children and adults with IBD, as well patient centered outcomes research and comparative effectiveness and safety research.
Dr. Kappelman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics within the UNC School of Medicine and holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Gillings School of Public Health. He also has been appointed a Research Fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research.
Dr. Kappelman’s research portfolio includes studies funded by PCORI, the NIH, foundations, and industry. He is currently the PI of a PCORI funded large pragmatic trial to compare the effectiveness and safety of anti-TNF monotherapy and combination therapy (COMBINE trial) with methotrexate in children with Crohn’s disease ($7.9 million), PI of a PCORI funded patient powered research network ($2.2 million), and is involved in PEPR centers (CHOP and UNC/Duke) via NIH-funded U19 awards to establish the clinical meaningfulness of the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS). As a part of the UNC/Duke center in the PEPR consortium, Dr. Kappelman leads the IBD researcch team working via the CCFA Partners Kids & Teens cohort. For CHOP, he is leading the COMBINE trial mentioned above.
Dr. Kappelman is deeply committed to mentoring trainees and junior faculty, having mentored over 12 fellows, MPH or PhD students, and junior faculty since joining the UNC faculty in 2007. All former trainees currently hold research positions at academic institutions throughout the U.S. or within industry. In addition to these research, mentoring, and clinical care efforts, Dr. Kappelman is the Chair of the Pediatric Affairs Committee for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and serves on the National Scientific Advisory Council. He also holds a number of leadership roles within ImproveCareNow for Pediatric IBD, including serving on the network’s Strategy Council, Physician Leadership Group, and Data Management Division.
