Kelly Laboratory

About the Kelly Lab

Ciarán P. Kelly, MDCiarán P. Kelly, MD

Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
J. Thomas LaMont Professor of Gastroenterology
Associate Director, Gastroenterology Training Fellowship
Director, Celiac Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Dr. Kelly earned his medical degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland where he was a Foundation Scholar and recipient of numerous academic awards. Dr. Kelly has also received postgraduate clinical and research awards from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, the American Gastroenterological Association, and the National Institutes of Health. He is an American Gastroenterology Association Fellow and a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Kelly has served as a committee member of the NIH, Center for Scientific Review as well as FDA, CDC and NIH committees on celiac disease and C. difficile infection. Dr. Kelly is the author of more than 300 clinical and basic research book chapters, invited reviews, and original research articles appearing in medical and scientific journals including Gastroenterology, Vaccine, Infection & Immunity, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, The Lancet, and The New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Kelly has engaged in patient care and research in Celiac disease for more than 25 years. He is an internationally recognized expert in the diagnosis and management of celiac disease and, in his clinical practice, specializes in difficult-to-treat enteropathies. He also leads research programs on the pathogenesis of celiac disease, its diagnosis, and new approaches to treatment.

In 2004, he was a founder of the Celiac Center at BIDMC and continues to serve as its Medical Director. In 2013, he co-founded the Celiac Research Program at Harvard Medical School which brings together Celiac disease researchers and educators from Harvard teaching hospitals including Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and BIDMC. He is a founding member and past President of the Society for the Study of Celiac Disease.

Dr. Kelly also has a longstanding research and clinical interest in the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) dating back to the 1980s. He is an author on over 80 original articles on CDI, as well as multiple reviews and book chapters. He co-authored the IDSA/SHEA national guidelines on CDI diagnosis and management (2010, 2017, and 2021). In addition to his basic science research on CDI pathogenesis and on C. difficile toxins’ mechanisms of action, he has been the principle investigator on multiple translational science studies in CDI examining such questions as the influence of adaptive immune responses on disease outcomes, biomarkers of severe or recurrent CDI, passive and active immunization against CDI, and predictors of CDI clinical outcomes.

Learn more about research at the Celiac Center.