A pharmacist from the West Midlands, Harinder aims to bridge the gap between people with Crohn’s and Colitis and healthcare. He is working with a project using histopathology (studying disease through interpretation of cells and tissue samples) to personalise medication in Ulcerative Colitis.

I was first unwell when I was at university, but it went away, coming back five years ago when I was working, and was very busy and very active. You think it will sort itself even as the symptoms are creeping up on you. I was tired, went to the toilet a lot and there was blood and mucus in my stools. Some foods made it worse too, so I was avoiding them and losing weight.

I was training for a national dance competition in Bhangra, which is Punjabi folk dancing. We trained in cycles as we worked towards each competition and in 2016 I was aware that I couldn’t reach the same level of fitness as previously. Now I know I was having a flare-up. During training I felt very unwell, so I saw my doctor who called an ambulance as my heart rate was so high. It turned out my iron levels were so low that my heart was struggling.

It was hard for my parents to see me so ill, especially since I was in denial and was convinced I’d get better without treatment. I’m coping well now as my medication is working.

I didn’t feel I got enough information from the NHS, but Crohn’s & Colitis UK were excellent, so two months ago I became a Research Champion. I’ve met other people living with the conditions, healthcare professionals and researchers.