Investigating context-dependent IBS symptom variation.

Korrely is a research initiative developing and evaluating the Dynamic Symptom Response Framework: a hypothesis that IBS symptom responses are shaped by interactions between underlying susceptibility, changing internal state, current exposures, perception and meaning, and feedback from previous symptoms and coping behaviours.

The Problem

IBS symptoms fluctuate within the same person.

People often focus on individual “triggers,” particularly food.

An exposure may not have the same effect under different physiological or psychological conditions.

Existing approaches do not always help people understand this variability or manage it sustainably.

Working Hypothesis

IBS symptoms at a particular time may reflect an interaction between a person’s underlying susceptibility, their changing internal state, current exposures or behaviours, how sensations are perceived and interpreted, and feedback from previous symptoms and coping responses.

Mobile Dynamic Symptom Response Framework A flow diagram showing how relatively stable susceptibility, feedback, changing internal state, and current exposures influence the current symptom response. Relatively stable susceptibility Motility phenotype, visceral sensitivity, immune factors, learned threat Current symptom response Feedback Attention, fear, avoidance, dietary restriction, altered behaviour Changing internal state Bowel transit, stress/arousal, sleep, menstrual cycle, illness Current exposures Meal size and composition, eating behaviour, activity, medication, routine disruption

What the existing evidence suggests

What Korrely hypothesises

What remains to be tested

  • IBS is heterogeneous and symptoms vary over time.
  • Biological, behavioural and psychological processes may all contribute.
  • Individual responses to exposures are not always consistent.
  • A person’s current state may modify how they respond to an exposure.
  • Repeated within-person measurement may identify context-dependent relationships that population averages miss.
  • Structured feedback may eventually reduce uncertainty and unhelpful trial-and-error behaviour.
  • Whether the relevant variables can be captured reliably without excessive burden.
  • Whether there is sufficient within-person variation to estimate interactions.
  • Whether detected patterns reproduce prospectively.
  • Whether framework-informed feedback can help without increasing anxiety, food fear or restriction.

What the existing evidence suggests

  • IBS is heterogeneous and symptoms vary over time.
  • Biological, behavioural and psychological processes may all contribute.
  • Individual responses to exposures are not always consistent.

What Korrely hypothesises

  • A person’s current state may modify how they respond to an exposure.
  • Repeated within-person measurement may identify context-dependent relationships that population averages miss.
  • Structured feedback may eventually reduce uncertainty and unhelpful trial-and-error behaviour.

What remains to be tested

  • Whether the relevant variables can be captured reliably without excessive burden.
  • Whether there is sufficient within-person variation to estimate interactions.
  • Whether detected patterns reproduce prospectively.
  • Whether framework-informed feedback can help without increasing anxiety, food fear or restriction.

Collaborate with Korrely

Clinicians

We are seeking perspectives from GPs, gastroenterology professionals, dietitians, psychologists and other practitioners working with people who have IBS. Interviews focus on unmet needs, current workarounds, access barriers, clinical safety and whether the proposed research problem is recognisable in practice.

Contribute clinical perspective

Researchers and institutions

We welcome conversations with researchers working in gastroenterology, intensive longitudinal methods, behavioural science, psychogastroenterology, biostatistics, digital health, implementation science, Māori health and research data governance.

Discuss research collaboration

From the founder

Chrystie, founder of Korrely

Chrystie is a clinical nutritionist who has spent the past 10 years supporting people living with IBS. Drawing on her professional experience, personal experience of IBS and the stories shared by her clients, she is committed to improving how this complex condition is understood and managed. Chrystie developed the Dynamic Symptom Response Framework from clinical observations suggesting that a person’s response to an exposure or intervention may depend on their changing context, rather than remaining consistent over time. She originally developed Korrely as a digital health product concept but has since chosen a research-first pathway, focusing on testing the framework and building clinical and academic partnerships before determining how it might ultimately be translated into practice.

Common Questions

Who is Korrely for?

Korrely is designed for adults living with IBS and related gut disorders, including functional dyspepsia, functional constipation, and functional heartburn.

It is built for people who:

  • experience ongoing symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, bowel habit changes, or uncertainty around food triggers
  • want more personalised guidance than a basic symptom tracker can provide
  • feel overwhelmed by conflicting advice online
  • are motivated to better understand and self-manage their symptoms, but are unsure what is actually driving them
Where is Korrely available?

Korrely is currently in development and being piloted with a small group of early users.

We plan to open a broader beta in the second half of 2026 so more people can try it. You can join the waitlist and newsletter to hear about updates and early access.