Ray Playford is Professor of Gastroenterology at Imperial College. He has an international reputation for his work investigating the role of peptides in gut mucosal integrity and repair. His work has supported the hypothesis that trefoil peptides play a key role in stimulating repair of the gastrointestinal tract and he has shown epidermal growth factor functions as a ‘lumenal surveillance peptide’, being readily available to stimulate repair at the site of injury. This work is starting to translate into clinical benefits with the demonstration that epidermal growth factor may have important therapeutic benefit in inflammatory bowel disease.