The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Senior Research Awards aim to support established investigators in generating sufficient preliminary data to compete for external funding, particularly from large funders such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These grants are tailored for independent researchers pursuing studies in the area of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

To be eligible, applicants must hold an MD and/or PhD or an equivalent terminal degree and be employed at an institution engaged in health care or health-related research. Eligible institutions include public or private non-profit organizations or government agencies. Applicants must have achieved research independence from their mentors. There are no restrictions based on geography or citizenship for this opportunity.

Each proposal must be directly relevant to IBD and must demonstrate scientific merit and potential to lead to future larger-scale research funding. Only one application per applicant is permitted for each submission date. Applicants may not submit both a Senior Research Award and a Training Award in the same cycle. Funding support includes both direct and indirect costs and is subject to annual progress reviews.

The maximum annual award is $130,000, which includes up to $118,182 in direct costs and up to 10% of those costs, or $11,818, in indirect costs. Funding may be provided for a period of one to three years. Awardees may use Senior Research Award funds to cover costs associated with accessing and utilizing IBD Plexus, a comprehensive data and biosample platform developed by the Foundation. IBD Plexus contains clinical data, biosamples, genetic and molecular data, and analytical tools that facilitate advanced IBD research. Researchers may also contribute derived raw data back to the platform as part of a collaborative data-sharing model.

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation uses Proposal Central as the online submission portal for all grants. For the Spring/Summer 2025 cycle, the portal opens on October 23, 2024. Letters of Intent are due by December 5, 2024, at 11:59 pm EST, and full proposals are due by February 13, 2025, at 11:59 pm EST. The application review period will take place from April to May, and award decisions will be announced in October. The Fall/Winter 2024 cycle has been cancelled, with a future announcement pending. For questions related to the submission process, applicants may contact Saleha Hossain at SRA@crohnscolitisfoundation.org, while post-award management inquiries should be directed to postaward@crohnscolitisfoundation.org.