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Clinical Research Investigator-Initiated Awards

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation

Objective: To directly impact patient care by addressing an important clinical question by studying people either through direct interaction with the people and/or indirectly by studying people through large databases, such as claims data or administrative data. Therefore, the expectation is that the research findings from funded CRIAs will result in highly-cited publications, citations in clinical guidelines, and/or follow-on funding to advance the research further.

Priority will be given to proposals that address the priorities outlined in the Pragmatic Clinical Research publication within the Challenges in IBD Research, and how the results would impact prevailing practice in this area. There needs to be a compelling clinical rationale to justify a focus outside of these priority areas.

Grant Funding Terms: The maximum budget request: $250,000/year in total costs (10% IDC maximum allowed), for three years. The Foundation will no longer accept requests from applicants to exceed this budgetary threshold. The total budget can be requested for up to three years. Specific milestones will be agreed upon as part of the funding process, and continued funding is dependent on achieving these milestones, which will be reviewed scientifically and administratively.

Submission Deadlines
Pre-Application	Portal Opens: October 3, 2026 Deadline: December 1, 2026
Full Proposal (via Invitation)	January 21, 2027
Applications Review	April – May
Decisions Announced	June

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Direct relevance to Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (highest predictor)

This is the most important success predictor.

The Foundation states that its funded research must be relevant to IBD, Crohn’s disease, and/or ulcerative colitis. Competitive projects typically address:

Disease causes and pathogenesis
Intestinal inflammation and immune dysregulation
Microbiome–host interactions
Genetics and environmental triggers
Fibrosis and stricturing disease
Biomarkers and precision medicine
New therapeutics
Disease monitoring
Clinical outcomes
Quality of life

A scientifically excellent project with only indirect relevance to IBD will generally be less competitive than one that clearly addresses a major IBD problem.

2. Alignment with the Foundation’s research priorities (very high predictor)

The Foundation states that, regardless of funding mechanism, it funds according to its identified research priorities and the major challenges facing the IBD field.

Strong applications clearly explain how the project addresses an important unresolved problem such as:

Disease prevention
Prediction of disease course
Precision treatment selection
Durable remission
Treatment resistance
Fibrosis and complications
Microbiome mechanisms
Pediatric IBD
Better patient outcomes

The proposal should explicitly connect its aims to a recognized gap in current IBD knowledge or care.

3. Scientific significance and potential impact (very high predictor)

Competitive proposals address a problem that matters to both the IBD research field and, ultimately, patients.

Strong applications demonstrate potential to:

Change understanding of IBD biology
Identify a new disease mechanism
Improve diagnosis or disease prediction
Develop better treatments
Prevent complications
Improve quality of life
Change clinical practice

The Foundation’s mission is to cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and improve the quality of life of people living with these diseases, so the strongest proposals make the pathway to meaningful impact clear.

4. Innovation and originality (very high predictor)

Innovation is particularly important for programs such as Litwin IBD Pioneers, which support innovative early-stage research.

Strong proposals may involve:

Novel hypotheses
New therapeutic targets
Emerging technologies
Innovative disease models
New biomarkers
High-risk/high-reward approaches
Unconventional interdisciplinary ideas

The strongest applications do more than repeat established approaches; they explain how the proposed work could open a new direction in IBD research.

5. Rigorous and feasible research design (very high predictor)

Scientific ambition must be matched by execution.

Competitive applications generally include:

Clear hypotheses or objectives
Focused specific aims
Appropriate experimental design
Strong statistical analysis
Realistic recruitment plans
Relevant controls
Clearly defined milestones
Plans for potential problems and alternatives

For pilot and early-stage mechanisms, a focused project that can produce decisive evidence is generally stronger than an overly ambitious proposal with uncertain feasibility.

6. Strong investigator qualifications and relevant expertise (high predictor)

The Foundation supports researchers across career stages, from students and postdoctoral fellows to established investigators.

Competitive applicants generally demonstrate:

Expertise relevant to the proposed IBD question
Appropriate research training
Scientific productivity
Relevant publications
Ability to complete the proposed work
Access to needed resources

For established investigators, track record and research independence are particularly important. For trainees and junior investigators, potential, training quality, and career trajectory become more influential.

7. Strong mentorship and career-development environment (very high for training awards)

The Foundation explicitly supports a strong pipeline of junior investigators pursuing careers in IBD research.

For fellowship and career-development applications, competitive candidates typically demonstrate:

An experienced IBD research mentor
A strong training environment
Acquisition of new research skills
Institutional support
Clear career objectives
Progress toward research independence

The Research Fellowship Award specifically supports postdoctoral investigators developing basic research skills in IBD, while other career-development mechanisms support promising researchers building sustained careers in the field.

8. Strong preliminary rationale and potential for future funding (high predictor)

Many Foundation awards can function as stepping stones toward larger research programs.

Strong projects often aim to generate:

Preliminary data
Proof-of-concept evidence
Biomarker validation
Therapeutic feasibility results
Data for NIH or other major grant applications

For pilot and innovative awards, the strongest proposal explains what decisive evidence the Foundation’s investment will generate and how that evidence will enable the next stage of research.

9. Translational and patient relevance (high predictor)

The Foundation funds research across the full continuum from basic science to clinical investigation, but applications become especially compelling when they clearly explain how discoveries could eventually benefit people with IBD.

Strong translational pathways may include:

Target validation
Drug development
Biomarker development
Patient stratification
Clinical trial readiness
Improved disease monitoring
Better therapeutic decision-making

The exact importance of translation depends on the grant mechanism; fundamental mechanistic research remains eligible when its relevance to IBD is strong.

10. Precise fit with the selected funding mechanism (high and actionable predictor)

The Foundation’s programs are not interchangeable.

For example:

Senior Research Awards: independent investigator-led IBD research
Research Fellowship Awards: postdoctoral training and skill development
Career Development Awards: progression toward research independence
Litwin IBD Pioneers: innovative early-stage ideas
Clinical Research Investigator-Initiated Awards: clinical research
IBD Ventures: development and commercialization of promising IBD products or technologies

A strong application matches the project’s maturity, investigator career stage, budget, and expected outputs precisely to the selected mechanism.

Specialties

Gastroenterology

Eligibility Requirements

PI and Co-PI must be employed by institutions (public non-profit, private non-profit, or government) engaged in health care and/or health related research. International applicants are also eligible to apply, and there are no geographical restrictions regarding research site locations.

Senior Research Award (CRIA-SRA): The lead PI must be a faculty member (minimum Assistant Professor level) with a successful track record of funded clinical research projects (preferably NIH‐funded) and relevant expertise in the clinical question to be addressed. NOTE: For CRIA-SRA applicants only, we are no longer requiring for the research team to include at least one junior Co-PI (Instructor or Assistant Professor, prior to receiving an independent R01 grant or international equivalent) with experience in IBD research, who is committed to IBD research as a part of his or her career development.
Career Development Award (CRIA-CDA): *The Foundation is sensitive to personal matters that impact career trajectories. Applicants who have taken leave from their career (e.g., parenting of a child, childbirth, long-term care of a parent/spouse/child/dependent, personal health issues), or have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in a way that puts them outside of the eligibility time frame, should feel free to reach out to Foundation staff ahead of their application submission. We aim to be flexible and adjust these time frames if necessary and appropriate. This can be captured in the applicant's cover letter.* The lead PI must be a junior faculty member (Instructor or Assistant Professor, prior to receiving an independent R01 grant or international equivalent) with experience in IBD research, who is committed to IBD research as a part of his or her career development. Generally, junior PI candidates should not be more than ten years beyond the attainment of their doctoral degree at the time of application.

Proposal Eligibility: Proposed study matches the scope of the program, as described in the RFP, and eligibility criteria are met. Only one proposal may be submitted per submission date. Applicants for a CRIA-CDA may not simultaneously apply or be included in an application for a CRIA-SRA. CRIA-CDA and CRIA-SRA applications will compete for the same funding. Applicants for a CRIA may not simultaneously submit another application on the same research topic for a Litwin IBD Pioneer award, Clinical Research Network Award or Research Initiative. Successful applicants may not hold concurrent Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation CDAs or SRAs; however, applications for new projects may be submitted 6 months prior to the termination of the awardee’s current grant.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Crohn's & Colitis Foundation

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 733 THIRD AVENUE, SUITE 510, NEW YORK, NY 10017

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