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JUNIOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)

The ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education and the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) are proud to support junior investigators working toward independent careers in clinical research in gastroenterology or hepatology, and invite eligible applicants to apply for a $450,000, three-year career development award, to be funded from July 1, 2027 - June 30, 2030. This award supports 50% research time and is only available to ACG members.

All applications must be submitted online. The grant site will open to submissions on August 31, 2026, and close on Monday, December 7, 2026, at 11:59pm (Eastern time).

The goal of the Junior Faculty Development Award is to assist promising clinical researchers in developing research careers that have a direct bearing on clinical gastrointestinal practice. This award provides the protected research time, and time dedicated to developing research and leadership skills in order to advance a junior faculty member’s career with novel research.

This grant is designed to support research that is principally focused on digestive or liver diseases. The patient population or disease target should be principally related to the gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary system, pancreas, or neuroenteric science, including any translational, clinical, social science, or health services research studies that pertain to managing such patients or conditions. For example, a study about microbiota would be appropriate if it pertains to a digestive disease. In contrast, a study that is principally about HIV would likely not be appropriate unless it directly relates to how HIV affects digestive health. (For questions on study relevancy, contact the grant administrator at research@gi.org.) Since its inception in 1997, the Junior Faculty Development Award has provided over $22.5 Million in funding to over 87 recipients.

GRANT OVERVIEW A key mission of the ACG and its Institute for Clinical Research and Education is to fund innovative patient-oriented research awards. For the purposes of these awards, patient-oriented research is defined as:

1. Research conducted with human subjects

2. Research on new diagnostic and therapeutic interventions

3. Research on material of human origin, such as tissues and specimens

4. Research that is translational in nature; i.e., has direct applicability to clinical care. Note: Studies involving animals will not be considered unless the work cannot be done in humans. If you have any questions about the eligibility of your study involving animals, it is recommended you reach out to research@gi.org, prior to applying.

Award Amount: $450,000 (150k per year, 100k for salary support and 50k for research costs)

 Award period/length of award: July 1, 2027 - June 30, 2030

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Direct relevance to gastroenterology or hepatology ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the fundamental requirement.

Competitive projects should address important questions in:

Gastroenterology
Hepatology
GI diseases
Digestive health
GI endoscopy
GI healthcare delivery
GI health equity
Clinical gastroenterology

ACG's awards are specifically designed to advance clinical research related to gastroenterology and hepatology.

2. Patient-oriented research with direct clinical applicability ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

For the Clinical Research Awards, ACG emphasizes innovative patient-oriented research with direct applicability to clinical care.

Strong proposals should demonstrate potential to:

Improve diagnosis
Improve treatment
Improve patient outcomes
Improve clinical decision-making
Address important clinical problems

ACG defines patient-oriented research as research involving human subjects, new diagnostic or therapeutic interventions, human specimens, or translational work with direct clinical applicability.

3. Strong scientific rationale and innovation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Competitive proposals should have:

A clearly defined research question
Strong scientific rationale
Original hypothesis
Innovative methodology
Appropriate endpoints
Potential to generate meaningful new knowledge

ACG specifically describes its Clinical Research Awards as supporting innovative patient-oriented research.

4. Preliminary/pilot data where required ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is particularly important for the Clinical Research Award.

The current ACG program requires pilot/preliminary data for the Clinical Research Award, while the Clinical Research Pilot Award does not require pilot data. Therefore, choosing the correct grant category based on the maturity of the project is strategically important.

5. Strong investigator and career-development potential ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ACG places significant emphasis on developing investigators.

For example, the Junior Faculty Development Award provides three years of funding and 50% protected research time specifically for junior investigators developing independent careers in clinical gastroenterology or hepatology research.

Competitive applicants demonstrate:

Strong academic potential
Relevant research experience
Publications or prior research accomplishments
Clear independent research trajectory
Commitment to gastroenterology/hepatology research

6. Strong mentorship and protected research time ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mentorship is especially important for:

Fellows
Residents
Junior faculty
Medical students

For trainee awards, an appropriate ACG-member mentor is required. The Junior Faculty Development Award also provides substantial protected research time and career-development support.

7. Health equity and addressing healthcare disparities ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Leonidas Berry Health Equity Research Award specifically supports research producing actionable science that can reduce health and healthcare disparities.

Competitive projects should address issues affecting underserved or underrepresented populations, including:

Racial/ethnic minorities
Women
LGBTQ+ populations
Healthcare access
Differences in disease management
Inequities in healthcare delivery

Importantly, ACG states that simply studying a disease is insufficient for this award; the project should generate actionable and meaningful data related to health equity.

8. Strong methodology, feasibility, and appropriate study design ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Successful proposals should provide:

Clear aims
Appropriate study population
Valid methodology
Appropriate statistical analysis
Realistic timeline
Feasible recruitment/data collection
Clearly defined outcomes

Animal research is generally not appropriate for ACG Clinical Research Awards unless the research cannot be conducted in humans and has a clear translational connection to clinical care.

9. Potential for career advancement and future funding ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

ACG's career-development and bridge-funding programs are particularly focused on sustaining and advancing independent research careers.

For example, the Established Investigator Bridge Funding Award is designed to provide temporary support between federal grants and requires evidence of a recently completed federal clinical/translational GI or hepatology grant and an ongoing application for renewed federal funding.

Thus, a strong application should show how the project will:

Generate preliminary data
Support future NIH/federal funding
Establish independence
Expand an existing research program

10. ACG membership and exact eligibility fit ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a critical eligibility factor, not merely a quality factor.

For the current ACG Clinical Research Awards, the PI generally must be an ACG member in good standing at the time of application. Different awards have different requirements regarding:

Career stage
U.S./Canadian/international status
Physician vs. PhD eligibility
Fellowship/residency status
Mentorship
Prior funding

For example, the current Clinical Research Award is open to U.S., Canadian, and international ACG members, while the Medical Student and Resident awards have U.S./Canada restrictions.

Specialties

Gastroenterology

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet all the following criteria:

• ACG Member at time of application

• Physician (MD, MBBS, or DO)

• Junior Faculty less than 7 years post GI or Hepatology fellowship training

• Full-Time faculty position as part of a gastroenterology or hepatology department at a university, medical school or health care institution at the time of funding (July 2027), should it be approved

• U.S. or Canadian-based

• Able to guarantee 50% protected research time for entirety of the three years. Candidates must devote at least 50% of their effort to clinical research related to gastroenterology or hepatology, and must have a Preceptor who can provide mentorship. A letter from the Division Chief must certify that the Institution will provide 50% protected time to the recipient in accordance with the terms of the award.

 The following are NOT eligible for this award:

• Established Investigators

• Individuals who hold an NIH grant (e.g., R01, R29, K08, K23, KL2, KL12), a VA HSR&D Career Development Award, or who have been granted a career development award (either intramural or extramural) by another organization.

• Individuals who have held an academic position for greater than 7 years.

• Fellows-in-training.

• Projects that support laboratory or animal research projects.

• Award overlap: ACG does not provide duplicate funding.

• Applications utilizing the same science may not be submitted for two different ACG grant categories (for example the same project/science is submitted for both the Junior Faculty Award and Clinical Research Award) and if this occurs they will not be evaluated by the Committee.

• ACG limits funding for a PI to one grant in a single award cycle. If a given investigator submits projects in two or more RFA categories and more than one is deemed worthy of funding, the larger grant will be funded.

• If the applicant was awarded an ACG research award within the last three (3) years, they cannot apply for the same grant category in which they were awarded. They may apply for a different grant category, as the College is not trying to limit progression of research (pilot award to CRA or JR Faculty Award), but rather the same investigators being funded repeatedly.

Eligible Countries:

Canada

United States

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 11333 Woodglen Drive, Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20852

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