Litwin IBD Pioneers

The Litwin IBD Pioneers initiative, formerly known as the Broad Medical Research Program at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, supports innovative clinical and translational research projects with the potential to impact the treatment of IBD patients in the near future. The program encourages novel research into the diagnosis, identification

of clinically relevant subsets, treatments, and cures for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and funds innovative pilot research so that scientists can test their initial ideas and generate preliminary data.

Litwin IBD Pioneers supports researchers who are exploring all possible opportunities for diagnostic and therapeutic improvements, including novel, out-of-the-box ideas, and funds innovative and pioneering ideas that have a clinically relevant focus. Additionally, the program is open to investigators from other disciplines new to the IBD field, as well as countries outside the United States.

 


How to Apply

  1. Review guidelines (eligibility, budget, proposal components, etc.)
  2. Visit Proposal Central - The Foundation uses the Proposal Central system for all grants submissions. If you are new user, create an account
  3. Navigate to the "Grant Opportunities" tab (top right) Filter by grant maker (select "Crohn's & Colitis Foundation") to find the application link for Litwin IBD Pioneer. All instructions and policies are available at this site
  4. Submit Letter of Intent by deadline

 

  Spring/Summer Fall/Winter
Letter of Intent

November 16th, 2023

11:59pm EST

May 6th, 2024

11:59pm EST

Online Application Submission

January 26th, 2024

11:59pm EST

July 19th, 2024

11:59pm EST

Applications Review April – May October - November
Online 2nd Year Renewal Submission

February 15th, 2024

11:59pm EST

October 3rd, 2024

11:59pm EST

Decisions Announced Mid/Late June January

 

Note: Litwin Year 2 Renewal Deadline: October 3rd, 2023.  This is ONLY open to all active awardees who have completed their year one milestones.  It does not apply to Litwin IBD Pioneer Awardees who are already in year two funding.

 

If you are ready to apply, please notify Saleha Hossain, Manager of Pre-Award Grants Administration at [email protected] for an invitation to the submission portal (required).

Applicant Eligibility

  • The applicant institution must be a non-profit, charitable institution, such as a university, hospital, or research organization. Applications are accepted from institutions worldwide
  • The applicant who wishes to take on the Principal Investigator position must have a faculty appointment at the institution. For this, we request that the applicant's university or institution (particularly the Grants and Contracts personnel) send us a statement confirming that the applicant is or is not able to apply as a Principal Investigator from his/her institution
  • There can be only one Principal Investigator for each proposal

Proposal Eligibility

  • Proposal must be relevant to IBD, which includes Crohn's diseaseand/or ulcerative colitis
  • Only one application is allowed per applicant per submission date
  • Simultaneous submission of the same application for other awards is not permitted

Application Phases

There is a two-step process for requesting funding for a Litwin IBD Pioneer award:

  • The first step is to submit a Letter of Interest on Proposal Central. Decisions on Letters of Interest are made within four to six weeks. If the decision falls after the deadline for submission of the full grant application, then the proposal will be reviewed in the subsequent review cycle.
  • If the LOI is accepted, an invitation is extended to submit a Full Grant Application. The Grant Application instructions can be found in the same instructions document as the Letter of Interest, located on Proposal Central. The schedule for grant application review and decision is listed below.

Budget Request

  • Funding can be requested for up to two years, but grants are funded only one year at a time. If a PI wishes to seek continuation funding, funding for a second year is based upon a satisfactory Competing Renewal Application that will undergo full committee peer review. If Year 1 milestones are met, please select the appropriate competing renewal deadline for Year 2 funding.
  • Budgets should be appropriate for the project's scope of work and resources necessary to complete the goals. All necessary costs for conduct of the study can be budgeted, including items such as personnel, supplies, equipment, publications costs, and travel. Awards are not funded above $130,000, including 10% indirect costs, for clinical trials; and not above $110,000, including 10% indirect costs, for lab-based studies.

Evaluation Criteria

  • Grant proposals are selected for funding based on their scientific strength, innovation, and relevance to IBD diagnosis, therapy or prevention. Preference is given to proposals for work conducted with patients or patient material and with strong potential for clinical applicability in the foreseeable future.

 

For matters related to submissions for the Litwin IBD Pioneers Awards, please contact Saleha Hossain at [email protected]

For post-award management questions: [email protected].