New England Chapter 50th Anniversary!

In 1969 the New England Chapter was founded by Joan and Ted Cutler, Barbara and Leo Karas, Rhoda and Eliot Lifland, and Harriet and Joseph Finn, whose families continue to be engaged today. The New England chapter's Fête gala will honor these extraordinary individuals whose dedication, commitment, and generosity of spirit led to the birth of the chapter 50 years ago. Each of the Founder's were motivated by their personal experiences to make a difference in the world of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). We are celebrating five decades of dedicated volunteers, critical research, education, support, and advocacy programs for Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis. Read Foundation's complete founding story here.

Beginning in 1977 the New England Chapter chose to honor select individuals who made a difference in the Boston community and devoted themselves to raising awareness about Cohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. These individuals are leaders in the IBD Community and as we look back at our 50 year history we would like to take some time to remember and honor these people. The breakthroughs and achievements that the Foundation has made were made possible by these leaders and people that they inspired with their dedication and support.

The Fête for Crohns & Colitis, taking place at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on November 2, 2019 will be celebrating 50 years of service of the chapter and remembering all of the leaders in the IBD community past and present. Join us as we honor Stephen Marcus, Man of the year, and Matthew Hamilton, MD, Humanitarian of the Year, and celebrate 50 years!

Learn more about how you can support us as we celebrate our 50 years at this year's Fête for Crohn's & Colitis.

1977	1983	1986	1987
Ted Cutler	Rhoda & Eliot Lifland	Joan Cutler	Sam Gerson

1971 A Chicago study, which documents a positive family history for IBD, supports the case that IBD has a genetic component. Several other studies around this time reach similar conclusions.

1988	1989	1990	1991
Joseph Finn	Irving Rabb	David Casty	Charles Sarkis

1988 With funding from the Foundation, researchers from the Jackson Laboratory successfully breed three colonies of mice with different forms of IBD, developing the first animal models for IBD research. Additional models are developed and the ability to genetically alter them revolutionized the entire field.

1992	1993	1994	1995
John Breed	Susan Bailis, Nancy Korman & Rosabeth Moss Kantor	Paul La Camera	Michael Carson

1995 Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, the first scientific journal devoted exclusively to IBD, is published under the auspices of the Foundation.

1996	1997	1998	1999
Paul Verrochi	Don Rodman	Robin Brown	Ben Cammarata

1997 Sponsored by the Foundation, the first camp for children living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, Camp Colitiscope, is held in Georgia. The camp is later renamed to Camp Oasis, with 12 camps now hosted across the country each year.

2000	2001	2002	2003
Sandy & Joe O'Connor	Joel Cutler & David Fialkow	Michele & Howard Kessler	Gretchen & Edward Fish

2001 Through research funded by the Foundation, NOD2, the first gene identified as relevant for Crohn’s disease, is discovered by a team of investigators in Chicago and France. This breakthrough is the culmination of more than 40 years of IBD research, and led to greater understanding of the role genetics plays in IBD.

2004	2006	2007	2008
Bryan Rafanelli	Peter Meade	Arthur J. Epstein	Mark & Diane Goldman

2004 Thanks to advocacy work by the Foundation, Congress passes the Research Review Act, the first piece of legislation that directly addresses the challenges faced by IBD patients

2009	2011	2012	2013
Barbara & Leo Karas	Dr.'s Peter Banks, Kenneth Falchuk, Myron Falchuk, Richard Grand, Kurt Isselbacher, Mark Peppercorn, Bloomstein Family, Finn Family, Robin Kaplan Memorial Golf Tournament Committee, Beth-Ann Norton, Segall Family, Dr. Harry Sobel, Judi Walk & Robin Welch	State Representative Louis Kafka & Senator Brian A. Joyce	Douglas A. King

2011 The first-ever bipartisan Congressional Crohn’s & Colitis Caucus is created in the U.S. House of Representatives, as a result of the Foundation’s advocacy efforts.

2014	2015	2016
David Howe	Matt Light	Raanan Katz

2015 The Foundation receives a $17.5 million grant to launch the build of IBD Plexus, a groundbreaking initiative that will provide the infrastructure and capacities to dramatically shift the paradigm, and facilitate and accelerate research into the causes, biomarkers, treatments, and cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

2017	2018	2019
Steve Savarese	Kenneth R. Feinberg	Stephen Marcus

2017 Results from the Foundation’s pediatric RISK Stratification Study identify predictors of disease course and severity in pediatric Crohn’s patients. The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America undergoes rebranding and is renamed the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Past Humanitarians of the Year
2019 Matthew Hamilton, MD	2004 James M. Becker, MD
2018 Leslie Higuchi, MD, MPH	2003 Francis Farraye, MD MSc
2017 Scott Snapper, MD, PhD	2002 Richard Blumberg, MD
2016 Neal LeLeiko, MD, PhD	2001 Walter Thayer, MD
2015 Adam Cheifetz, MD	2000 The Waban Young Men's Pedaling Society
2014 Corey Siegel, MD, MS	1999 James Rabb, MD
2013 Joshua R. Korzenik, MD	1998 Michael Foley, MD
2012 Sonia Friedman, MD	1997 Mark Peppercorn, MD
2011 Robert Burakoff, MD, MPH	1996 Frederick Makrauer
2010 Gary J. Russell, MD	1995 Harland Winter, MD
2009 Samir A. Shah, MD	1994 Z. Myron Falchuk, MD
2008 Alex J. Flores, MD	1992 Kenneth Falchuk, MD
2007 Athos Bousvaros, MD MPH	1991 Peter Banks, MD
2006 Bruce Sands, MD, MS	1990 Richard Grand, MD
2005 Kate Donovan, PhDc, MBA, BS