The Kenneth Rainin Foundation is calling for innovative, collaborative research proposals on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) for its Synergy Awards program.
The foundation is accepting proposals from June 3 until Sept. 16 for the program that aims to help researchers form novel partnerships to promote IBD investigations and improve patient outcomes. The program funds teams of up to three researchers for a maximum $100,000 per scientist.
Investigators at both nonprofit and for-profit institutions globally are welcome to apply. Proposal goals should be achievable within a year, after which additional funding may be provided.
“I believe that the most transformative research exists in collaboration. Nobody has the expertise to make impacts entirely on their own,” Sidhartha Sinha, MD, from the Stanford University School of Medicine, and Synergy Award grantee, said in a press release. “What the Rainin Foundation has done through the Synergy Award is provide a seed on which this crystal of collaboration has formed.”
The Synergy Awards are designed to encourage collaboration among health researchers from across disciplines to advance the study of IBD. It funds groundbreaking or unconventional methodologies that could lead to major breakthroughs. Go here to learn more about eligibility, budget guidelines, and how to apply.
“A complex disease like IBD requires a synergistic approach across basic, clinical and translational science,” said Laura Wilson, PhD, the foundation’s director of health strategy and ventures. “By encouraging partnerships and collaborations among scientists within and outside the field of IBD research and across institutions, we increase the likelihood of discovering breakthroughs that can enhance patient lives.”
Last year, a team of recipients from the University of California, San Diego, received an award for their study, “Elucidating molecular heterogeneity and new therapeutic targets for IBD using an innovative single-cell sequencing approach.” Other awards included the study of inflammation regulation, precision medicine in IBD, and the role of inflammasomes and tuft cells (intestinal layer cells). Visit this site for a complete description of the 2018 awardees.
The foundation’s mission is to enhance life quality by championing the arts, promoting childhood literacy, and supporting research to cure chronic disease. In the last nine years, it has awarded more than $26 million to promising scientific investigative projects in IBD.