Senior Research Awards

Senior Research Awards

Supports research teams and institutions for Senior Research Awards in biotechnology and medical technology.

Eligibility · Global — open worldwide

The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's Senior Research Awards (SRA) fund established independent investigators pursuing basic and translational research in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), specifically Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The program's stated objective is to help researchers generate the preliminary data necessary to compete for larger NIH grants and other major funding sources. Eligible applicants must hold an MD and/or PhD (or equivalent), be employed by a public or private non-profit or government institution engaged in health or health-related research, and have attained independence from a mentor. There are no citizenship or geography restrictions — global applicants are explicitly welcomed.

For the 2026 cycle, the pre-application portal opened April 4, 2026, with a pre-application deadline of June 2, 2026. Full proposals are submitted by invitation only, due July 23, 2026. Applications are reviewed September through October 2026, with decisions announced in December 2026. Awards provide up to $130,000 per year in total costs: direct costs are capped at $118,182 per year, with indirect costs capped at 10% of direct costs (up to $11,818 per year). Award duration is one to three years, with continued funding contingent on annual progress reports. Applicants may submit only one application per submission date, and simultaneous submission of an SRA and a Training Award is not permitted.

Submissions are made through proposalCENTRAL (GMID=96). The complete page limits, scoring rubric, and deliverable format specifications are published in the RFP PDF (revised March 2026), which applicants must download before writing. SRA awardees gain access to IBD Plexus biosamples and datasets at no cost; those wishing to incorporate Plexus resources must contact the Plexus team at least one month before the submission deadline. Inquiries should be directed to SRA@crohnscolitisfoundation.org.