Funding Cutting Edge Clinical Research
For 2011, the ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education is pleased to announce the award of $1,099,437 in support of outstanding clinical research in gastroenterology. The ACG Institute will support five Junior Faculty Development Grants, at an overall level of $750,000, an investment in career development which recognizes and supports promising clinical researchers. The 2011 Clinical Research Awards will go to 16 investigators for a total of $349,437. Included among this group, for the first time this year, is an award under the new “Smaller Programs” Clinical Research Award to an investigator from the University of Oklahoma.
Founded in 1994, the Institute has provided funding to 499 investigators for research directly relating to the clinical gastrointestinal practice with funding of just over $12 million. Since its inception, ACG’s clinical research support has been funded under the auspices of the Institute in large part due to the success of the Capital Campaign. Thanks to generous support of ACG members and from industry, the Institute has a dedicated source of funds to support clinical research and education priorities.
American College of Gastroenterology
ACG Institute for Clinical Research & Education
ACG 2011 Junior Faculty Development Grants
Considered the “jewel in the crown” of the College’s research program, the ACG Junior Faculty Development Grant is a two-year award designed to support a junior faculty member or mid-career clinical investigator of outstanding promise to establish an independent, productive career in gastroenterology or hepatology. This award of $75,000 per year for each of two years provides salary support for protected time to young investigators at critical points in their career development.
The ACG Board of Trustees approved the five awards recommended by the ACG Research Committee from their review of an excellent field of applicants:
Eric Benchimol, MD
Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
The Ontario Crohn’s and Colitis Cohort: Epidemiology and Diagnostic Lag of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Ontario, Canada
Kathleen Corey, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Comprehensive Evaluation of Lipid Biomarkers in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Jason K. Hou, MD
Baylor College of Medicine
Adherence to Practice Guidelines in Veterans with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Ponni Perumalswami, MD
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Culturally Targeted Patient Navigation in Ethnic Urban Populations with Chronic Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
Tyler Stevens, MD, FACG
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Pathways of Oxidative Stress in Chronic Pancreatitis
ACG 2011 Clinical Research Awards
Each year, the College offers Clinical Research Awards of up to $35,000 for original clinical research. The mission of the ACG Clinical Research Awards program is to fund innovative research that is patient-care oriented. The Committee also considers proposals for pilot awards of up to $10,000 within this category. Selected for funding for 2011:
Jennifer C. Lai, MD
University of California, San Francisco
Chronic Inflammation Related to Hepatitis C and Risk of Bone Disease
Linda S. Lee, MD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
MicroRNA Expression Profiles in Cystic Neoplasms of the Pancreas
Douglas B. Mogul, MD
Johns Hopkins University
Epigenetic Regulation of Hepatitis B Virus
Aldo J. Montano-Loza, MD
University of Alberta
Frequency and Clinical Impact of Sarcopenia in Patients with Cirrhosis Evaluated for Liver Transplantation
Laura Targownik, MD
University of Manitoba
The Value of Bone mineral Density in Predicting Fracture in Patients with inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Population-based Study
Marcelo F. Vela, MD, MSCR, FACG
Baylor College of Medicine & M.E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
Effect of Obesity and H. pylori Status on LES Function and Reflux Characteristics in Patients with GERD and Barrett’s Esophagus
Raj K. Vuppalanchi, MD
Indiana University
Electrical Stimulation Cramp Threshold Frequency: A Novel Tool to Assess Skeletal Muscle Cramps Severity in Patients with Cirrhosis
Yize R. Wang, MD
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
Comparison of Colonoscopy and Flexible Sigmoidoscopy in Screening for Colorectal Cancer: A Population-Based Analysis of the SEER-Medicare Linked Database, 1995-2009
Sachin B. Wani, MD
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
The Clinical Impact of Immediate On-site Cytopathology Evaluation during Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration of Pancreatic Masses: A Multicenter, Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial
ACG 2011 Clinical Research Awards Pilot Projects
Amit Bhatt, MD
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Evaluation of Zinc Alpha 2-Glycoprotein in Pancreatic Fluid as a Diagnostic Biomarker of Chronic Pancreatitis
Lea Ann Chen, MD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
A Sensitive Stool Diagnostic Assay to Study Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Tiffany M. Day, MD
University of Florida
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Assessment of Appetite after Initiation of Metformin: A Pilot Study
Manish Gala, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Candidate Germline Alterations in Sessile Serrated Polyposis
David J. Kearney, MD
Seattle Veterans’ Administration Medical Center
The Effect of Mindfulness Training on Eating Behaviors and Food Intake
Andrew W. Yen, MD
Sacramento VA Medical Center and the University of California Davis School of Medicine
The Water Method Increases Adenoma Detection by Reducing Colonic Contractions during Withdrawal Phase of Colonoscopy
2011 ACG “Smaller Programs” Clinical Research Award
Given the ACG Institute’s aims to stimulate and support excellent clinical GI research, while at the same time maintaining an ongoing commitment to fund the best science, funds under the new category of Clinical Research Award are intended to make the promise of a research career more broadly available by targeting investigators at smaller training programs. Selected for the inaugural award:
Mohammad F. Madhoun, MD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Cancer Stem Cell Markers in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
