Goals:

The Kenneth Rainin Foundation believes that finding causes and cures for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) will require bold and creative ideas that expand our ability to further explore and conquer these challenges.

To accelerate the pace of discovery in IBD research, the Foundation is launching a new award, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation Innovator Awards Program for IBD Research.

Giving Guidelines for the Innovator Awards Program for IBD Research:

The Foundation supports:

• Innovative approaches to understanding and addressing IBD that could potentially have a major impact on IBD research and ultimately lead to a cure.
• Building a creative, conceptual paradigm for IBD with emphasis on the importance of nurturing interdisciplinary collaboration between fields.
• Research into alternative approaches that may be nutrition-based or holistic in nature.

Application process for the Innovator Awards Program for IBD Research:

• Applications will be accepted online only February 15 – March 15, 2010.
• The grant program is open to tenure track professors (or the equivalent) at all levels from any scientific discipline and from any non-profit research institution worldwide. For questions about eligibility or other aspects of the program, please contact Pat Curcio at pat.curcio@KRFoundation.org.
• KRF Innovator Award applications must be no longer than 3 pages, using a font no smaller than Arial 11 point type and 1 inch margins. If you choose to include figures, they must be included within the 3- page limit. References (up to 15) may be added beyond the 3-page limit.
• The novelty and creativity of a proposal can often be described in a few pages. Applicants are asked to concisely describe why their idea is an original or innovative approach, the scientific rationale leading to the idea, and why successful results could have a major impact on IBD research.
• Effectively translating an idea into a concrete plan is critical for the success of any project. Applicants are asked to describe the experimental plan, including any new technologies or tools to be developed. In anticipation of initial applications leading to larger projects, the proposals should briefly explain the one or two key experiments that may demonstrate the feasibility of the novel idea or approach. Finally, proposals should project one or two major new directions that may be unveiled by successful initial efforts.
• An NIH biosketch, including all other financial support (current & future funding commitments), is required.
• Proposals that do not adhere to these restrictions may be administratively disqualified.
• Applications will also be reviewed to determine their alignment with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s values, which are:
  • Collaboration
  • Leveraging of all assets
  • Innovation
  • Responsibility
• Applications will be initially reviewed by our Scientific Advisory Board. Based on their recommendations, final selections will be made by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation Board.
• Initial one-year grants of $100,000 will be awarded once annually.
• Successful applicants will be notified in July, 2010.
• Recipients of the Innovator Awards will be invited back to the Foundation to present their findings, and discuss them with other awardees and the Scientific Advisory Board. Successful projects will be eligible for significant multi-year funding based on the initial year’s proof of principle work.
• You may download the Grant Application Information and Instructions for the Kenneth Rainin Foundation Innovator Awards Program for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Research here.
• You may download Frequently Asked Questions for the Kenneth Rainin Foundation Innovator Awards Program for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Research here.

Grants will be made payable to the applicant’s institution. Eligibility is not restricted by citizenship or geographic location.

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