The Kenneth Rainin Foundation has awarded nearly $4.6 million through our Innovator Awards program. Grants support individual researchers and collaborators working to advance the understanding of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
Considering the increasing challenges US-based scientists are facing, including dwindling federal funding, we are pleased that 22 of the 23 new Innovator Awards grantees are from US institutions. Scientific breakthroughs rely on a global research community that can sustain progress, especially in uncertain times. The Rainin Foundation remains committed to supporting international IBD research to ensure the highest quality of science, and geographic location was not a factor in the review process.
“We are excited to fund wide-ranging ideas relevant to IBD,” said Laura Wilson, PhD, Director, Health Strategy & Ventures. “We’re especially encouraged by the increased interest in studying the gut-brain axis and how it plays a role in this complex disease.”
The 2026 Innovator Awards Grantees
We awarded nearly $3.6 million to new Innovator Awards grantees. Many of this year’s funded projects are exploring the gut-brain connection, which provides an exciting opportunity to address the gap in existing information in this area. For example, an improved understanding of abdominal pain may lead to the development of safer and more targeted therapies to help IBD patients manage symptoms. The 2026 Innovator Awards grantees include:
- Jeong Hyun, MD, and Michael Rosen, MD, Stanford University
- Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, and James Zou, PhD, Stanford University
- Ivan Zanoni, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital
- Jeffrey Moffitt, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital
- Florian Rieder, MD, and Weiwei Liu, PhD, Cleveland Clinic
- Gang Fang, PhD, and Jeremiah Faith, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Saurabh Mehandru, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Markus Neurath, MD, PhD, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen
- Gregory Sonnenberg, PhD, and Ching-Lan Lu, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Eugene Mosharov, PhD, and David Sulzer, PhD, Columbia University
- Harikesh S. Wong, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Alexander Rudensky, PhD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Jonathan Pruneda, PhD, Michael Cohen, PhD, and Timothy Nice, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University
- Rachel Wolfson, MD, PhD, Harvard University, and Jacques Deguine, PhD, The Broad Institute
- Isaac M. Chiu, PhD, and Marco Jost, PhD, Harvard University
- Diane Mathis, PhD, Harvard University
- Jun Huh, PhD, Harvard University, and Gloria Choi, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Nicole Marie Koropatkin, PhD, University of Michigan, and Rachel Hevey, PhD, University of Basel
- Elaine Hsiao, PhD, Lin Chang, MD, and Jonathan Jacobs, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
- Alejandra Mendoza, PhD, Scripps Research Institute
- Kylie James, PhD, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Jae Jun Park, MD, Yonsei University, and Georgina Hold, PhD, University of New South Wales
- Mohammad R. Seyedsayamdost, PhD, Princeton University, and Ramnik Xavier, MD, Harvard University
- Wendell Lim, PhD, and Philip Pauerstein, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
- Gabriela Fragiadakis, PhD, and Alexis Combes, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
- Gwendalyn J. Randolph, PhD, and Zhude Tu, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis
Continued Support For Grantees
Researchers who demonstrate significant progress on their funded projects are eligible for up to two years of additional support. We awarded $1,000,000 in continued support to ten Innovator Awards grantees from 2025. Their projects focus on improving the prevention and prediction of IBD, which is a strategic priority for the Foundation.
- Miguel Jimenez, PhD, and Liangliang Hao, PhD, Boston University
- Jose Ordovas-Montanes, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital
- Ilana Brito, PhD, Cornell University
- Julie Magarian Blander, PhD, Cornell University
- Iliyan Iliev, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine
- Megan Koch, PhD, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
- Dan R. Littman, MD, PhD, New York University
- Xin Li, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern
- Emilia Favuzzi, PhD, and Evelyn Lake, PhD, Yale University
- Jhimmy Talbot, PhD, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
This funding will support our work on how immune information is processed in the brain, uncovering bidirectional intervention points to modulate gut inflammation or reduce the neuropsychiatric consequences of IBD.
Emilia Favuzzi, PhD, Yale University
Explore the 2026 Innovator Awards grantees.
About The Kenneth Rainin Foundation
Kenneth Rainin Foundation is a family foundation that collaborates with creative thinkers in the Arts, Education and Health. We believe in taking smart risks to achieve breakthroughs. Our grantmaking supports visionary artists in the Bay Area, creates opportunities for Oakland’s youngest learners and funds researchers on the forefront of scientific discoveries. Since 2009, the Foundation has awarded over $59 million in funding to spur breakthroughs in predicting, diagnosing, treating and eventually curing IBD. Learn more about the Rainin Foundation’s grantmaking.
