We are thrilled to announce that CIRC (CCRM) will be awarding our second PIONEER grant for up to $1 million in 2024!

CIRC CRM Logo Red Maple Leaf

This grant is generously supported by Takeda Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc, Pfizer Canada, and AbbVie Corporation Canada
 

About The Organization 

CIRC was founded in 2017 through partnership with Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. CIRC is comprised of Canadian gastroenterologists with special interest in IBD. Over the past five years, the organization has grown to include over 70 Canadian gastroenterologist members who collaborate on multi-center IBD clinical research, with a particular focus on multi-center investigator-initiated trials, as well as the generation of real-world evidence published in high-impact journals. 

Acknowledgements 

CIRC would like to express its deepest gratitude to Takeda, Pfizer and AbbVie for this grant. 

Terms of Consideration for the PIONEER Grant and Letters of Intent (LOI) 

CIRC would like to support Canadian gastroenterologists to conduct high quality, impactful research in IBD.  For the second PIONEER grant, a prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be given priority, but one or multiple non-RCT designs will be considered. We strongly encourage investigators to include multiple sites and in particular to involve CIRC members. Investigators who have pilot data and partner support are encouraged to share those details. 

Requests for up to $1 million in funding will be considered, which can be dispersed over a minimum of two and a maximum of five years. 

Before submitting a Letter of Intent, please consider the following guidelines: 

  • Letters must be a maximum of 1 page with single line spacing, plus a separate page for the budget. 

  • The Primary Investigator must be a registered member of the CIRC (as of March 25, 2024). 

  • LOIs must include the background, aim, outcome(s) of interest, clinical relevance and sites/investigators involved. 

The CIRC Scientific Committee will review LOIs and invite a short list of investigators to submit a full grant proposal. 

Timeline 

  1. Letters of Intent Due – March 25th, 2024 at 9 pm EST 

  1. Selected Primary Investigators will be invited to submit full grant proposals – Late April 2024 

  1. Full Proposals Due – July 29th, 2024 at 9 pm EST 

  1. Announcement of grant selected for funding – Mid-September 2024 

Submission 

All Letters of Intent must be submitted through the CIRC website. Please direct all questions to circ.ccrm@gmail.com

  • Canada has among the highest incidence rates of Crohn's and colitis in the world.
  • 1 in 140 Canadians lives with Crohn’s or colitis.
  • Families new to Canada are developing these diseases for the first time.
  • Incidence of Crohn’s in Canadian kids under 10 has doubled since 1995.
  • People are most commonly diagnosed before age 30.

Other Areas of Interest