Research Awards

Rising Star Award

The Rising Star Award celebrates an outstanding early-career investigator, within five years of their first faculty appointment, whose basic or clinical research is already shaping the future of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research. Extensions to the five-year window are available for those who have taken parental, medical, or other approved leaves of absences.

Recipients are recognized at the annual Meeting of the Minds conference in Toronto, where they’ll have the opportunity to present their work as featured speakers.

This year, the Rising Star recipient will receive $20,000 to support their research program.

Nominations for this award close on August 14, 2026, 5:00 pm ET. The recipient will be notified by the end of September.

Nomination Criteria

• Open to IBD scientists and researchers in Canada within the first five years of their first faculty appointment

• Nominations must be submitted by fellow scientists or IBD researchers 

Past Recipients

2024      Dr. Eileen Crowley, London, ON
2023      Dr. Heather Armstrong, Winnipeg, MB
2022      Dr. Christopher Ma, Calgary, AB
2021      Dr. Amanda Ricciuto, Toronto, ON
2020      Dr. Yasmin Nasser, Calgary, AB
2019      Dr. Neeraj Narula, Hamilton, ON
2018      Dr. Sanjay Murthy, Ottawa, ON
2017      Dr. Reena Khanna, London, ON
2016      Dr. Eric Benchimol, Nepean, ON

Nomination Form 

Nominee's Name:	The name of the individual you are nominating
Nominee's Role/Title:
Nominee's Organization:
Nominee's Email:
Nominee's Phone Number:
Nominator's Name:	Your name
Nominator's Role/Title:
Nominator's Organization:
Nominator's Email:
Nominator's Phone Number:
Description of how the nominee has impacted Crohn's and colitis research, quality of patient care, and/or policies in Canada:	Max 250 words
Description of how the nominee has high potential to become a leader in the Canadian IBD community and embodies the mission and values of Crohn’s and Colitis Canada:	Max 250 words
Please upload a letter of support from the nominating applicant:	Files must be below 10 MB in size
Please upload CV highlighting the nominee’s accomplishments as it pertains to this award:	Files must be below 10 MB in size
Security code:	Enter security code:

Contact

For questions about Crohn's and Colitis Canada research grants or awards, please contact:

Research Grants Administrator
Tel: (416) 920-5035 ext. 252
Email: research...crohnsandcolitis...ca