This award supports investigators pursuing emerging, high-impact research focused on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and associated conditions. A single two-year award of up to $100,000 will be made. Funding is allocated in annual installments of up to $50,000, contingent upon satisfactory research progress. This award is offered every two years.

Applicant Eligibility

  • At least one PI must be a UW faculty member with a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine; all investigators with primary DOM faculty appointments are eligible.
  • Scientist track and research staff in DOM with PI status eligibility and an independent research program separate from their mentor are eligible. 
  • Applicants must be eligible to submit an R01 as a PI at the start of the grant period. 
  • Investigators may submit applications from basic, clinical, translational and implementation science.

Budget Considerations

Allowable costs include:

  • Personnel—salaries for faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates and staff.
  • Project travel—related to meetings, conferences and/or training where the funded research is being presented (e.g., accepted posters or presentations.)

Proposal Requirements and Submission

Proposals must be written for a general scientific audience and consist of the following required parts. Applications must be compiled into a single PDF in the order below. Submit applications through the Yehle Family IBD Innovation Award application portal.

  1. NIH-style Biographical sketch for all PIs and Co-Is (5-page max for each)
  2. List all grants the PI and each Co-I have applied for in the last 3 years and the status of each grant
  3. Budget (use the linked template, download spreadsheet from Box)
  4. Budget justification
  5. Eligibility justification if scientist track (1-page max)  
  6. Specific Aims (1 page maximum) and research plan (5-page max)  
  7. Bibliography/References  
  8. Project milestones and future funding plans with a Gantt chart describing the timeline to external proposal submission (1-page max)  
  9. Letter from the PI’s division chief confirming protected time for the PI to conduct the research
  10. Summary report of previously awarded DOM pilot grants, if applicable

Applicants must also provide copies of review board approval letters with corresponding approval dates. Approval letters must be uploaded individually and separately from the proposal. If review board approvals are pending, applicants will need to provide submission dates and ARROW ID numbers.

Otherwise, applicants can indicate the project has not been submitted for review yet or does not require it.

Review Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by the DOM Study Section. They will conduct a scientific merit review and provide initial recommendations to the DOM Research Council. The DOM Research Council will conduct a secondary review and make final funding recommendations to the sponsor; all awards are contingent upon sponsor approval.

Review criteria include:

  • Quality and feasibility of the research 
  • Research expertise or potential of the applicant(s) 
  • Potential for external funding 
  • Impact, significance and innovation
Conditions of the Award
  • Funds will not be released until documentation of appropriate Institutional Review Board approval has been provided, if applicable.
  • Annual summaries of research progress, publication and presentations must be provided to the DOM ORS for dissemination to the Yehle family.
  • Funds are to be expended during the approved budget period. Requests for a budget extension will be limited, require detailed justifications and will be scrutinized. Requests must be directed to the DOM Research Council and emailed to [email protected] at least 30 days prior to the end of the award. Extension requests must include:
    • Progress on the research to date
    • An explanation of the research to be completed
    • A detailed justification for why the extension is necessary
  • Resultant publications and presentations should acknowledge funding from The Yehle Family IBD Innovation Award.
  • Awardees must provide a written summary and in-person presentation of the results of the award to the Yehle family.
  • A final summary report is due 30 days after the close of the project period. The report (maximum two pages) must contain a summary of scientific progress and a list of resulting collaborations, publications and grants.