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Beyond Celiac Research Grants

There are multiple pathways on the horizon for drug research, discovery and development. We know that the first need in achieving a cure for celiac disease is adequate funding. The second, related need is equally important: we need to maintain our focus on research that is practical and patient-centric. We have designed our scientific plan accordingly.

As a lean organization, we carefully target our efforts to advocate for and accelerate the best ideas in celiac disease research. We steward carefully the money you entrust to us, supporting the approaches that are most promising for patients, as we work towards a cure.

Our research funding is directed in two primary ways:

1. Innovative Research Grants: High-Potential Discovery Areas

We will provide grants to help scientists collect the preliminary data needed to begin answering major questions around celiac disease that could lead to breakthroughs for larger-scale research or clinical trials.

2023: Shed cell transcriptomics for the identification of celiac disease dynamics by Shalev Itzkovitz, PhD, at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel) in collaboration with the Schneider Children’s Medical Center (Petah Tikva, Israel)

2023: Novel Biomarkers of mucosal damage for non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring of celiac disease by Michael FitzPatrick, MRCP, DPhil, (previous Beyond Celiac awardee) at University of Oxford (Oxford, UK)

—2022: Beyond Celiac and SSCD Early Career Investigator Award, $180,000 Awarded to Arnold Han, MD PhD of Columbia University. Han will use the $180,000 grant to investigate the role of CD8 T-cells in celiac disease.

—2021: Beyond Celiac Partners with Janssen to Pledge $1,000,000 for ResearchThrough a commitment of up to $1 million in funds and services, Beyond Celiac and Janssen will co-fund research focusing on risk detection, prevention, interception and cure of celiac disease. Emphasis will be placed on gaining an increased understanding of areas such as the gut microbiome, induction of immune tolerance and biomarkers of risk and progression.

2019: Beyond Celiac and SSCD Early Career Investigator Award, $150,000 – Awarded to Marisa Gallant Stahl, MD, who is currently a fellow at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Stahl will receive nearly $75,000 for each of two years for a study to evaluate the impact of celiac disease on the health and quality of life of children who are identified through a mass screening program.

2. Established Investigator Grants: Best and Brightest

The historic lack of funding in celiac disease has resulted in a limited number of researchers currently studying the disease. This grant encourages the most successful scientists to continue to study celiac disease or, if working in a related field, turn their focus to celiac disease, helping to keep top scientists committed to long-term celiac disease research. Over time, these grants will lead to more researchers dedicating their careers to studying celiac disease and to finding better treatments and a cure.

2023: Identifying predictors for progressive phenotypes of Celiac disease by Rok Seon Choung, MD, PhD, at Mayo Clinic (MN, USA) in collaboration with the Naval Medical Center (MD, USA) and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (NY, USA)

—2023: CeliAct(TIV) – Translocation, Inflammation and Virulence: dissecting mechanisms of gluten-microbiota interactions in Celiac Disease by Sónia Gonçalves Pereira, PhD, at the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria (Leiria, Portugal), in collaboration with the Celiac Disease Research Center at Tampere University (Tampere, Finland)

—2023:Preclinical 2D celiac patient-based iPSC-small intestinal epithelial in vitro model by Kati Juuti-Uusitalo, PhD, at Tampere University (Tampere, Finland)

2021: Beyond Celiac Established Investigator Award, $209,000 – Awarded to Nigel Hoggard, MD, and Iain Croall, PhD, to expand investigation of the neurological and neuropsychological manifestations of celiac disease and gluten-related disorders.

2019: Beyond Celiac Established Investigator Award, $300,000 – Awarded to  Paul Klenerman, PhD. Klenerman’s research will focus on killer CD8 T-cells in the inner gut lining. The role of another type of T-cell, the CD4 T-cell, has been more thoroughly studied and scientists know it responds to gluten and plays a key role in celiac disease. 

2019: Beyond Celiac Pilot and Feasibility Award, $120,000 – Awarded to Jocelyn Silvester, MD, whose study will use RNA sequencing of a series of biopsies collected during an earlier gluten-challenge study. Silvester will then check the accuracy of the sequencing method on biopsies previously taken for diagnosis and follow-up on another group of patients. She will be able to compare biopsies taken when gluten was in the diet and after a gluten-free diet was being followed.


Learn more about the innovative research we’re currently funding:


Interviews with our grantees:

This is our passion and our life’s work. By supporting this effort, you can improve the lives of millions of Americans.

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