The Canadian Association of Gastroenterology is pleased to announce its operating grant competition.  Three grants are available and made possible by a partnership between the CAG, AstraZeneca Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).  These grants are for 1 year with the possibility of a 1 year renewal, for a maximum of 2 years support.  The maximum value of these grants will be $45,000 per year.  The total value of these grants will depend on successful peer-review of the grant application by the CAG Research Committee in conjunction with the CIHR.  A fully justified budget is essential for full funding and inadequate budget justification may render a grant ineligible for consideration. Pre-registration or a letter of intent to the CIHR is not required for this application.

These grants are open to any investigator with a full time faculty position at a Canadian university, hospital or affiliated research institute.

Applicants holding "Adjunct" or "Research Professor" appointment at a University are eligible to apply for these grants.  However, the CAG reserves the right to make enquiries at the applicants institution and elsewhere in order to determine the extent to which the applicant functions as an independent researcher. In general, applicants holding appointments of this type and who cannot prove research independence will be considered as a lower priority for funding than applicants holding full university appointments.

Applications will be considered in either of the following areas of research:

Basic or clinical research related to the study, diagnosis, or treatment of upper gastrointestinal disease.  This includes, but is not limited, for example, acid-related disease of the upper gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, duodenum), Helicobacter pylori, gastric and esophageal cancer, upper gastrointestinal variceal and non-variceal bleeding, Barrett's esophagus, stricture, esophageal motility, and related emerging diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Research may be basic or clinical science, or any other form of health research related to these two topics as long as it falls in the broad definition of gastroenterology.  Any applications deemed ineligible will be returned without further review.  Full peer-review of all other applications will be performed by the CAG Research Committee in conjunction with the CIHR.

The grant application will be made using the standard CIHR Operating grant application package by accessing the CIHR Website (http://www.cihr.ca).  Ten copies (the original and four copies) are required and all sections must be completed as stated in the instructions.