CCA IBD Scholarship

2024 Scholarship awarded

We are thrilled to announce that the CCA IBD PhD Scholarship of $96,000 over three years has been awarded to Dr Richard Fernandes, University of Queensland. Dr Fernandes is a gastroenterologist who is undertaking the project  ‘Improving our understanding of post-operative Crohn’s disease recurrence’

Many patients with Crohn’s disease require surgical resection of diseased bowel. However, surgery is not a cure, with high recurrence rates after surgery. This remains poorly understood; however, some factors associated with risk of recurrence include surgical technique, immune

signalling, and the bacteria living in the gut (microbiome). This study aims to evaluate the impact of surgical technique on disease recurrence, methods for detecting recurrence, and changes in immune signalling and the microbiome following resection.

2023 Scholarship awarded

The CCA IBD PhD Scholarship of $75,000 over three years was offered in 2022. We are thrilled to announce that.

• Sarah Melton
  • A dietitian studying through Monash University and working at Alfred Health has been awarded the scholarship for her research: ‘The role of exclusive enteral nutrition on intestinal physiology and microbiology’.

This project aims to identify the mechanisms of action of exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN), a liquid diet used to treat and reduce inflammation in Crohn’s disease (CD). This will be done through examining its effects in healthy participants, using highly sensitive markers of intestinal injury in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and examining its effects in siblings of those with CD.

2022 Scholarships awarded

A very strong field of 15 candidates applied for two $75,000 CCA IBD PhD Scholarships, offered over 3 years.

CCA congratulates the two successful candidates:

• Jessica Fitzpatrick
  A dietitian from Monash University and Alfred Health for her study ‘The role of a low emulsifier diet in treating Crohn’s disease’.
  Dietary emulsifiers are a category of food additives that are found readily available in the food supply. In animal models, emulsifiers cause inflammation in the gut, similar to that seen in Crohn’s disease. This project aims at investigating if removing emulsifiers from the diet of people with Crohn’s disease induces disease remission.
• Dr Ralley Prentice:
  From Monash University/Monash Health/Hudson Institute of Medical Research/St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne will undertake the Pregnancy in Crohn’s and Colitis: Observations, Levels and Outcomes Extension study.
  Also known as the PICCOLO-X study, it is a multicentre study with observational and scientific aims. It is investigating how to accurately predict IBD activity in pregnancy and subsequently any changes to the foetal/neonatal immune system and brain development. The study will define how thiopurine metabolite, vedolizumab and ustekinumab levels vary through pregnancy, how much drug crosses the placenta, how quickly the baby clears the drug and finally, how this may affect the immune system of both mum and baby.

2021 Scholarship awarded

CCA is delighted to announce that Dr Aysha Al-Ani has been awarded the CCA Inflammatory Bowel Disease PhD Scholarship for her project: Novel Biomarkers in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Dr Al-Ani is a gastroenterologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and is completing her PhD candidature through the University of Melbourne. The three-year, $75,000 scholarship is funded by an anonymous philanthropist who has generously supported CCA for this research.

The Study
A paradigm shift in IBD management means a greater focus on disease modification through objective assessment of disease activity and selection of the most optimal medical therapy. Predictors of response to the current arsenal of treatment are paramount to achieve endoscopic and histologic healing, reduce disease complications including hospitalisations and surgeries, and improve patient outcomes.