Angela McAvoy AM IBD Fellowship – Applications Open!

In celebration of 40 years since the pioneering work of Angela McAvoy AM who founded Crohn’s & Colitis Australia (CCA), a research fellowship $125,000 annually for 2 years is offered with commencement in early 2025.

The purpose of this fellowship is to foster the development of an early career researcher of any health professional or health science discipline into inflammatory bowel disease in Australia.

Applications will be a two-stage process, with expression of interest due 3 September 2024 and invited full application due 13 October 2024. All applicants must read and use the Information, EOI and Application Form 2025.

2019 Recipient

CCA is pleased to announce that the 2019 Angela McAvoy Research Scholarship has been awarded to Dr Chu Kion (CK) Yao, an experienced research dietitian from Monash University.

Despite growing research suggesting that diet plays a major role in causing ulcerative colitis and symptoms of pouchitis, there is very little research on how dietary strategies can be used effectively as treatment for patients.

This study will aim to determine if a whole diet approach using a 4-SURE (4-strategies for a Sulphide-Reducing) diet that we have designed and supplied to people with mildly flaring ulcerative colitis or pouchitis can: improve symptoms; reduce inflammation in the large bowel/pouch; effectively reduce bacterial sulphur gas production and be well tolerated compared to a control diet.

This study, if successful, could lead to a new treatment pathway for people with ulcerative colitis and pouchitis.

Previous Recipients

DR ANTONINA MIKOCKA-WALUS

CCA’s inaugural $150,000 Angela McAvoy AM Fellowship was awarded to Dr Antonina Mikocka-Walus in 2009 for her study into whether cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can improve the psychological and clinical outcomes in IBD.

Her research found that CBT was effective in reducing the number of people with poor coping with IBD at six and 12 months and increasing the number of people who are confident in actively managing the disease at 12 months.

IBD UNIT, MONASH MEDICAL CENTRE

In November 2012, CCA awarded the second Angela McAvoy Research Fellowship to the IBD Unit of Monash Medical Centre and Monash University to undertake a study entitled Mesenteric Fat, Adipocytokines and Sarcopenia in Crohn’s Disease, with Dr Gregory Moore as lead researcher.

With increasing numbers of overweight and obese individuals in the Crohn’s population, the study aims to identify the role that visceral fat and its metabolic and immunological effects have on Crohn’s disease and identify new therapeutic targets and biomarkers to predict more severe disease.