Established Investigator Bridge Funding Award Grant

Established Investigator Bridge Funding Award Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: American College Of Gastroenterology Inc
Amount: Up to US $300,000
Last Updated: October 16, 2025

Summary

The Established Investigator Bridge Funding Award, supported by the ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education and the American College of Gastroenterology, offers $300,000 in funding over two years for established researchers facing funding gaps. Designed for clinical gastroenterology and hepatology, this grant aims to sustain impactful research programs during federal funding lapses. Eligible applicants must be ACG members and have at least eight years of experience post-training, along with a proven track record of federal funding in relevant fields.

Overview

Established Investigator Bridge Funding Award The  ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education and the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) are proud to support established clinical gastroenterology or hepatology researchers, who have experienced a lapse in federal program funding which requires bridge support to sustain their robust research programs, and invite eligible applicants to apply for a $300,000, two-year bridge funding award, to be funded from July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2028. This award provides short-term bridge funding to sustain an investigator’s independent research program between federal grants and is only available to ACG members. The goal of the Established Investigator Bridge Funding Award is to provide short-term (up to two-year) funding to established Clinical Scientists with a proven track record of federal program funding in innovative and impactful clinical research in gastroenterology or hepatology. With the paucity of federal agencies willing to fund GI and hepatology clinical research and federal funding levels at less than 15%, intermittent gaps in federal funding are a reality in the research career of an independent Clinical Investigator. This bridge funding grant is designed to support researchers principally focused on digestive or liver diseases, and to sustain their competitive, patient-oriented research programs during such a gap in federal program funding. This grant is designed to support research that is principally focused on digestive or liver diseases. The patient population or disease target should be principally related to the gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary system, pancreas, or neuroenteric science, including any translational, clinical, social science, or health services research studies that pertain to managing such patients or conditions. For example, a study about microbiota would be appropriate if it pertains to a digestive disease. In contrast, a study that is principally about HIV would likely not be appropriate unless it directly relates to how HIV affects digestive health. Since its inception in 1994, the ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education has provided over $31.9 Million in funding to over 745 recipients.

Eligibility

We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. ACG Member at the time of applicationU.S. or Canadian-based physician or equivalent (e.g., MD, DO, MBBS) Established Investigator definition:A minimum of 8 years out of fellowship or terminal training program at the time of application (fellowship or terminal training completed in 2015 or earlier to be eligible to apply for the 2025 grant cycle).Evidence of successful federal funding.Full-time faculty position as part of the gastroenterology or hepatology department at a university, medical school, or other healthcare institution at the time of application.Evidence of recently concluded federal clinical or translational research award within the last 3 years in gastroenterology or hepatology, such as NIH R01, K-award, or VA Merit Award. National Science Award, Department of Defense, and CIHR multi-year project grant awards of equivalency will be considered. Additionally, applicants must demonstrate the following:Evidence of ongoing application for renewal for federal funding (provide institutional evidence of application to a federal agency [i.e., eRA commons routing information] or letter of intent from institutional grant awards office)Able to guarantee 30% protected research time for the entirety of the grant period. Candidates must devote at least 30% of their effort to clinical research related to gastroenterology or hepatology. A letter from the Division Chief or Department Chair must certify that the award will provide 30% protected time to the recipient, regardless of the amount budgeted for salary, in accordance with the terms of the award. You must be a member of this organization to apply for this award - become a member. The Principal Investigator must be an ACG member in good standing. ACG membership must be active no later than October 2024.

Ineligibility

Fellows-in-training.Early career faculty.Projects that support laboratory or animal research projects.Award overlap: ACG does not provide duplicate funding. The same science may not be used in applications for two ACG grant types (for example: applying to both the Bridge Funding Award and Clinical Research Award with the same science).ACG limits funding for a PI to one grant in a single award cycle. If a given investigator submits projects in two or more RFA categories and more than one is deemed worthy of funding, the larger grant will be funded. If the applicant was awarded an ACG research award within the last three (3) years, they cannot apply for the same grant category in which they were awarded. They may apply for a different grant category, as the College is not trying to limit the progression of research (pilot award to CRA or JR Faculty Award), but rather the same investigators being funded repeatedly.