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Digestive Diseases

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is supporting the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) to augment its Research Investigator Awards Program.

CCFA is the national leader in attracting, developing, training, and retaining young scientists in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research, as well as supporting senior researchers who have dedicated their careers to studying IBD. CCFA employs a peer-review model to review 250 applications each year. 82% of researchers funded by CCFA have been able to submit applications to other funding sources (mostly from the NIH), thereby leveraging over $62 million in additional grant funds for IBD.

Over the course of three years, the Trust’s grant will fund the three-year life span of: twelve Career Development Awards (granted to investigators with 5-10 years of post-doctoral experience); nine Research Fellow Awards (mentored awards granted to investigators with at least two years of relevant post-doctoral experience); and two Senior Research Awards (granted to investigators with 10 or more years of post-doctoral experience).

Founded in 1967, CCFA is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to finding the cure for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Four decades ago, CCFA created the field of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis research. Today, the Foundation funds cutting-edge studies at major medical institutions, nurtures investigators at the early stages of their careers, and finances underdeveloped areas of research.

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is supporting the Mount Sinai Medical Center to strengthen and expand its existing inflammatory bowel disease program and to establish the Helmsley Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Mount Sinai. The overarching goal of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center is to strengthen and expand Mount Sinai’s existing program to foster multidisciplinary collaboration, excellence in research, and rapid translation of the basic science to novel therapies and treatments.

Each year, 7,000 patients from all over the world seek treatment at Mount Sinai for Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory bowel diseases. Under the leadership of Drs. Lloyd Mayer, Sergio Lira, and Huabao Xiong, the IBD Basic Research Program at Mount Sinai has grown from within and has demonstrated significant success.

Funding will support priority needs for the Center’s growth and expansion – areas of investment that will have the most significant near- and long-term impact on efforts to find a cure for IBD. These investments include the recruitment of new faculty at the forefront of IBD research along with related support personnel, the retention of existing outstanding faculty through an endowed professorship, and the purchase of enabling equipment and technologies.

Founded in 1852, The Mount Sinai Medical Center is one of the country's oldest and largest voluntary teaching hospitals. A premier tertiary-care facility for six hospitals and 20 additional medical institutions, Mount Sinai draws patients from surrounding communities, across the country, and around the world.

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is supporting the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to establish the SHARE (Sinai-Helmsley Alliance for Research Excellence) Network, a systems biology-based multicenter program for integrated studies in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Despite the many advances in the identification of the genes responsible for increased risk of IBD, there is still little understanding as to how genetic disorders cause, modify, or increase the risk of developing IBD. In response to this need, five major IBD centers in the United States have agreed to participate in a consortium and have made a commitment to sharing of resources, patient information, and data integration using bioinformatics technology. The five institutions that will form the SHARE Network include the Mayo Clinic, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, the University of Chicago, the University of North Carolina, and Washington University.

In its first two years, the SHARE Network will establish its leadership and governance structure, establish a methodology for standardized data and tissue collection, and develop targeted SHARE Network projects. The SHARE Network will enable investigators to better understand the causes, pathogenesis, and treatment of IBD through sharing of resources, specialized technology, patient samples, patient information, and data integration.

Founded in 1852, The Mount Sinai Medical Center is one of the country's oldest and largest voluntary teaching hospitals. A premier tertiary-care facility for six hospitals and 20 additional medical institutions, Mount Sinai draws patients from surrounding communities, across the country, and around the world.

The Helmsley Trust is supporting New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital’s Center for Digestive Diseases at its 68th Street campus by providing capital support for construction of additional patient facilities, funding for the recruitment of additional physicians and surgeons, and investing in breakthrough medical device technologies.

New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell has more than 25,000 digestive disease patient encounters annually and more than 4,000 of these patients are hospitalized. By supporting this work, the Trust will allow NYP to become a national leader in innovation and comprehensive care for digestive diseases.

New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital is one of the most comprehensive university hospitals in the world, with leading specialists in every field of medicine. It is composed of two medical centers, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. It is also affiliated with two Ivy League medical institutions, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University.