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* Basic research can involve bacteria, cell lines, derived cells or animal models, but does not involve clinical studies in human subjects. However, it can include research on human specimens.

Grant Program

Who Should Apply

Young investigators who are senior fellows with a committed faculty appointment or early faculty members within a maximum of 5 years of their first faculty appointment (appointments must be in the United States). Applicants must be interested in understanding the health benefits of probiotics and the relationship between probiotics, gastrointestinal microbiota and the body. Candidates must be part of an established research program with the capacity to do research on microbiota and its role in health and disease.

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Young Investigator Grant for Probiotics Research (YIGPRO) is to contribute to the advancement of probiotics and gastrointestinal microbiota research in the United States.

Grant Program Objectives

To stimulate innovative research relevant to the field of gastrointestinal microbiota in the United States
To impact academic and career development of young investigators in the United States and attract them into the field of probiotics and gastrointestinal microbiota
To provide preliminary data for future funding from NIH and other funding sources

Grant Research Focus for 2010

Research focus for 2010 is on the role of probiotics and gastrointestinal microbiota in health and disease. If the research project involves the use of potential probiotics, investigators must not work on commercial strains. Research on publicly available, non-commercial strains of potential probiotics is acceptable. Strain designations used in the studies must be provided.

Grant Information and Maximum Funding Amount

The annual grant amount is $50,000 per grant recipient with no more than 10% of this amount dedicated to overhead costs. Two grants will be funded per year with each given to different institutions in the United States. Funds may be used for technical support and supplies. Principal investigator salaries and travel are not funded. Equipment is rarely funded and only when it is critical to the project, is not available through the institution’s core facilities, and receives approval in advance from The Global Probiotics Council. Under exceptional circumstances a second year will be considered on a competitive basis.

Funding will run from July 2010 to June 2011.

The US Probiotics Scientific Board Grant Selection Committee

The Grant Selection Committee of the US Probiotic Scientific Board is comprised of expert scientists in the fields of gastroenterology, immunology, microbiology, infectious disease, pediatrics, nutrition, and probiotics. These individuals will provide a scientific review of all applications. The grants will be awarded at the sole discretion of the Selection Committee.

The Grant Selection Committee members include:

W. Allan Walker, MD
Conrad Taff Professor of Nutrition, Professor of Pediatrics,
Harvard Medical School
Director, Mucosal Immunology Laboratory,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD
Executive Director
International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP)

Balfour Sartor, MD
Director, Multidisciplinary Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research and Treatment
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Richard Guerrant, MD
Director, Center for Global Health
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Thomas H. Hunter Professor of International Medicine
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health