UCB and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Working Group Award $200,000 in Research Grants to Gastroenterology Fellows

ATLANTA, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- UCB and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Working Group (IBDWG) today announced the five recipients of the 2010 Research Awards in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) for Gastroenterology (GI) Fellows, each of whom will receive a one-year $40,000 research grant for their original clinical or basic research.  The recipients were selected by the IBDWG Steering Committee and the awards were funded by a grant from UCB, Inc.  A reception honoring the recipients will be held at the 2010 Digestive Disease Week meeting in New Orleans.

"This award is tremendously important in supporting the gastroenterology community and furthering critical IBD research," said David Rubin, M.D., IBDWG Steering Committee member and Co-chair of the Awards Program and Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago.  "The award was created to foster enthusiasm and drive interest in the field and ultimately pave the way for better patient care."  

The Research Awards in Inflammatory Bowel Disease for GI Fellows was established in December 2008 to promote important scientific research in the field of gastroenterology.  Recipients of the awards were considered based on the novelty, feasibility and significance of their proposals, as well as their commitment to an academic career, their record and commitment of their mentor and the institutional and research environment.

The 2010 recipients include:

Michael Rothenberg, GI Fellow at Stanford University Medical Center, (Palo Alto, CA):

• Research entitled: Prospective Characterization of Colon Stem and Progenitor Responses in Health and Colitis

Ryan Stidham, GI Fellow at University of Michigan School of Medicine, (Ann Arbor, MI):

• Research entitled: Investigating Ultrasound Elasticity Imaging in Assessment of Intestinal Fibrosis in Crohn's Disease

Hamed Khalili, GI Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, (Boston, MA):

• Research entitled: A Prospective Cohort Study of Early Life Factors in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Daniel Hampton, GI Fellow at Duke University Medical Clinic, (Durham, NC):

• Research entitled: Epigenetic changes to imprinted and non-imprinted genes contribute to disease pathogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Lindsay Robison, GI Fellow at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, (Birmingham, AL):

• Research entitled: Family Planning Issues in IBD: Perspective of Patient and Partner

"UCB is committed to providing meaningful medicines, resources and programs to people on the front lines of inflammatory bowel disease -- those who research, those who treat patients and, most importantly, the patients who manage the disease daily," said David Robinson, vice president and general manager of UCB's Immunology Business Unit.  "We are honored to support the efforts of future gastroenterology thought leaders and to contribute to exciting new research in IBD."

Following one year of research, each award recipient will submit a report summarizing the work conducted to date.  These reports will be reviewed by the co-chairs of the IBDWG Steering Committee and the two most exemplary research projects in the basic science and in the clinical research categories will be selected for the Outstanding GI Fellow Researcher Award.

Further Information

Bert Kelly, Manager, U.S. Communications & Public Relations, UCB Group

404.784.6303, [email protected]

About Inflammatory Bowel Disease Working Group (IBDWG)

The mission of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Working Group (IBDWG) (Formerly known as the Crohn's Disease Working Group) is to provide a forum for the education of healthcare professionals through the development and exchange of high-quality evidence-based materials which are easily accessible and which aim to improve the quality-of-life of patients with Crohn's Disease.

About UCB

UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of innovative medicines with a focus on the fields of central nervous system and immunology disorders.  Employing approximately 9,000 people in over 40 countries, UCB generated revenue of EUR 3.1 billion in 2009. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB).

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current plans, estimates and beliefs of management.  Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those that may be implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this press release.  Important factors that could result in such differences include: changes in general economic, business and competitive conditions, effects of future judicial decisions, changes in regulation, exchange rate fluctuations and hiring and retention of its employees.

SOURCE UCB