Medical research is simply the best hope for finding a cure for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC) is a major national organization dedicated solely to finding a cure for IBD. We have been committed to this mission since 1974 and we are one of the world’s leaders in non-governmental, per capita funding of IBD research. To date, the Foundation has invested more than $61 million in major medical research projects, the training of research personnel, the establishment of two world-class intestinal disease research units (at McMaster University and the University of Calgary), the establishment of the CCFC Chair in Intestinal Disease Research at the University of Calgary and the CCFC Research Institute.

In the summer of 2003, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada launched its CCFC IBD Research Institute (CCFC IBDRI). This "virtual" Institute was created to coordinate expanded and innovative research initiatives in Canada. It includes researchers and health professionals from across Canada who serve as volunteers and without remuneration. The Institute provides advice to the National Board of Directors on our research programs. The CCFC has invested more than $25 million in IBD research in the first five years of the Institute. We are confident that the CCFC IBDRI will change the face of IBD research in Canada.

The Foundation is currently funding over 55 major research grants. These world class research projects are executed in centers across Canada and are awarded based on rigorous review and selection. The vast majority of our research is biological and looks into the causes, development and function of IBD. This is research that is not widely supported by others in Canada. Thanks to the research investment made by the CCFC, much more is now known about the fundamental biology of the intestine. It is much more complicated and integrated than people would have anticipated 10-15 years ago.