our research impact

In 1978, there were no specialists for diseases of childhood digestion and bowel.

Crohn’s disease had been seen for many years in adults but at that time it was very rare for it to affect a child. There were a small number of children being treated at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, and their parents got together and set about making a difference. Soon, the charity they founded also supported children with Ulcerative Colitis and all forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

the impact of our research for children and young adults with IBD

1. soon after the charity was founded, CICRA, under the guidance of Professor John Walker-Smith, CICRA's mentor and now Life President was the driving force in the development of Paediatric Gastroenterology as a sub-speciality of Paediatrics
2. In 1982 CICRA set up the first paediatric gastroenterology laboratory in the UK at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. Recognised worldwide for its excellence this laboratory is now based in state-of-the-art facilities at the Blizard Institute at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel
3. many of today’s leading doctors treating children and young people for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) did their specialist training through CICRA’s Fellowship scheme
4. the first generation of CICRA-trained doctors are now training the next, which means more children can see an IBD specialist
5. in 1983 CICRA funded nine years of research, via their Fellowship scheme, culminating in the development of Modulen, still the first line of treatment for children with Crohn's disease
6. new treatments being taken forward for clinical trials build on work by CICRA funded scientists
7. CICRA funding in Scotland and Southampton identified a rapid increase in children, and in particular babies, being diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease
8. the CICRA bursary scheme for scientists to attend major conferences, and present their research, ensures that childhood IBD expertise is spread nationally and globally
9. CICRA’s PhD studentship scheme encourages young talented scientists to follow a career path researching IBD, keeping the momentum for better treatments and an eventual cure
10. over 60 CICRA funded projects have created a wealth of knowledge about Inflammatory Bowel Disease

CICRA is the only national charity in the UK dedicated entirely to helping children and young people with Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, IBDU and VEOIBD collectively referred to as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). CICRA was formed in 1978 by parents of children affected by IBD with the aims of:

• finding a cure for IBD by funding good quality, peer reviewed, research and funding the training of doctors wishing to specialise in paediatric IBD
• helping to improve the quality of life for children and young people with these conditions
• helping to raise a wider awareness and understanding of this very complex, disabling condition

For 47 years, CICRA Trustees have been getting closer to their goal through their ground-breaking research programme:

Watch two of today's leading IBD specialists, both with projects funded by CICRA earlier in their careers, talk more about research and the promising future for treatments.