With Support From the Leona M. And Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Genetic, Environmental, Microbial (Gem) Project Has Reached Its Goal of 5,000 Participants
After 10 years and a worldwide effort, Crohn's and Colitis Canada is pleased to announce that the world-renowned Genetic, Environmental, Microbial (GEM) Project has reached its goal of 5,000 participants. Launched in 2008 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, the GEM Project is the world's largest clinical study investigating the causes of Crohn's disease. In this study of prospective development of Crohn's, researchers are monitoring healthy individuals who have a sibling or parent with the disease and are tracking their diet, immune function, intestinal barriers, microbiome, genetics, and environment. So far, 70 participants have been diagnosed with Crohn's disease, a debilitating condition for which there is currently no cure.
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust awarded a CA$3.8 million grant to Crohn's and Colitis Canada to further support the GEM Project. This grant will be supported by another CA$2.6 million from Crohn's and Colitis Canada. To date, the GEM Project has been supported by a funding commitment of over CA$15 million from both organizations.
"We are grateful that one of the top philanthropic organizations in the world continues to place their trust and their funding to help advance the GEM Project. I have no doubt that the Helmsley Charitable Trust's continued generosity will help others to see the enormous potential of the GEM Project," says Mina Mawani, President and CEO of Crohn's and Colitis Canada. "This study is a linchpin in our relentless search to find the cause of Crohn's disease. Never before have researchers been this close and we are eager to harness this new information to eliminate the disease once and for all. During this phase of the GEM Project, researchers will seek to develop predictive tests that can identify individuals who will develop the disease, even before symptoms appear."
While the GEM Project focuses on Crohn's disease, the research also feeds into the understanding of ulcerative colitis, a similar inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which could lead to more targeted, and more effective, treatments.
"The challenge of finding the right therapy and a cure for Crohn's disease requires better understanding of the triggers that precede disease onset. GEM is a one-of-a-kind initiative with the goal of developing a clinically useful prediction tool that will allow identification of individuals at risk and ultimately enable Crohn's prevention trials," says Dr. Garabet Yeretssian, Director of the Helmsley Charitable Trust's Crohn's Disease Program...