Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a collection of diseases including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, which result in chronic inflammation and damage along the lining and tissues of the digestive tract. The disease greatly affects an individual’s quality of life, causing symptomatic fatigue, abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, nausea, weight loss, with external manifestations such as joint pain, eye irritation, and skin rashes. Current treatments for IBD have allowed patients to better manage disease symptoms, but are limited in their ability to prevent or cure disease.

In a new Giving Smarter Guide, the Center for Strategic Philanthropy presents the key unmet needs of disease research and recommendations for how strategic philanthropic investments can impact the trajectory of research and better benefit IBD patients and those at risk of developing IBD.