Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) awarded a Project Grant of $181,195.00 to Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, effective June 15, 2026, through April 30, 2031, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847). The award supports a research training program titled "Personalized Approach to Celiac Disease Diagnosis (PACKED Study)" led by principal investigator Dr. Claire Jansson-Knodell in the Department of Gastroenterology at Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

The funded research deliverables include development and validation of a clinical prediction model that integrates clinical patient data with tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A (TTG-IgA) antibody levels to improve celiac disease diagnosis. The model is designed to stratify patients into three risk categories—low, intermediate, and high likelihood—thereby reducing unnecessary invasive testing such as upper endoscopy and duodenal biopsy while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. Under the mentorship of celiac disease expert Dr. Rubio-Tapia and biostatistician Dr. Dalton, along with a supporting committee, the research aims to advance patient-centered care and decrease healthcare costs through a personalized diagnostic approach that replaces the current standardized testing protocol applied uniformly to all patients.