The Sherman Prize was created by Bruce and Cynthia Sherman in 2016, who founded the Prize in the spirit of making a difference in the fight to overcome Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. As a family touched by Crohn’s, the Shermans created the Prize — the first of its kind in IBD — as a way to elevate great achievements, creating awareness and inspiring future excellence, signaling to the philanthropic and medical communities that these diseases are high priorities and worthy of significant investment. Read a letter from the Shermans here.
The Sherman Prize awards financial prizes and national recognition to exceptionally talented, dedicated individuals working tirelessly on improving outcomes for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis patients, and on the medical research that could lead to prevention, remission and cures. Prize recipients are high performers from a variety of professional disciplines who represent “Excellence in Crohn’s and Colitis” in their chosen endeavors, having dedicated their careers to the fight to overcome IBD.
On an annual basis, we award:
Two $100,000 Sherman Prizes to IBD clinicians, surgeons, researchers and/or academics with extraordinary track records of achievement, making exceptional and pioneering contributions that transform IBD care. Complete eligibility guidelines for the Sherman Prize can be found here.
One $25,000 Sherman Emerging Leader Prize to an IBD clinician, surgeon, researcher, academic, physician assistant, nursing professional, or public health advocate who, while early in his or her career, has contributed to an advancement and shows great promise for significant contributions in the future. Complete eligibility guidelines for the Sherman Emerging Leader Prize can be found here.
All Prizes include national recognition and the production of a short tribute film. Eligible individuals must live and work in the U.S., having accomplished their greatest achievements in the past decade, with greater emphasis placed on accomplishments in the last few years.
Find all the Prize details here.
During the nomination period, you can find the online nomination instructions here. Consult the eligibility guidelines first to determine if your candidate is best suited for the Sherman Prize or the Sherman Emerging Leader Prize.
The exact dates differ from year to year, but the nomination period typically falls during the first few months of each year. Find current nomination information here.
No. Candidates must be nominated by colleagues, peers, educators, advocates — anyone who can attest to the candidate’s qualifications. Self-nominations will not be accepted.
Yes. You may nominate as many candidates as you wish, however you will need to submit a separate nomination form for each individual. Complete online nomination instructions can be found here.
Following our annual call for nominations, the Sherman Prize Selection Committee — five of the nation’s preeminent IBD researchers, clinicians, scholars and healthcare providers representing diverse areas of expertise — conducts an extensive review of the candidates, and presents its findings to the Sherman Prize Board of Directors, who make the final decision. The deliberation process is confidential. Only details of the final prize recipients will be made public. Meet the Selection Committee here.
Yes. In fact, since there are many deserving candidates and only three Prizes awarded annually, your colleagues would certainly appreciate your continued support. When re-nominating someone from a prior year, you will be able to access your former submission(s) in our system; however you must complete a new form to include updates since your last submission.
Typically, the Sherman Prize announces its annual recipients during the third quarter following the selection process. The exact date changes from year to year. Read our press release regarding the 2023 announcement.
The 2024 Sherman Prize and Sherman Emerging Leader Prize recipients will be recognized in December during the second day of the Advances in IBD (AIBD) annual conference in Orlando, FL.
From 2016 to 2024, there have been 18 Sherman Prize recipients and nine Sherman Emerging Leader Prize recipients. You can learn more about the Prize honorees and their important work here.
The Sherman Prizes are not grants or lifetime achievement awards — they are prizes designated to recognize and inspire excellence by highlighting exceptional pioneering contributions in the field of IBD. A financial prize and national recognition through news media, Prize presentation events, social media and ShermanPrize.org are key components of the Sherman Prize. Click here to learn more about the Prizes.
The Sherman Prize team would like to keep you informed. You can receive updates by filling out our contact form, found here.
