Coeliac News

Coeliac UK and Crohn’s & Colitis UK unite to fund epidemiology research

August 28, 2026

Coeliac UK and Crohn’s & Colitis UK are excited to announce the awardees of the jointly funded 2026 epidemiology grant.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Martha Elwenspoek and Dr Mohamed Shiha have been awarded £106.5k following the joint epidemiology research call by Coeliac UK and Crohn’s & Colitis UK. Both charities want to determine the most up-to-date information on the incidence and prevalence of coeliac disease, gluten ataxia, dermatitis herpetiformis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, microscopic colitis, and IBD indeterminate, across the UK. The research team will also be looking at type 1 diabetes mellitus, autoimmune thyroid disease and migraines as comorbidities of coeliac disease.

The decision for funding was made by Coeliac UK’s Research Awards Panel (RAP) after a rigorous expert peer review process. With strong competition from a high-quality field of applications, the panel unanimously agreed to award funding to the joint team from the University of Bristol and the University of Sheffield. The project began at the start of July and is due to be completed in 16 months.

The research team will use the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), which holds millions of anonymous patient records, to investigate how many people are living with these conditions and how many are newly diagnosed each year. By further analysing the data, the team aims to uncover where delays to diagnosis may occur and how often co-morbidities occur.

To read more about the project, please visit our current projects page here.

Dr Martha Elwenspoek said “I am delighted to receive this award from Coeliac UK and Crohn’s & Colitis UK. This research brings together my interests in epidemiology, routinely collected healthcare data, and improving diagnostic pathways. Through this project, we hope to provide the evidence needed to understand current diagnostic pathways, identify opportunities for improvement, and support better outcomes for people with coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease.”

We are really looking forward to the results of this project, which will support our mission to improve awareness and help guide future support and care for the coeliac community.