Grant Program

Funding Agency:
Friedreichs Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA)

FARA supports research across the spectrum from basic research through drug development and clinical research programs in FA.

The proposed research must fall within FARA’s Grant Program Priorities.

A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required for all applications.

Letter of Intent Deadlines:

  • General Research Grant: Feb 15 & Aug 15

  • Award for Innovative Mindset (AIM): Feb. 1

  • Keith Michael Andrus Cardiac Research Award: Nov. 1

  • Kyle Bryant Translational Research Award: Nov. 1

  • Bronya J. Keats International Research Collaboration Award: Nov. 1

  • Postdoctoral Research Award: Feb 15 & Aug 15

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship: Feb 15 & Aug 15

  • Graduate Research Fellowship: March 15

Agency Website

Areas of Interest

The Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) is pleased to renew the request for proposals for a one-year Award for Innovative Mindset (AIM).

AIM supports innovative, high-impact research that will foster new directions, bring new perspectives to the field and address neglected issues in Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) research.

This RFP promotes the initial exploration of innovative, high-risk, high-gain, and potentially groundbreaking concepts in FA research. The proposed research project should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on strong scientific rationale and study design. The presentation of preliminary and/or published data is encouraged, but not required. The anticipated direct costs budgeted must not exceed $100,000. FARA does not fund indirect costs.

The Application Submission Deadline is June 1, 2021. You can access the full RFP here.

 

Request For Proposals: Pharmacodynamic Biomarker Development

The Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) is issuing a request for proposal (RFP) to support clinical drug development programs in Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) by promoting the discovery of technologies to measure frataxin or surrogates of frataxin in inaccessible and disease relevant tissues.

Despite low levels of frataxin throughout the body in FRDA, only certain tissues appear to be impacted by its loss. These tissues include (but are not limited to) the proprioceptive system, deep cerebellar nuclei and the heart. Most of these clinically relevant tissues cannot be biopsied, making it difficult to assess whether therapeutic approaches that increase frataxin levels have done so in affected tissues. Blood, CSF, skin and buccal samples do not appear to be effective surrogates for frataxin levels in the CNS.

This RFP supports the discovery and validation of non-invasive and quantitative methodologies to measure the following in FRDA affected tissues (brain, spinal cord or heart):

A. Frataxin protein levels

B. Biochemical activities dependent on/downstream of frataxin function that can be surrogates of frataxin in inaccessible tissues. These surrogates must closely track frataxin level as it increases or decreases in disease-relevant tissues and must be responsive to therapeutic approaches, specifically frataxin gene and protein replacement therapies, and treatments aimed at increasing frataxin levels and restoring/substituting for frataxin function. For instance, in a gene therapy trial, the surrogate marker must reflect the degree to which frataxin levels have been restored in spinal cord, brain and/or heart.

The LOI deadline is Dec. 1, 2021.
You can access the full RFP here.

Funding Type

Grant

Eligibility

Faculty
Post Doctoral Fellows

Category

Medical
Medical - Basic Science
Medical - Clinical Science
Medical - Translational

External Deadline

February 15, 2024