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Research Grant Program
2008 Kyle Bryant Translational Research Award
The Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) and the National Ataxia Foundation (NAF) invite proposals, under a competitive Request for Applications (RFA) process, to award a grant focusing on pre-clinical and clinical investigations that will advance treatments for Friedreich's Ataxia. We anticipate funding two one-year awards under this program. The total award is limited to $125,000 (direct costs only) for each.
› 2008 Request for Applications (Word)
› 2008 Application (Word)
Mitochondrial Therapeutic Approaches Research Award sponsored by Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance and the Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) invite proposals, under a competitive Request for Applications (RFA) process, to award a grant focusing on critical issues or hypotheses that advance therapeutic approaches to mitochondrial dysfunction as it relates to neurodegenerative diseases. We anticipate funding one award for two years under this program. The total award is limited to $100,000 (indirect costs cannot exceed 10%) per year for two years.
› 2008 Request for Applications (Word)
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› Mission
› Tax Status
› Types of Grants
 › Research Grants
› Workshop Grants
› Dual-Review Process
› Reporting Requirements
› Applications
› Grant Awards
› Additional Grant-Making Organizations
› Non-Profits
› U.S. Government Agencies
Mission
The Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) is a national, public, 501(c)(3), non profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to the pursuit of scientific research leading to treatments and a cure for Friedreich's ataxia. FARA's mission is to slow, stop, and reverse the damage caused by this disorder.
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Tax Status
FARA is exempt from federal income tax under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in section 501(c)(3).
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Types of Grants
FARA offers two types of grants in support of its mission — research grants and workshop grants.
Research Grants
FARA will support research with grants provided by the organization itself and by other public, non-profit organizations that are exempt from federal income taxes under section 501(a) as organizations described in section 501(c)(3). FARA pursues a multi-tiered approach. FARA, itself, provides support for the first couple of tiers
— smaller, short-range "seed" grants, and somewhat larger, mid-range (R21-type) grants. The smaller, "seed" grants (usually $25,000 to $60,000 per year for one or two years) are intended to attract new research investigators and assist existing investigators by supporting the early phases of their research (including funds for equipment and post-doctoral fellowships). These "seed" grants will permit investigators to collect preliminary data and test initial hypotheses. In some cases, significant findings might result, or additional investigators might be attracted to the field. In other cases, this preliminary research will better prepare the investigators to submit successful applications for the second-tier, mid-range (R21-type) FARA grants or even third-tier, larger, longer-term (4-7 year, R01-type) grants from larger grant-making Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The second-tier FARA grants (usually $60,000 to $100,000 per year for one or two years) are intended to translate more mature research directly into projects of clinical interest or into successful applications for third-tier support.
Workshop Grants
FARA supports scientific workshops designed to advance the research into treatments and cures. These workshops will be of two types - full-scale workshops and project-specific workshops.
Full-Scale Workshops — FARA sponsors periodic, comprehensive, international workshops like the ones it organized, co-sponsored, and co-hosted with NIH April 30-May 2, 1999, and February 13-18, 2003. These workshops provide the opportunity for the full scientific community involved in pertinent research to come together to share findings and insights across the full spectrum of disciplines and approaches. When necessary, FARA will seek financial support from other organizations to help support these workshops.
Project-Specific Workshops — FARA intends also to support workshops arranged for smaller groups of investigators when face-to-face collaboration on a specific approach or insight, or some other opportunity promises to advance FARA's mission. In such cases, the workshop site will be selected so as to optimize collaboration and minimize costs.
For both research grants and workshop grants, FARA will fund direct costs only.
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Dual-Review Process
All grant applications submitted to FARA are thoroughly reviewed in a professional and confidential "dual-review" process modeled after that used by the NIH. First, FARA's Scientific Review Committee, consisting of the three scientists serving on FARA's Board of Directors, with broad experience and knowledge of the field, lead FARA's peer-review process. Then, FARA's Board of Directors reviews the results of the scientific peer review. The Scientific Review
Peer Review — For each grant application, FARA's Scientific Review Committee lead a peer review. In doing so, the Committee draws from FARA's Scientific Advisory Committee for additional reviewers selected to supplement the specific expertise needed to consider particular applications. Such supplementation of the peer-review committee will also be used whenever a member of the Scientific Review Committee is recused from the process as a result of an association with the application being reviewed. The reviewers consider each application on its scientific merits based on its potential for advancing the FARA mission, and assess whether the application should receive FARA funding. The Scientific Review Committee then submits the applications, with the Committee's comments and recommendations, to the FARA Board of Directors.
FARA Board of Directors — The Board of Directors, including the three scientific members, then review the applications and take into account the comments and recommendations of the Scientific Review Committee. The review by the Board of Directors is based on the availability of funds in the FARA treasury and an assessment of future requirements. The Board of Directors may decide on full or partial funding of the applications reviewed, or may determine that sufficient funds are not available for some of them. The Board of Directors may fund only those grant applications recommended for funding by the Scientific Review Committee.
Criteria
The criteria to be used in reviewing research grant applications include:
- Is the proposed research likely to contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology
— the underlying and fundamental mechanisms — of the disorder? Will it advance understanding, for example, of how the genes and the proteins involved work or fail to work in causing the symptoms?
- If the research being proposed is preliminary in nature, is it likely to result in a compelling application for a larger, longer-term grant for additional research or clinical trials?
- Do the Principal Investigator (PI) submitting the application and the laboratory in which the PI is to conduct the research have established reputations for quality research? Or, does the PI show sufficient promise of significant contribution to the field to be encouraged to devote his or her talents and insights to the pursuit of treatments for Friedreich's ataxia?
The criteria to be used in reviewing project-specific workshop grant applications include:
- Is near-term collaboration among the applicants likely to result in significant progress that would substantially advance the FARA mission?
- Is the list of workshop participants optimum, or would additional or different participants increase the prospects for a successful workshop or significantly reduce its costs?
- Would face-to-face collaboration, rather than teleconferencing, be essential to achieving the stated objectives of this collaboration?
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Reporting Requirements
Grantees are required to submit to FARA, within 60 days following completion of the grant period, a report on the results of the research or workshop. Such report should also include a financial summary of how actual expenditures compared to those projected in the original grant application in terms of amounts devoted to each category (e.g., post-doc salary, equipment, supplies etc.).
Research Grant
In the case of a research grant, the report may be one of several types:
- Abstract — The report may be in the form of an abstract summarizing findings.
- Grant application — The report may be in the form of an application, based on the research completed under the FARA grant, for an additional grant from FARA or for a larger, longer-term research grant from a larger grant-maker such as NIH.
- Publication — The report may also take the form of a draft article for publication based on the research done under the FARA grant.
Workshop Grant
In the case of a workshop grant, the report can take the form of a publication or a summary of the results of the workshop explaining:
- the key areas of collaboration during the workshop;
- any significant insights gained from the workshop collaboration; and
- any subsequent work and collaboration that is to be undertaken as a result of the workshop.
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Applications
Application Format
Grant applications can be brief. They should be submitted on this application form or contain all the information requested therein.
Application Timelines
Applications will be accepted at any time.
Application Submission
Applications are to be submitted electronically to FARA or can be mailed to the address below. FARA will request additional information from the applicant when necessary.
Electronic submissions (strongly preferred) can be made to fara@FAResearchAlliance.org.
If electronic submission is not possible, mail to:
Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA)
P.O. Box 1537
Springfield, VA 22151
USA
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Grant Awards
Grant Awards will be made expeditiously. FARA will accept grant applications for whatever funding level the Principal Investigator deems necessary. FARA's decisions on the funding level to be granted will be based on the results of the peer review and an assessment of funds available. When the funds required for a meritorious grant exceed FARA funds available, FARA will consult with the Principal Investigator and offer to assist in seeking additional funds from other grant-making organizations.
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Additional Grant-Making Organizations
Non-Profit Organizations
US Government Agencies
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