Discovery of novel therapeutic targets rooted in a strong biological rationale is a key component of accelerating ALS drug and biomarker development. While it is exciting to witness therapeutics for genetic forms of ALS advance to the clinic, 90% of ALS patients remain in need of new therapies. Given the high unmet need, we are soliciting proposals focused on understanding fundamental biology of the disease to help uncover the next wave of therapeutic targets for sporadic ALS.
Key Dates
June 2024
July 2024
What We’re Funding
While all proposals studying sporadic ALS are welcome, Target ALS is particularly interested in supporting projects that propose the study of:
- Genetic risk factors
- Altered proteostasis and autophagy pathways
- Lipid and mitochondrial dysregulation
- Central and peripheral inflammation
- Ferroptosis and mechanisms regulating cell survival
- Neural circuits
- Environmental risk factors
Confidentiality of investigator’s data, research, and intellectual property will be strictly honored.
Target ALS does not seek ownership of any intellectual property or financial gains that result on the
basis of its funding.
Who Should Apply
This call is focused on bringing investigators together to work collaboratively on ALS biology with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic targets for sporadic ALS. Only collaborative projects will be considered.
- Collaborative projects for this call comprise groups of 3-5 laboratories working around a common research theme or target.
- All collaborators must provide a copy of the executed agreement between their institutions on data/IP sharing OR provide a document that confirms each TTO has been made aware of the collaborative project and the need to sign a data/IP sharing agreement as part of the full proposal submission.
- Investigators based in industry are encouraged to participate, but their involvement is not a requirement.
- A Principal Investigator can only participate in one LOI submission.
- Principal Investigators who have two or more active competitive grants from Target ALS are not eligible to apply.
What Our Grants Support
Funding to cover the following project components:
- Researcher salaries and fringe benefits
- Lab supplies, materials, and equipment
- Research associated costs up to 15% of the award (e.g. lab’s rent)
- Costs of accessing Target ALS core facilities throughout the period of the award.
- A speaker slot at the Target ALS annual meeting, held in Boston, MA. This meeting provides an immersive experience in cutting edge ALS research and offers an opportunity to network with leaders from academia, pharma/biotech, venture capital and other non-profits.
Grant Structure:
- $130,000 per lab, per year.
- The total budget for a collaborative project cannot exceed a maximum of $500,000 per year.
- The initial grant will be for a two-year period.
- The consortium will be eligible to compete for a third year of funding based on a competitive review of updated project goals as well as compelling progress at the end of the second year of funding.
