Research grants

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The focus of the Hereditary Disease Foundation is on Huntington's disease. Support will be for research projects that will contribute to identifying and understanding the basic defect in Huntington's disease. Areas of interest include trinucleotide expansions, animal models, gene therapy, neurobiology and development of the basal ganglia, cell survival and death, and intercellular signaling in striatal neurons.

Anyone accepting funding from the Hereditary Disease Foundation must agree to abide by the following policy: Propagatable materials (including monoclonal antibodies and recombinant DNAs) should be freely available to other investigators following publication. The Foundation's position is that there be no restrictions or proprietary rights in materials produced with our support.

 The deadline for applications is October 15. Applications will be reviewed in January. To obtain an application, please submit a letter of intent no more than one page long after August 1 to following address,

Hereditary Disease Foundation
Attn: Carl D. Johnson, PhD
3960 Broadway, 6th Floor 
New York, NY  10032  
USA

The maximum award for research grants is $50,000. Grants are usually for one year with a possibility of renewal. Grants are considered seed money. If the project shows promise, it is hoped that other institutions will fund it thereafter. The Foundation does not generally include the salary of the principle investigator. Indirect costs are not allowed, but fringe benefits are considered part of personnel costs and are allowed.

Grant applications should be submitted by email and five hard copies. Supplemental material and reprints should be submitted with a file type of PDF(.pdf).

Applicants are notified of funding decisions by email.

To apply:

·       Submit a letter of intent: There is no deadline – submit anytime, electronically using the form on the Foundation’s website:
     http://www.hdfoundation.org/funding/intent.php.

     The letter of intent should include:

o       Contact information

o       A summary of your proposed research project – 500 words or less

·        Letter of Intent Review: Letters of intent are reviewed by a triage group. Turn-around is usually less than two weeks and the primary consideration is relevance to finding treatments and cures for Huntington’s disease. If a proposal is accepted, an application form for a full proposal is sent to the applicant by email.  Applicants are encouraged to interact by email or phone with Carl Johnson, Ph.D., the Executive Director for Science, while preparing their application  

Applications require:

·        Administrative contact: Name, title, email address, phone & fax numbers and mailing address of the institutional representative who will manage the project. The application must be approved and signed by the institution.

·        Project summary: Not to exceed 200 words.

·        Budget (for Grants only): Grant funding is limited to $50,000. Except in unusual circumstances, salary support is not provided for the Principal Investigator. The Foundation does not provide funds for indirect costs or overhead.  Postdoctoral Fellowship salaries are determined by the Foundation, based on number of years after receipt of a doctoral degree. Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards include $8,000 for supplies.

·        Other current and pending support: Please provide a complete list (NIH format) indicating aims of each project and potential overlap with the current proposal.

·        Biographical sketch: Attach a two-page biographical sketch (NIH format) for the Principal Investigator and other professional personnel.  Include training, experience, recent publications and patent filings.  Any supplemental materials, manuscripts or papers should be submitted electronically in PDF format.

·        Protection of Human Subjects: Any study using human subjects must be approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the applicant institution.  Please attach the completed “Protection of Human Subjects Assurance/Certification/Declaration” form.

·        Protection of Animal Subjects: The transportation, care, and use of animals must be in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et. seq.) and other applicable Federal laws, guidelines, and policies.

·        Study Proposal: Not to exceed 10 pages, including references.  There is no need for an extensive, NIH style, introduction, but be sure to include a description of critical details of the proposed plan as well as documentation of research experience.  Particular attention should be paid to the aims and anticipated outcomes of the study and on how they will help discover or develop treatments for Huntington’s disease.

Application Review:

     Applications are reviewed by the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hereditary Disease Foundation once per year at the January Scientific Advisory Board meeting. Applications received at least six weeks prior to the meeting are considered. Applicants will receive written notification of the funding decision shortly after the review meeting.