Call for Proposals

Posted by Friends of FSH Research on Feb 7, 2020

Friends of FSH Research has opened our February 2020 Request for Proposal process. Applications are due March 31, 2020 by 11:59 PM PT (Seattle). We anticipate that grants will be announced in May 2020.

Friends of FSH Research is a Seattle-based non-profit that has been investing in FSHD research for over 15 years (See Grants). Our mission is to ultimately find a treatment or cure for FSHD. To achieve our mission we work with a network of scientists and advisors to evaluate proposals and to fund those we feel best support our mission.

We welcome all innovative project ideas or funding needs that move us closer to a treatment or cure for FSHD. Our current areas of interest include:

• Mechanisms of Disease Progression - Innovative pilot projects focused on developing our understanding of the initiation, progression, and ultimate destruction of muscle in FSHD patients, primarily focused on the mechanism of disease progression from quiescent to active disease with the goal of identifying interventions to prevent this progression.
• Biomarkers - Projects focused on biomarkers or methods of detection that will help determine the appropriate time to treat a patient with a therapeutic compound or test a patient's response to a therapeutic compound, and specifically, hypothesis-driven determination of tissue biomarkers or imaging biomarkers that are less invasive than muscle biopsy or more informative/cost-effective than MRI.
• Immune Mechanisms in FSHD - Studies that determine specific immune mechanisms regulated by DUX4 (directly or indirectly) or causal for pathophysiology in FSHD.
• Clinical Trial Support – Funding needs that help the development of a worldwide clinical trials network to support eventual approval of therapies aimed at treating or curing FSHD.
• Ongoing Programs - Funding for an ongoing program which needs additional support to proceed. This may include professional dedicated laboratory staff, outside contractors, administrative/program management support (directly related to research), consultants (e.g. regulatory advisors), equipment etc. Justification for this support must be provided and will be considered in terms of our mission.
• Novel Therapeutics - Seed funding for novel therapeutic approaches to treat FSHD.

Among the various criteria, and depending on the subject of the grant, the Scientific Advisory Board typically reviews proposals based on:

• The design of the research
• Supporting preliminary data
• Other research support
• Past grant record with our organization, if any
• The capability of lab
• Willingness to share materials

If you are interested in submitting a proposal, the first step is contact us at ProgressReports@fshfriends.org to share a brief scope of your proposal.

If this is your first time interacting with our organization, you will need to share with us your background and the background of key personnel that will be involved in your project.

Upon review and acceptance of the intent of the proposal, you will then be required to submit a full proposal as outlined on our website.

Remember, applications are due no later than 11:59 PM PT (Seattle) on March 31, 2020.

Click here to view the full application instructions, or go to fshfriends.org/researchers/apply-grant.

To initiate the process with our Scientific Advisors, e-mail ProgressReports@fshfriends.org.

All applicants should be familiar with our institutional contract and confident of your institutional approval prior to submitting an application, and understand that additional contractual terms may apply depending on the nature of the project. Funding level and timing can vary depending on need of the project. Milestone-based payments may apply, depending on the request.

Finally, please share this information with colleagues who may be interested in FSHD research.