Research!

2009 Kyle Bryant Translational Research Award sponsored by Ride Ataxia, the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance and the National Ataxia Foundation

June 1, 2009 — 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 grants focusing on pre-clinical and clinical investigations that will advance treatments for Friedreich's Ataxia.

FARA and NAF are grateful to the Ride Ataxia cyclists and supporters as well as sponsor Outback Steakhouse who collectively raised $260,000. FARA and NAF will provide matching funds to bring the grant award total to $360,000. As a result a total of three awards will be funded under this program, each limited to $120,000 (direct costs only). Two awards will be funded by FARA and NAF, and the third award will be funded by FARA made possible by the sponsorship from Outback Steakhouse.

Proposals should be for pre-clinical / translational or clinical research focused on Friedreich's ataxia with aims such as identification of biomarkers for FA, development of animal or cellular models to evaluate candidate therapies, development of tools or technologies for therapy development, pre-clinical development and testing of potential targets, or clinical studies of patient outcome measures.

A full list of proposal guidelines and the application can be accessed at http://www.curefa.org/grant.html. Applicants must complete the Kyle Bryant Translational Research Award application form.

Applications will be accepted from for-profit organizations, non-profit organizations, public or private institutions, and foreign institutions. By July 15, 2009, a letter of intent should be submitted with the title and a few sentences describing the focus of the proposal. The application / proposal is due on July 31, 2009.

Letters of intent and applications are to be submitted electronically to jen.farmer@cureFA.org and susan@ataxia.org.

About FARA
The Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to accelerating research leading to treatments and a cure for Friedreich's ataxia. http://www.curefa.org

About NAF
NAF is a membership supported, nonprofit organization established in 1957 to help persons with ataxia and their families. The Foundation's primary purpose is to support promising ataxia research and to provide vital programs and services for ataxia families. http://www.ataxia.org

Contact
Jennifer Farmer
Executive Director, Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance
(484) 875-3015
info@curefa.org

Michael Parent
Executive Director, National Ataxia Foundation
(763) 553-0020
mike@ataxia.org

Kyle Bryant
Founder, Ride Ataxia
(916) 203-3238
kyle@rideataxia.org

This announcement can also be found on the FARA website here.