The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research invites applications for its alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay programme. This supports research that will facilitate integration of alpha-synuclein seed amplification assays into clinical studies for the purposes of predicting prognosis, tracking disease progression and monitoring therapeutic response.
Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that address one or more of the following key goals:
•goal 1: development of a scaled-up, reliable and rapid a-syn SAA as a research-use-only in vitro diagnostic (IVD) with validation package toward an eventual point-of-care IVD integrable into clinical trials with potential for commercial use;
•goal 2: modification of a-syn SAAs from the current binary readouts to an analytically validated quantitative assay format that measures a-syn seed concentrations;
•goal 3: identification of the most sensitive, specific, reproducible, stage-appropriate biomatrix through comparative assessment of an a-syn SAA on a variety of biomatrices.
Applications may be submitted by researchers or clinicians in or outside the United States in biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, or other publicly or privately held for-profit entities, or in public and private non-profit entities, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments and eligible agencies of the federal government. Postdoctoral fellows are not eligible to apply.
The total budget is USD 3 million spread across the three areas. Funding is available for up to three years.
Deadline: 13th September 2021