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SUMMARY:Alpha-synuclein Seed Amplification Assay Program
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210913
DTSTAMP:20260408T130334Z
UID:2cbcb08589b5069dd39dcd25b202c76ff206ffb76ba257cf8e6f14ca
CATEGORIES:Call for proposal
DESCRIPTION:Aim: This program supports research that will facilitate inte
 gration of alpha-synuclein seed amplification assays into clinical studies
  for the purposes of predicting prognosis\, tracking disease progression a
 nd monitoring therapeutic response.\nGiven the role of alpha-synuclein (a-
 syn) in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's\, it holds importance as a the
 rapeutic target (with more than a dozen a-syn-focused drug programs in tri
 als) and as a biomarker candidate for the disease. \nRecent cerebral spin
 al fluid a-syn seed amplification assays (SAAs) have demonstrated high se
 nsitivity and specificity to identify PD study participants. But optimizat
 ion and more studies are warranted.\nApplicants are encouraged to form tea
 ms and submit proposals that address one or more of the following key goal
 s:\n\n	Goal 1: Development of a scaled-up\, reliable and rapid a-syn SAA a
 s a research-use-only in vitro diagnostic (IVD) with validation package to
 ward an eventual point-of-care IVD integrable into clinical trials with po
 tential for commercial use.\n	Goal 2: Modification of a-syn SAAs from the 
 current binary (positive/negative) readouts to an analytically validated q
 uantitative assay format that measures a-syn seed concentrations.\n	Goal 3
 : Identification of the most sensitive\, specific\, reproducible\, stage-a
 ppropriate biomatrix through comparative assessment of an a-syn SAA on a v
 ariety of biomatrices (e.g.\, CSF\, skin\, nasal mucosa\, submandibular gl
 and\, etc.)\n\n\nDeadline: 13 September 2021\nDuration:  Up to three year
 s\nFunding: MJFF plans to allocate at least $3M to these efforts. Project
 s of all sizes encouraged. Budget will not correlate with funding prioriti
 zation.\nEligibility: Applications may be submitted by researchers or cli
 nicians in or outside the United States in:\n\n\n	biotechnology/pharmaceut
 ical companies\, or other publicly or privately held for-profit entities\n
 \n\n\n	public and private non-profit entities\, such as universities\, col
 leges\, hospitals\, laboratories\, units of state and local governments an
 d eligible agencies of the federal government\n	Post-doctoral fellows are 
 not eligible to apply.\n	As projects may require many kinds of expertise\,
  MJFF encourages industry\, academic\, clinical and/or non-profit collabor
 ations when appropriate. Applicants proposing prospective recruitment of p
 articipants should do so in partnership with clinical centers and/or sites
  that are equipped to collaborate on such collections.\n\nHow to Apply: Ap
 plication Guidelines\nFurther Information:\n\n\n	Watch a video on this fun
 ding program and MJFF's review process\n	Contact the Research Office at re
 search@epfl.ch for additional information or if you plan to submit a propo
 sal\n	Email grants@michaeljfox.org with questions\n
LOCATION:
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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