Double your impact during the Annual Ataxia Research Drive! Donate before December 31st to have your gift matched! LEARN MORE!
Double your impact during the Annual Ataxia Research Drive! Donate before December 31st to have your gift matched! LEARN MORE!
NAF’s programs that support your work to accelerate treatment development.
NAF works with the most knowledgeable, accomplished Ataxia researchers in the world. We are committed to providing the resources needed to pursue a cure and better quality of life for people with Ataxia.
The FY2024 Letter of Intent review period has now closed. Invited applicants are preparing full proposals for review in winter 2023-24. Additional information for researchers planning to apply for FY2025 grants will be available in summer 2024.
NAF research grants are for new and innovative studies that are relevant to the cause, pathogenesis or treatment of the hereditary or sporadic ataxias.
Research grants are offered primarily as “seed monies” to assist investigators in the early or pilot phase of their studies and as additional support for ongoing investigations on demonstration of need. It is hoped that these studies will be further developed to attract future funding from other sources. Grants are awarded for one year only.
September 15, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
To utilize the proposalCENTRAL online portal to submit letters of intent and applications, a user account needs to be created. Use this weblink https://proposalcentral.com to create an account. Creating an account can be done any time prior to submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply.
November 20, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Application is not available until LOI has been approved.
Funding Period: 1 Year (March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025)
Funding Amount: $50,000
At the time of application, an applicant must have an appointment as a faculty member or senior scientist at a research institution.
Non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. Grant applications are accepted from U.S. and international institutions.
Underrepresented minorities strongly encouraged to apply.
The Pioneer SCA3 Translational Research Award is annually granted to outstanding research proposals that aim to make significant advancements in the development of treatments and/or improvements to patient care for Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 (SCA3). Proposals may incorporate other forms of ataxia but must have a predominant focus on SCA3 translational or clinical research.
September 15, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
To utilize the proposalCENTRAL online portal to submit letters of intent and applications, a user account
needs to be created. Use this weblink https://proposalcentral.com to create an account. Creating an
account can be done any time prior to submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply.
November 20, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Application is not available until LOI has been approved.
Funding Period: 1 Year (March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025)
Funding Amount: $100,000
At the time of application, an applicant must have an appointment as a faculty member or senior scientist at a research institution.
Non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. Grant applications are accepted from U.S. and international institutions.
Underrepresented minorities strongly encouraged to apply.
Post-doctoral fellowship awards are to serve as a bridge from post-doctoral positions to junior faculty positions. Applicants should have completed at least one year of post-doctoral training, but not more than two at the time of application and should have shown a commitment to research in the field of ataxia. The award will permit individuals to spend an additional third year in a post-doctoral position and increase chances to establish an independent ataxia research program.
September 15, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
To utilize the proposalCENTRAL online portal to submit letters of intent and applications, a user account needs to be created. Use this weblink https://proposalcentral.com to create an account. Creating an account can be done any time prior to submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply.
November 20, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Application is not available until LOI has been approved.
Funding Period: 1 Year (March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025)
Funding Amount: $35,000
At the time of application, the applicant must have completed at least 1 year post-doctoral training but not more than 2 years, and must have shown a commitment to research in the field of ataxia.
Award will permit individuals to spend an additional third year in a post-doctoral position and increase chances to establish an independent Ataxia research program.
Non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. Grant applications are accepted from U.S. and international institutions.
The Early Career Investigator Award was created to encourage early career clinical and scientific investigators to pursue a career in the field of ataxia research. It is our hope that ataxia research will be invigorated by the work of talented individuals supported by this award. Applications for any form of ataxia are accepted for this award.
September 15, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
To utilize the proposalCENTRAL online portal to submit letters of intent and applications, a user account
needs to be created. Use this weblink https://proposalcentral.com to create an account. Creating an
account can be done any time prior to submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply.
November 20, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Application is not available until LOI has been approved.
Funding Period: 1 Year (March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025)
Funding Amount: $50,000
At the time of application:
Candidates must have obtained an MD or PhD degree, and have an appointment as a junior faculty member, senior post-doc, or clinical fellow.
The sponsoring institution must agree in writing to the following provision: the investigator (MD or PhD) must be free to allocate approximately 50% for ataxia research.
Non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. Grant applications from non-U.S. and U.S. institutions are accepted.
This URM Pre-doctoral research fellowship is a competitive, non-renewable, merit-based award intended to enhance research and/or clinical training of promising students who are matriculated in pre-doctoral or clinical health professional degree training programs and who intend careers as scientists, physician-scientists or other clinician-scientists aimed at continuing ataxia basic science, translational science or clinical research towards the goal of serving individuals with ataxia.
This award provides partial support for study and research and may be used to support pre-doctoral students who are pursuing research with an ataxia-relevant theme. Proposals across the spectrum of basic, translational, and clinical research are welcome.
There is no LOI required for this award.
October 24, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
The pre-doctoral award is a two-year $50,000 grant ($25,000 per year). The second year of funding will be contingent on demonstration of progress by the awardee. A progress report is required 11 months after the start of the grant funding term.
Funding Period: 2 Years (March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2026)
Funding Amount: $50,000 ($25,000 per year)
At the time of application, the applicant must:
Reference: https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/
The National Ataxia Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship is a competitive, non-renewable, merit-based award intended to encourage pre-doctoral students to pursue research and a career in the field of ataxia. This award provides partial support for study and research and may be used to support pre-doctoral students who are pursing research with an ataxia-relevant theme. Applications for any type of ataxia are accepted for this award. Proposals across the spectrum of basic, translational, and clinical research are welcome.
September 15, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
To utilize the proposalCENTRAL online portal to submit letters of intent and applications, a user account
needs to be created. Use this weblink https://proposalcentral.com to create an account. Creating an
account can be done any time prior to submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply.
November 20, 2023 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Application is not available until LOI has been approved.
1 year from March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025. No-cost extensions (NCE) will be considered for extenuating circumstances and are subject to approval by NAF.
Funding Period: 1 Year
Funding Amount: $25,000
At the time of application, the applicant must:
1. Be currently enrolled as a full-time student in a post-baccalaureate PhD or MD/PhD program.
2. Non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply for a NAF grant award. Grant applications are accepted from U.S. and international institutions.
3. The NAF will retain the right to unilaterally cancel any awards for non-compliance or non-performance.
4. Awards are not transferable to other researchers, but subject to NAF approval, may be transferred to a new institution should the awardee change institutions.
5. All awardees must agree to ResearchFish Statement
NAF utilizes proposalCENTRAL for grant applications.
1. Create a proposalCENTRAL account.
2. Submit a LOI that contains a full title and one-page scientific abstract of your research proposal.
3. Once your LOI is accepted, apply through proposalCENTRAL.
1. If a letter of support is required for a grant, can I provide two letters of support?
Yes, if you would like to provide additional letters of support, please upload to proposalCENTRAL during the application process. However, only one letter of recommendation is required.
2. I have previously been granted a Early Career Investigator Award, may I apply for another Early Career Investigator Award in this new funding cycle?
No, please check your eligibility for NAF’s other grant types and consider applying for a different NAF grant.
3. When applying for a Early Career Investigator Award, is there a time restriction for amount of years after obtaining my PhD in order to be eligible?
There is no time restriction regarding amount of years after obtaining a PhD. However, applicants must not be an Associate Professor or higher.
We know that patient recruitment for research is important to the success of your work. NAF is here to help.
We maintain an active list of Ataxia research opportunities for patients on our website. We ensure that studies listed on our site have undergone approval by esteemed Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), Research Ethics Boards (REBs), and/or Research Ethics Committees (RECs). In addition, NAF offers recruitment assistance via email and social media, including targeted recruitment efforts by location and Ataxia type. We can also work with you to develop and deliver an informational webinar on your research study.
If you would like to have your study listed on our website or request help with recruitment, download the Research Recruitment Application or email research@ataxia.org with your question.
NAF hosts an annual patient conference each year which is attended by those affected by Ataxia and their caregivers/family members. Attendance is often over 500 individuals. Presentations by leading Ataxia researchers are given during the 2-day conference. Ataxia researchers are invited to participate in the exhibit area of the meeting to recruit patients for IRB approved research studies or share their research findings.
If you are interested in recruiting patients at NAF’s Annual Ataxia Conference, please contact us at (763) 553-0020 or email research@ataxia.org.
NAF partners with Sanford Research Coordination of Rare Dieseases (CoRDS) to maintain a registry of Ataxia patients. Access the registry to find potential participants for your research studies.
NAF and the University of Florida’s Center for NeuroGenetics are working together to maintain a repository of brain and spinal cord tissue from Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA) donors. This tissue is available to SCA researchers to help advance our understanding of these diseases. To learn what is available and how to request tissue, download our instruction sheet.
The Clinical Research Consortium for the Study of Cerebellar Ataxia (CRC-SCA) is on a mission to better understand the factors that determine disease progression among Cerebellar Ataxia with the goal of improving the understanding of disease process, current treatments, and development of disease-modifying therapies. CRC-SCA collects longitudinal data and biospecimens for research participants who have a confirmed diagnosis of SCA 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 or 10. Ataxia researchers can request data and biosamples.
ICAR is a collaborative research environment that promotes exchanges of ideas and knowledge to improve understanding of Ataxias and accelerate treatment development initiatives. This bi-annual conference is hosted by NAF, Ataxia UK, FARA and AGI. It is attended by hundreds of delegates from countries around the world. The event offers oral presentations, poster presentations and networking opportunities.
The Ataxia Global Initiative (AGI) is a worldwide research platform that has the goal to facilitate the clinical development of therapies for ataxias. AGI´s activities are based on the principles of openness, transparency, flexibility and fairness.
The Centralized Ataxia Genomics Core (CAGC) is a freely accessible resource developed with support from the National Ataxia Foundation and hosted within the Clinical Neurogenomics Research Center based at the University of California, Los Angeles. This application is designed to facilitate connections within the ataxia research community related to shared interest in the same gene(s) and/or genetic variant(s). The goal of the CAGC is to improve collaboration to help solve undiagnosed Ataxia cases through a centralized ataxia-specific data repository of genomic data collected from both research and/or clinical sources.
Our generous donors help us fund promising Ataxia research and offer support services to people with Ataxia. Your gift today will help us continue to deliver on our mission to improve the lives of persons affected by Ataxia.
Join for FREE today! Become a part of the community that is working together to find a cure. As a member you will receive access to the latest Ataxia news with our e-newsletter and Generations publication.
