The Foundation Fighting Blindness’ Grants and Awards Programs annually support basic, laboratory-based early translational, clinical studies, and pre-clinical research applicable to a broad range of inherited retinal degenerative diseases. The goal is to find the causes, preventions, treatments, and cures for retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.
The foundation is accepting letters of intent for the following:
Individual Investigator Research/Clinical Innovation Awards (IIRA/CIA)Individual
Amount: $300,000 over three years
LOI deadline: October 26, 2023
Investigator Research Awards are designed to concentrate research in areas with the greatest potential to move toward treatments and cures for the inherited orphan retinal degenerative diseases and dry age-related macular degeneration. The Foundation Fighting Blindness will also award up to four Clinical Innovation Awards to advance options for endpoints in IRD clinical trials that might be accepted by regulatory agencies for improving IRD patients’ conditions or slowing disease progression.
Free Family AMD Research Award
Amount: $600,000 over three years
LOI deadline: October 5, 2023
The Free Family Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Award funding strives to find solutions for early, dry AMD. Efforts are concentrated on determining the strength of pathophysiologic pathways and their interactions with other pathways to cause AMD lesions of early AMD pathobiology. This award will include two PIs who are jointly responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the project, thereby leveraging a team science approach. Multidisciplinary projects are highly encouraged. Individuals from underrepresented racial, ethnic and gender groups, as well as individuals with disabilities, are always encouraged to apply.
Program Project Award (PPA)
Amount: Up to $2.5 Million, up to over five years ($500k/year over 5 years)
LOI deadline: October 12, 2023
This award engages cross-disciplinary investigators to drive collaborative retinal degenerative disease research efforts. The PPA enables studies that are too large or technically complex for a single investigator to undertake in a reasonable amount of time and to address current knowledge and/or therapeutic gaps. The effort is unified around a single, well-articulated research hypothesis and clearly defined milestones relevant to the Foundation’s mission. The PPA award address knowledge gaps or therapeutic goals identified by The Foundation or an equally significant gap or goal approved by the Foundation. Individuals from underrepresented racial, ethnic and gender groups, as well as individuals with disabilities, are always encouraged to apply.
Please contact Gwen Allouch if you are interested in applying to these opportunities.