Challenge Grant to Accelerate Drug Development for Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 

Challenge Grant to Accelerate Drug Development for Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia 

Progress in developing effective Alzheimer’s disease and dementia therapeutics has been hampered by a lack of short-term, sensitive biomarkers that correlate closely to clinical outcomes. The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is partnering with the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) to issue a challenge grant for the development and validation of biomarkers that meet this unmet need. Higher priority will be given to applications that involve cross-sector or interdisciplinary collaborations and innovative ideas. 

Priority areas for this Request for Proposals (RFP) include: 

• Non-amyloid biomarkers of early-disease progression 

• Detection of synaptic and/or neuronal loss 

• Dynamic biomarkers with sensitivity to detect change in as little as weeks 

MECHANISM(S) OF SUPPORT: $140,000 in funding is available for one-year duration with the possibility of follow-on funding. Applications may be submitted by non-profit academic institutions, worldwide. 

REVIEW PROCESS: The deadline date for applications is August 15th, 2012. Submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) is required prior to August 1st, 2012. Applications will be confidentially reviewed by the ADDF and an external Scientific Review Committee. The award winner will be publicly announced in late 2012. 

PROGRESS AND EVALUATION: The challenge grant award winner will be expected to submit written semi-annual progress reports and participate on review teleconference calls with appointed members of the review committee. 

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: All letters of intent and applications must be submitted electronically at www.alzdiscovery.org. Detailed application instructions are available on the website. 

To further discuss scientific or financial aspects of proposals, please contact: 

Diana Shineman, PhD, Assistant Director for Scientific Affairs 

Phone: 212-901-8007 E-mail: dshineman@alzdiscovery.org 

For more information regarding the application process, please contact: 

Niyati Thakker, Grants Associate 

Phone: 212-901-811 E-mail: nthakker@alzdiscovery.org 

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