At the Annual SMA Research and Clinical Care Meeting, Cure SMA highlighted six new basic research grants totalling $750,000. Cure SMA also announced another $750,000 will be awarded for additional research. The recently awarded projects will investigate new targets for drug discovery. With more than $85 million in funding to date in support of basic research grants and drug discovery programs, this round of funding reinforces Cure SMA’s commitment to basic research as the foundation for drug discovery.
Each year, Cure SMA invites scientists from around the world to submit funding proposals for basic research projects that address specific unanswered questions in SMA biology. Submitted proposals are ranked on both their scientific merit and their relevance to Cure SMA’s research priorities.
Current Cure SMA Basic Research Grant Awards
Cure SMA’s top basic research priorities currently include:
- Learning more about when and where the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein is needed and how it functions in the body.
- Finding new ways to treat SMA, especially those that can be used in combination with approved drugs.
- Using cellular or animal models to better understand the SMA disease process.
- Developing new tools for SMA research, such as new SMA animal models and new ways of tracking disease progression.