Targets to Therapies: Aggregation and Synuclein Biology Target Validation
Funds research clarifying aggregation and synuclein biology mechanisms in Parkinson’s disease to validate targets and advance therapeutic development.
Funder: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
Due Dates: No fixed deadline (applications accepted on a rolling basis)
Funding Amounts: Typical awards up to $500,000 (direct costs) for up to 2 years; budgets should be appropriate to project scope.
Summary: Supports research to validate aggregation and synuclein biology targets for Parkinson’s disease by clarifying mechanisms, developing tools, and generating data to advance therapeutic development.
Key Information: All research outputs must comply with MJFF’s Open Science Policy (public sharing required).
Description
This program from the Michael J. Fox Foundation aims to strengthen the scientific foundation for aggregation and synuclein biology targets that are highly relevant to Parkinson’s disease. It funds research that clarifies the connection between these targets and Parkinson’s, investigates their mechanisms in disease-relevant contexts, establishes evidence of target engagement, and supports the development of tools and assays to advance therapeutic strategies. Projects may include target modulation in models to assess efficacy, linking target biology to patient samples, elucidating therapeutic mechanisms, identifying and testing biomarkers for preclinical validation, and evaluating biological safety in animal models. The Foundation prioritizes projects that address key knowledge gaps and generate reproducible, translatable data to move targets closer to therapeutic decision points.
