Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America is pleased to announce our latest grant recipients.
Three researchers were selected for the 2024 MGFA High Impact Pilot Project Award:
- Yingkai “Kevin” Li, PhD, Duke University
- Gianvito Masi, MD, Yale University
- Anna Punga, MD, PhD, Uppsala University
Their work represents an exciting step forward in our understanding of myasthenia gravis. Learn more about the recipients and their research.
MGFA offers several different funding opportunities through its grants award program. The High Impact Pilot Project Award funds clinical research focused on patient outcome measurements or advancements in clinical or research practices that improve present treatment paradigms. MGFA’s goal is to support early-stage research that will lead to new federal, pharmaceutical, or private foundation supported investigations.
The MGFA provided three Pilot Grant Awards in 2024 and is funding its first international project, at Sweden’s Uppsala University. Recipients were selected from a record number of applicants representing scientists in Canada, Italy, Germany, Sweden, UK, and the United States.
This year’s grant recipients are investigating the environment’s influence on initiating autoimmunity and cellular and molecular biomarkers to identify treatment-response predictors.
“Last year, we brought our policies and procedure for application, scoring, and review into alignment with NIH standards and convened a study section of expert reviewers to ensure that the MGFA supports the most meritorious research projects,” said Samantha Masterson, the MGFA’s president and CEO. “As a result, we are receiving more proposals for increasingly compelling projects.”
Masterson said that the MGFA’s review council also provides feedback to applicants not selected for funding, allowing them to revise and resubmit in another grant cycle with a stronger proposal.
“The caliber of work we are seeing continues to improve.”
MGFA’s grant program is part of the nonprofit’s mission to enhance lives and improve care through scientific discovery.
Since the organization’s inception in 1952, the MGFA has led the charge to support the most promising scientific endeavors—funding research, engaging young scientists and clinicians, and spearheading a comprehensive patient registry. Research has led to significant improvements in diagnostic techniques, treatments and therapies, and improved disease management.