MGFA Research Grants and Funding Areas
Clinician and scientist investigators are engaged in groundbreaking myasthenia research all over the world.
With our grant program, we support research that will improve the lives of those diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and related neuromuscular junction disorders. The MGFA Medical & Scientific Advisory Council has identified five broad research priorities:
- Biomarkers: Facilitate early diagnosis, predict clinical outcomes and immunosuppressive therapy response and utilize in clinical trials.
- Disease Mechanisms: Understand basic mechanisms and self-tolerance loss throughout course of disease.
- Targeted Therapies: Develop new therapeutic targets, prevent widespread immunosuppression and off-target side effects, optimize treatment strategies with existing therapies.
- Patient Outcomes: Understand the full impact of disease on daily living and patient treatment priorities, understand collateral effects of disease; related medical conditions, side effects and financial impact.
- Pediatric Treatment: Identify strategies, safety concerns, and long-term outcomes.
Funding areas include:
- High-Impact Pilot Project Awards: Pilot studies leading to new federal, pharmaceutical or private foundation supported investigations
- Transformative Research Awards: Focused, innovative investigations that are highly likely to produce fundamental alterations in understanding myasthenia gravis
- Targeted Research and Special Projects Awards: Further greater understanding of MG and its impact on quality of life
- Awards to Engage and Support Young Investigators and Clinicians: Recognize the importance of good clinical research and encourage young investigators’ involvement in clinical studies
Learn more about MGFA Research Grant Recipients.
Funding Opportunities Through the MGFA
Nancy Law Impact Award
OVERVIEW
This award was created in honor of Nancy Law, the former CEO and board chair of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. Her dedication to supporting people with MG inspired this research funding award opportunity.
In the 2024 grant cycle, MGFA will fund highly meritorious projects with a maximum of $300,000 over three years, of which no more than 10% may be allocated to indirect costs.
HOW TO APPLY
All proposal materials are submitted through ProposalCentral. To see details of the application process, more about MGFA’s research priorities, and the Letter of Intent form, create a login on ProposalCentral and search for “Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America” under “Grant Opportunities.”
Applications for the 2024 grant cycle are now closed. Information about next year’s grant availability will be shared in early 2025.
KEY DATES
| ACTIVITY | DATE |
|---|---|
| Call for Proposals Opens | April 25, 2024 |
| Letter of Intent Deadline | June 14, 2024 |
| Notification of Invitation to Proceed with Application | June 28, 2024 |
| Application Deadline | September 6, 2024 |
| Funding notification | November 2024 |
| Funding provided | December 2024 |
| Progress Report / Final Study Report | To be determined; details stipulated in Notice of Award letter (typically at 1-year and at the end of the grant award period) |
MGFA Global MG Patient Registry Publication Award
OVERVIEW
Through this grant, MGFA funds highly meritorious projects that enable academic investigators to use patient-reported data in the MGFA Global MG Patient Registry.
Investigators must provide a study synopsis to evaluate MGFA Global MG Patient Registry data, with the goal of generating a total of up to 6 tables, listings, and figures (TLFs). The researcher will work with MGFA Global MG Patient Registry host, Alira Health, who will perform the actual retrospective data extraction and generation of TLFs under the guidance of the researcher.
The pass-through cost of this data extraction and generation, up to $10,000, is covered via this grant. Results generated, including up to 6 populated TLFs, will be used by the researcher for the submission of abstracts to academic meetings, for selection as poster or oral presentation, with the ultimate goal of acceptance of manuscript(s) for publication.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications for the 2024 grant cycle are now closed. Information about next year’s grant availability will be shared in early 2025.
High Impact Pilot Project Award
OVERVIEW
Applications for the 2024 grant cycle are now closed. Information about next year’s grant availability will be shared in early 2025.
This award supports high-impact clinical research and scientific pilot studies that are focused and innovative. High-impact clinical research proposals should focus on patient outcome measurements or advancements in clinical or research practices which improve present treatment paradigms. Scientific pilot projects will require a clear plan that will lead to new federal, pharmaceutical, or private foundation supported investigations, as well as a clear plan of how success will be assessed. Proposals should be within the scope of the MGFA’s research agenda.
Though this research agenda is intended to guide researchers towards topics that are important to the organization, the research committee will accept proposals outside of these priority areas and is committed to supporting the best science.
MGFA will fund highly meritorious projects with a maximum of $110,000, over two years, of which no more than $10,000 may be allocated to indirect costs. Funds will be expended over two years from the time of the award. Special funding requests and/or changes to the award period must be approved prior to submission of proposal through the Letter of Intent.
Jackie McSpadden Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award
The MGFA Jackie McSpadden Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award was established in 2022 to support a postdoctoral investigator conducting translational research related to myasthenia gravis. The fellowship grant is offered to promising recipients of MD, PhD or MD/PhD degrees when it appears that the program of training to be supported by the grant will enhance the likelihood that the trainee will perform meaningful and independent research relevant to MG in the future and obtain a suitable position that will enable them to do so. This award is named for Jackie McSpadden as a posthumous memorial to her fighting spirit in the face of her myasthenia gravis diagnosis.
Read about the inaugural McSpadden fellow on the MGFA blog.
Contacts for Questions
For technical inquiries such as system access or site navigation related to ProposalCentral, please email pcsupport@altum.com or call 1-800-875-2562 (toll-free US and Canada) or +1-703-964.5840 (Direct Dial International).
More information about how to register and apply using ProposalCentral:
- How to Register as a ProposalCentral user
- How to Create an Application using ProposalCentral
- User FAQs.pdf (proposalcentral.com)
For all other questions, please email MGFA@myasthenia.org.
External Research Grants
Myasthenia Gravis Rare Disease Network
The Myasthenia Gravis Rare Disease Network, MGNet, part of the National Institutes of Health’s Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, has funding opportunities available for MG researchers.
Myasthenia Gravis Network (MGNet) Scholar Program
Pilot Grant Program for Myasthenia Gravis
Scholar Program: $100,000
The Scholar Program provides one year of support for mentored research training to prepare Scholars for an independent research career in the field of myasthenia gravis. Selected Scholars receive up to $100,000 to support salary, research costs, and didactics, with potential for renewal. An additional $3,000 is provided to travel to MGNet sites for training and or to attend scientific meetings to present the results of research.
Applications for the 2024 grant cycle are now closed. Information about next year’s grant availability will be shared when available.
Pilot Program: $75,000
The Pilot Grant Program will provide up to two years of funding $75,000 per year to support clinical research dedicated to myasthenia gravis. We are seeking proposals for highly innovative investigations in early stages of development focused on clinical research, including fulfilling the definition of clinical research and exclusion of animal studies. More information will be provided on the 2024/2025 grant cycle when available.
Pilot and Feasibility Grants | The Myasthenia Gravis Rare Disease Network (rarediseasesnetwork.org)