MGFA Research Grants and Funding Areas
With our grant program, we support research that will improve the lives of patients with myasthenia gravis and related neuromuscular junction disorders. The committee 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
MGFA Funding Opportunities
Clinician and scientist investigators are engaged in groundbreaking myasthenia research all over the world. MGFA funds promising research studies and clinical trials to discover potential new treatments and methods of living a better quality of life with MG.
2024 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. This award supports high-impact clinical or scientific research studies that are focused and innovative and within the scope of the MGFA's research agenda.
The research committee has identified five broad research priorities of unmet need in the field of neuromuscular junction disorders:
- Biomarkers
- Mechanisms of disease
- Therapeutic strategies
- Improving patient outcomes
- Pediatric treatment strategies, safety concerns, and long-term outcomes
Though this research agenda is intended to guide researchers towards topics that are important to the MGFA, the research committee will accept proposals outside of these priority areas and is committed to supporting the best science.
The RFA is open to established mid and senior-level investigators with faculty status. This RFA is not open to for-profit (i.e. biotechnology, pharmaceutical, etc.) applicants. Applications in all areas of MG research will be accepted from U.S. and international applicants.
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 will be submitted through ProposalCentral.
Letters of Intent for the 2024 grant cycle were due June 14, 2024. No new applications will be accepted this grant cycle. Those selected to submit a formal proposal have been notified. See timeline details below.
To learn more about this opportunity, create a login on ProposalCentral and search for “Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America” under "Grant Opportunities."
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) |
2024 MGFA Global MG Patient Registry Publication Grant
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
Proposals for the 2024 MGFA Global MG Patient Registry Publication Grant are no longer being accepted. The application deadline was May 10, 2024. Researchers were notified of award status in June 2024.
To see details of the application process, relevant forms, and more about MGFA’s research priorities, create a login on ProposalCentral and search for “Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America” under "Grant Opportunities."
High Impact Pilot Project Award
High Impact Clinical Research and Scientific Pilot Projects on Myasthenia Gravis and Related Neuromuscular Junction Disorders.
OVERVIEW
The 2024 grant cycle is now closed. Learn more about recipients and their research.
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:
For all other questions, please email MGFA@myasthenia.org.
MGFA Research Grant Agenda and Funding Areas
We support research that will improve the lives of patients with myasthenia gravis and related neuromuscular junction disorders. The committee 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
View Past MGFA Research Grant Recipients here.
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 will be accepted no later than close of business on Friday, October 1, 2024.
More information about eligibility and application criteria can be found in this PDF.
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)