NTSAD Grant Opportunities

Learn More about Funding for Research on Tay-Sachs, Canavan, GM1 Gangliosidosis, and Sandhoff Diseases

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NTSAD Research Initiative Program Launched
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NTSAD Research Initiative Projects Awarded
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Million in Grant Contributions Awarded

Since its inception in 2002, the National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association (NTSAD) Research Initiative has awarded more than 72 grants and provided more than $4.7 million in funding. The data generated in some of these projects funded by NTSAD grant opportunities were leveraged to obtain future funding from larger National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, resulting in over $10 million toward finding cures.

Research Initiative Program

The NTSAD Research Initiative program funds cutting-edge research to find treatments and cures for Tay-Sachs, Canavan, GM1 gangliosidosis, and Sandhoff diseases. Investigators who work on projects relevant to our mission are encouraged to apply for NTSAD grant opportunities. Proposals are evaluated by members of our Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) and the Research Committee, which is made up of our Community members.

Current NTSAD Grant Opportunities

Annual Request for Proposals

Every autumn, we issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for innovative research projects that study Tay-Sachs, Canavan, GM1, and Sandhoff diseases. During some grant cycles, we highlight particular areas of funding interest, such as translational and clinical studies.

Please refer to the current RFP for specific funding objectives.

Important Dates for Current Grant Cycle

Letter of Intent Deadline December 1, 2023
Application Deadline February 16, 2024
Anticipated Notice of Decision April 2024
Funding Start Date June 2024

Off-Cycle Grants

NTSAD also supports off-cycle grants, travel awards, and special projects that fit within our research priorities.

If you are conducting research related to Tay-Sachs, Canavan, GM1, or Sandhoff diseases, please contact our Research Director, Valerie Greger (vgreger@ntsad.org) about submitting a proposal for NTSAD grant opportunities.

How to Apply

Download the RFP for the complete application process and submission instructions.

Letters of Intent for the 2023 cycle are due by 5:00pm EDT on December 1, 2023.

Send Letters of Intent in PDF format to NTSAD Research Director Valerie Greger (vgreger@ntsad.org).

2023-24 Grant Recipients

Amanda Nagy, MD and Florian Eichler, MD

Project
Characterization of Progressive Neuroimaging and Pathologic Changes in Canavan Disease

Project Type
N/A

Jennifer Kwon, MD and PhD candidate Julie Kissel

Project
Development of a Disease-Specific Clinical Rating Scale for the Late-Onset GM2 Gangliosidoses

Project Type
N/A

Dominic Gessler, MD and Guangping Gao, PhD

Project
Non-Invasive MRI-based Therapeutic Outcome Prediction Modeling Using Machine Learning

Project Type
N/A

Past Grant Recipients

Discover the innovative Research Initiative program grants funded in prior cycles. Download the complete list of grant recipients since 2002.

Year Investigators Project Type of Project
2022 Elise Townsend, DPT, PhD, PCS
Massachusetts General Hospital		 Construction and Validation of the Infantile GM2 Rating Scale Clinical Trial Readiness
2022 Amanda Gross, PhD
Auburn University		 Dual Site Administration of AAV Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Feline GM1 Gangliosidosis Gene Therapy
2022 Michael Gelb, PhD & Hamid Khaledi, PhD
GelbChem		 Newborn Screening Assay Development (bridge grant) Diagnostics
2018 Tony Futerman, PhD
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel		 Role of microglia in Sandhoff disease pathology Basic Research
2018 Alessandra d’Azzo, PhD
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital		 Role of the Plasma membrae-ER Contact Sites in GM1-mediated Neuronal Cell Death Basic Research
2018 Xuntian Jiang, PhD
Washington University		 Oligosaccharide Biomarkers for Disease Progression and AAV Therapeutic Efficacy in GM1 Gangliosidosis Biomarkers
2017 Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD
U Massachusetts Medical Center		 Accelerated program for CSF delivery of AAV gene therapy for Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff patients (off-cycle) Gene Therapy
2017 Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD
U Massachusetts Medical Center		 Amendment to 2015 grant for Pre-Clinical studies (off-cycle) –
2017 Alessandra Biffi, MD
Children’s Hospital, Boston		 Proof of concept study of HSC gene therapy for Tay-Sachs disease gene and cell therapy Gene and Cell Therapy
2017 Heather Gray-Edwards, PhD
Auburn University		 Minimally invasive delivery of AAV gene therapy in the Tay-Sachs Sheep gene therapy Gene Therapy
2017 Tim Wood, PhD
Greenwood Genetic Center, SC
Stephane Demotz, PhD
Dorphan, Switzerland		 Development of a quantitative method for the determination of a pentasaccharide in GM1-gangliosidosis patient cells to assess the potential therapeutic efficacy of a beta-galactosidase pharmacological chaperone drug candidate Biomarkers
2016 Beverly Davidson, PhD
Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia		 Identifying Novel Therapeutics for Treating GM2 Gangliosidoses Gene and Cell Therapy
2016 Angela Gritti, PhD
San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy		 Novel combined gene-cell therapy strategies to provide full rescue of the Sandhoff pathological phenotype –
2016 Martin Grootveld
De Montfor University, Leicester, UK		 Rapid Identification of New Biomarkers for the Classification of GM1 and GM2 Gangliosidoses: A coupled 1H NMR-and LC/MS-Linked Metabolomics Strategy Biomarkers
2016 Cynthia Tifft, MD, PhD
National Institutes of Health (NIH)		 Clinically Relevant Outcome Measures for Patients with Late Onset Tay – Sachs disease Ascertained Real-Time Through Patient Wearable Technology Clinical Trial Readiness
2016 Douglas Martin, PhD
Auburn University		 Lipid Biomarkers of Tay-Sachs Disease Biomarkers