Q1 2026 Grants & Funding Opportunities Update
March 31, 2026 Amy Easton
Basic Biology Consortia Awards to be announced in May
At the end of 2025, Target ALS accepted letters of intent (LOIs) from consortia with the goal of investigating the underlying disease biology of ALS. Consortia groups were invited to submit full proposals focused on areas of neuronal architecture and transport, lipid biology, inflammation, TDP-43 biology, and risk and resilience factors. We received a record-setting number of LOIs, spanning 212 institutions and 26 countries, reflecting our position as a global non-profit leader in ALS research. We were excited to see the breadth of expert investigators from other fields partner with ALS experts to form consortia.
Altogether, the 2026 Basic Biology Consortia funding call has brought world-class research talent to Target ALS and grant awardees will be announced following the Target ALS annual meeting in May.
In Vivo Target Validation Open Funding Call
Target ALS provides support for in vivo proof-of-concept for promising therapeutics in mouse models of ALS. We have partnered with the contract research organization, Biospective, to enable evaluation of novel therapeutics for target engagement and disease-modifying potential in ALS. Test articles (e.g., small molecules, biologics, gene therapy, or antisense oligonucleotides) are provided by the investigator. Results from these studies have the potential to catapult ALS drug candidates from preclinical to clinical pipelines, accelerating development of novel therapeutics.
Key Dates
- Proposals due April 20, 2026
- Final decision announced by June 30, 2026
- Test articles ready by August 31, 2026
What our Grant Supports
This is an in-kind grant. No funding will be provided directly to the investigator. Target ALS will cover the costs of approved projects to be conducted at Biospective. There are several options for study design and readout, with a maximum of 45 mice. Please refer to this slide deck for comprehensive information about study design options.
Biomarker Consortia Funding call to be announced on April 7th
ALS is a heterogeneous disease with distinct subpopulations of patients clustering together based on common underlying biology and with distinct differences in the clinical time course and manifestation of disease. Biomarkers are therefore critical for enabling precision medicine to deliver the right therapy to the right patient at the right time. While neurofilament assays represent an important breakthrough, aiding clinical evaluation of novel therapies, additional biomarkers are sorely needed.
Target ALS is poised to announce our next funding call in April, which will support consortia studying biomarkers of disease stratification and progression. As new therapeutics have begun moving the needle for ALS patients, biomarkers are needed to stratify patient populations, understand response to therapeutics, and quantify disease progression. We are soliciting proposals from multidisciplinary groups focused on the discovery and development of novel fluid or tissue-based biomarkers of disease progression and stratification using novel, innovative, and complementary approaches, including applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Check our website, social media, or email notifications for more information.
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