Applying for FSH Society Fellowships and Grants

 

Research Grants and Fellowships

FSH Society research and fellowship grant awards provide vital start-up  funding for investigators in FSHD and research projects on FSHD. The research milestones and insights gained are demonstrably significant. To view research milestones, please click HERE.

The fellowship program allows innovative and entrepreneurial research to develop and ultimately to be able to attract funding from large funding sources such as the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The FSH Society meets an important need in funding and developing new ideas and supporting new investigators in FSHD research by giving them the funds needed to develop data and to carry their ideas to the next stage of development. Without the FSH Society research and fellowships program, many key  initiatives in FSHD research might never have had the chance to begin.  Well over 300 peer-reviewed papers have been published by FSH Society-funded researchers.

Since 1998, the FSH Society has transformed FSHD research. The field is on the verge of significant breakthroughs. It is essential to fund new ideas and support new investigators and new lines of investigation when tackling a disease as complex as FSHD.

The Role of the SAB

The scientific engine of the FSH Society is its Scientific Advisory Board. Scientific progress requires having the most qualified panel of experts who not only evaluate the merit of new proposals they receive, but are also actively engaged in thinking proactively and comprehensively about the scientific problem. Peer-reviewed science is key to research success, and the peer review must be just that – review by scientists and doctors who have comprehensive, up to date command of the science and can evaluate the proposed investigations in light of the science.  

Current Directions of the FSH Society Research Portfolio

FSH Society research programs focus on several broad areas.  Foremost is research on the FSHD disease mechanism. 

Areas of focus and in need of funding include:

Gene Expression
Conventional Genes
Non-conventional Genes
Chromatin Structure
Chromatin Remodeling
Allelic Specificity
D4Z4
DUX4
mRNA
PITX1/DUX4
PITX2/DUX4
NLS (nuclear localization signals)
FRG1/FRG2
DNA structure
HSS (hypersensitive sites)
specific DNA sequences with 4qA
Candidate Genes
Model Systems
Epigenetics
Unusual FSHD cases
RNAi

Many of the seed grants and starter projects initiate new data and insights that help with screening for FSHD, improve genetic testing and, ultimately, improve speed and accuracy of diagnosis.

In the area of therapy/treatment we launched two groundbreaking nutritional research projects covering creatine, MRI/MRS, and better biomarkers and techniques to measure clinical trials outcomes and endpoints.

Respiratory insufficiency is a serious complication that can happen with FSHD. The FSH Society is assembling a knowledge base and guidelines, and disseminating information on respiratory insufficiency and care in FSHD.

The Society helped advise, network and consult with clinicians, patients and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to bring about the clinical trial of the myostatin inhibitor myo-029. 

The Society met with Acceleron Pharma to make the case for FSHD as a candidate disease for their myostatin inhibitor ace-031.