Objective:
The Targets to Therapies Program seeks to build a robust evidence base for aggregation and synuclein biology targets with high potential relevance to Parkinson’s disease. Funding will support projects to clarify human relevance, define mechanism in Parkinson's-relevant contexts, establish target engagement or develop enabling tools and assays.
This program supports:
Target modulation in cell and animal models to determine efficacy on Parkinson's phenotypes
Generate evidence linking target biology to Parkinson's patient samples
Clarifying the therapeutic mechanism of action
Identify and test biomarkers to aid preclinical therapeutic validation and patient stratification
Biological safety through animal model characterization
When considering proposals submitted to this program, MJFF prioritizes those that:
Directly address known target gaps (e.g., human modulation, biomarker linkage, mechanism in alpha-synuclein biology and related Parkinson's pathology)
Generate reproducible, translatable data that advances the target toward a therapeutic decision point
MJFF will not consider proposals focused on the following:
Broad discovery without a defined target/mechanism
Therapeutic development programs not directly tied to target validation
Learn more about the Targets to Therapies Initiative at https://www.michaeljfox.org/targets-therapies-initiative.
Please note that MJFF has an Open Science Policy which governs research outputs (such as preprints, journal articles, data, code, and software) resulting from MJFF-funded work. The Open Science Policy applies to this funding program and includes specific rules, timing, and format for the return of those research outputs and requires them to be shared openly, to be free to access, and with persistent identifiers. Please contact openscience@michaeljfox.org for questions about the Open Science Policy.