Grant and Postdoctoral Fellowship Application

The Hereditary Disease Foundation Scientific Advisory Board sets the scientific priorities of the Foundation, reviews fellowship and grant applications, and selects the most impactful research projects for funding. The SAB is comprised of over thirty of the world’s leaders in basic science and clinical research, and includes clinicians specialized in Huntington’s disease, and leading scientists from the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Former and current members of our SAB include Nobel Prize recipients, National Academy of Science members, Royal Society members, American Academy of Arts and Sciences members, President’s National Medal of Science recipients, MacArthur Foundation Genius Prize recipients, National Institutes of Health Directors, National Genome Research Institute, NIH Directors, and Society for Neuroscience Presidents.

Reviewers are selected from both the SAB and the wider scientific community for appropriate scientific expertise. Applications submitted by members of HDF’s SAB members are reviewed by external reviewers in addition to one HDF-associated reviewer.

The Hereditary Disease Foundation is nationally and globally renowned and recognized by leaders in the fields of medicine and science. The HDF is dedicated to finding a cure for HD. LOIs should have a direct relevance to Huntington’s disease research. Only the most meritorious applications are funded.

HDF fellowships and grants are among the most competitive and prestigious in the field. After initial review of LOIs, short-listed applicants are invited to submit full applications. All LOIs related to HD are reviewed by a committee comprised of members of the SAB, who independently review and score each LOI. LOIs that the review committee deems unlikely to produce a competitive and impactful proposal will not be invited to submit a full application. Feedback on LOIs is not provided, but reviewer comments for full applications will be provided to the applicants. These applications undergo thorough primary review by at least three reviewers. Each application is scored based on the criteria below, and a composite score is determined for each application. The committee’s review process is strictly confidential. Approximately half of the applications are reviewed by the full SAB panel based on the merit of the proposal and strength of the application.

Each application is reviewed based on the following criteria:

1) RELEVANCE: Is the proposed project relevant to understanding fundamental disease mechanisms in Huntington’s disease or advancing disease-modifying therapeutics?

2) NOVELTY: Are the hypotheses, approaches, and expected findings novel?

3) SIGNIFICANCE: If the proposed study is completed, will it make conceptual advance in understanding HD pathogenic mechanisms? Is the work feasible and will it provide new knowledge or broadly useful new tools or datasets for the HD field? Will it provide innovative therapeutic strategies or candidate therapies for HD?

4) SCIENTIFIC PREMISE: Is the proposed study based on strong evidence derived from literature or preliminary data?

5) APPROACH: Is the proposed scientific plan appropriate and feasible for addressing the main question(s)? Are the methodologies established? Are the experiments rigorously designed with sufficient statistical power? Are the numbers of animals/subjects proposed adequate to draw sound conclusions?

6) APPLICANT: Is the applicant qualified in conducting and/or supervising the proposed study? Does the applicant have a track record in the research field relevant to the proposal?

7) ENVIRONMENT: Does the applicant’s institution provide sufficient support to ensure the proposed studies can be completed in an optimal and timely manner? Are the facilities and equipment made available to the applicant for the study?

8) BUDGET: Is the budget appropriate for the proposed plan? Is there budget overlap with applicant’s other ongoing grants.

9) NIH GUIDELINES: Grants should follow NIH formatting guidelines, which can be found here.

The Hereditary Disease Foundation gives highest priority to funding investigators with the most innovative and impactful proposals to advance Huntington’s disease research and therapeutics. Moreover, HDF gives priority to the early career stage investigators, including postdoctoral fellows, who are committed to a career in HD research.

Yes! The Hereditary Disease Foundation funds applications for Postdoctoral Fellowships and Grants for researchers working in laboratories around the world.

The Hereditary Disease Foundation accepts and reviews Letters of Intent and Funding Applications once each year. Please see Key Dates above for the most current key dates for Letters of Intent, Application deadlines, as well as review and decision dates. All dates are subject to change.

Postdoctoral Fellowship applications must include a letter of support from their mentor.

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships: Postdoctoral Fellowships are up to $100,000 per year for two years. This includes salary, supplies, equipment, and benefits. HDF will provide salary support based on the NIH Guidelines per year for the two years as well as additional funding for supplies, equipment, and benefits. The recipient should commit full-time professional effort towards the funded project. Budget for salary should take precedence and should be allocated prior to funding for NIH-approved direct costs that may include benefits, supplies, equipment, publication costs etc.

THE HEREDITARY DISEASE FOUNDATION DOES NOT PAY INDIRECT COSTS (overhead costs). Please include amounts for Year 1 and Year 2 along with combined Total for both years. Fellowships are for two years.

Research Grants: Grants are up to $100,000 for one year for salary, supplies, equipment, and benefits. In general, our funding can be used to cover NIH-approved costs listed as directs (i.e. salary, benefits, equipment, supplies, publication costs, etc.). THE HEREDITARY DISEASE FOUNDATION DOES NOT PAY INDIRECTS (overhead costs). Those listed as co-investigators can request salary support. Investigators and co-investigators should each provide an NIH-style biosketch. Collaborators do not need to provide biosketches and cannot request salary support. Incomplete applications will be reviewed as submitted. Hyperlinks should not be used in the LOI or research proposal.

The Hereditary Disease Foundation presents two special prizes each year – the Leslie Gehry Prize for Innovation in Science and the Nancy S. Wexler Young Investigator Prize. Each award is nominated and selected by Prize Committees.

The Leslie Gehry Prize for Innovation in Science is presented annually to recognize an outstanding scientist whose originality, spontaneity, precision, and rigor have advanced the search for treatments and cures for Huntington’s disease and other brain disorders. The award was created by the acclaimed architect and HDF Founding Director Frank Gehry and his family in memory of his late daughter.

The Nancy S. Wexler Young Investigator Prize honors the pioneering spirit, relentless dedication, and enduring optimism of Nancy S. Wexler, PhD, President of the Hereditary Disease Foundation. It is presented annually to an early career researcher whose work reflects the highest caliber of excellence, diligence, and creative thinking.