High Q and CHDI, Inc. support laboratory and clinical research aimed at developing and testing therapies for HD. Research proposals may come from universities, non-profit institutions, or for-profit companies. We do not directly fund postdoctoral fellowships, but do consider support for postdoctoral fellows as part of the mentor’s project.
CHDI, Inc. restricts support to those projects that hold specific potential for discovery and development of practical therapeutics ready for preclinical testing within the next three to five years. Other projects relevant to target discovery and validation, therapies, biomarkers, or the use of animal models for target validation will be considered by High Q. Your proposal should specifically address its relevance to these therapeutic objectives. We will assign your proposal to High Q or CHDI, Inc. as appropriate.
High Q's strategy differs from that of traditional academic research. Rather than dissecting pathology with the expectation that sooner or later it will be understood well enough to discern points of intervention, High Q is concentrating on projects where a sensible (even if difficult) potential path to therapy can be projected. As an example, High Q supports studies of proteases because a critical path can be projected from (1) identification of proteases potentially involved in the production of a toxic Htt fragment to (2) demonstration of involvement in pathology to (3) screening for protease inhibitors to (4) validation of hits in vitro to (5) medicinal chemical optimization to (6) animal testing to (7) clinical trials, with allowance along the way for considerations such as anticipated negative side effects. Of course, not every protease (or even the majority of them) is expected to follow this path to the end. Rather, by laying out such a path, the Principal Investigator can make the issues clear enough not only to allow discovery of potential drug candidates but also to eventually rule them in or out for therapeutic trial.
In addition, High Q also sponsors very early stage research through a Discovery Initiative, the terms of which are described below.
Funding for both High Q and CHDI, Inc. will be subject to the achievement of research milestones. Your proposal should identify the specific milestones that you believe will serve as good markers of the progress of your work. Since success cannot be predicted, milestones will generally be completion of specified research activities according to an agreed-upon schedule.
Support takes the form of a research contract rather than a research grant. In general, your budget may include an allowance of 15% of the personnel and laboratory consumables costs on account of your institution's indirect costs. We expect interim scientific progress reports at six-month intervals and a final report that covers both scientific progress and financial expenditures. Support is awarded for one year at a time, and depending on progress and relevance, may be renewed for successive one-year periods. When appropriate we may commit initially for a longer term. In addition, Discovery Initiative contracts have somewhat different terms, described below.
Your proposal and work will be subject to peer review, both initially and in the event of renewal.
High Q and CHDI, Inc. support a community of more than 200 scientists studying HD. If you accept our funding, you will be expected to share what you learn from your work within that community, whether or not you choose to publish your results. This sharing, which may in certain cases be protected by a confidential disclosure agreement, is not intended to be “disclosure” for patent purposes.
For more information, see Result Sharing and Intellectual Property.
The application procedure for submitting research proposals for funding consideration by High Q / CHDI, Inc. is a two-step process. First, a "letter of intent" setting forth a basic description of your proposed research project must be submitted for an initial evaluation. If your letter of intent is accepted, you will be asked to submit a full "proposal" detailing your proposed research project for further review and evaluation. Each step of the application procedure is described in detail below.
Letter of Intent
To initiate a proposal, please send us a "letter of intent". It must include the following:
Contact information: your name, institution, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.
Project summary: 500 words or less, including all HD work to be supported by High Q / CHDI, Inc. whether or not related; indicating how your proposed research project relates to other work in your (or your collaborators') lab(s) supported by other agencies (NIH, HDF, HDSA, etc.)
Relevance to HD therapeutics: 100 words or less, including, for each experimental approach, an outline of an explicit critical path that can potentially lead to a defined therapy.
Proposed milestones, with dates: 100 words or less, including an explicit statement of work to be completed by the end of each 6-month period after the research project begins.
There are no deadlines for submission.
Letters of intent are accepted for evaluation on a rolling basis and we try to respond to letters of intent as quickly as possible, usually within three weeks.
Please use the link to this form to submit a letter of intent to High Q / CHDI, Inc.
Proposals
In contrast to the usual granting agency practice, High Q / CHDI, Inc. may discuss the letter of intent with you and propose modifying specific aims so as better to align them with our goals. If your letter of intent is accepted, you will be assigned a contact person and asked to submit a proposal for peer review. Please do not hesitate to contact us (by e-mail) with any questions, as preparation of the proposal can be interactive.
Submission: Please complete a Proposal Form and submit all required documents via email to proposal-submissions@highqfoundation.org. Do not convert the Word documents to PDF format.
Review: Depending on peer reviews, High Q may recommend modifying how you intend to achieve specific aims, in order to qualify your proposal for support.
If your proposal is approved, High Q or CHDI, Inc. will negotiate the terms of the award with your organization.
Progress Reports
High Q requires a report describing progress toward the project milestones at the end of each six-month period in order to trigger contract payments. Submit by e-mail to progress-reports@highqfoundation.org.
Early Discovery Initiative High Q has established an early-stage discovery initiative to provide support for currently untapped
areas of Huntington disease (HD) research.
Eligibility
To be eligible for funding pursuant to this new initiative, proposals should meet the following criteria:
· Proof of concept experiments that might conceivably have relevance to identifying novel therapeutic targets or approaches but have not been adequately explored to date
· Can be completed within one year
· Support needed to accomplish the research should not exceed one year’s postdoctoral salary (NIH scale) plus supplies (15% overhead is allowed)
· Junior investigators and laboratories not currently supported by High Q are of particular interest
Application Procedure
Submissions to the Early Discovery Initiative should be made under the name of the laboratory head rather than the postdoctoral researcher.
Proposals, limited to 1000 words, should include
· Summary: An outline of research and how it might conceivably lead to a novel therapeutic target or approach
· Background and/or preliminary data
· Specific aims
· Experimental plan
· Milestones: The specific work to be accomplished by 6 months and by 12 months after the start date
· Qualifications of the researcher
Proposals considered for support may be asked to supply a supplemental section detailing themethodology of the project.
Discovery Initiative proposals should be submitted to discovery-submissions@highqfoundation.org. Do not convert the Word documents to PDF format. We regret that we will be unable to consider submissions that do not comply with the foregoing requirements. Proposals will be accepted or declined as soon as possible, and within no more than one month, after receipt. Once declined, proposals will not be reconsidered.
The award will be in the form of a contract with the institution, in which deliverables are reports of the specified research accomplished according to the proposed timetable. Funds will be provided as follows: 1/3 at the start date, 1/3 upon receipt of a 6 month progress report, 1/3 upon receipt of a 12 month progress report. Discovery Initiative progress reports should be submitted to discovery-reports@highqfoundation.org.
We may share your submission with other HD research funding organizations who may independently determine to support your work.
Thank you for your interest in Huntington disease.