Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) launches a second funding opportunity to accelerate novel tool development to advance Parkinson's disease research

Washington, D.C., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) initiative opened applications for members of the research community to accelerate novel tool development to advance Parkinson's disease (PD) research and to join the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) 2025 Technical Track. These new grants will support the development of sustainable tools to accelerate validation and therapeutic research and discovery for emerging targets identified through ASAP discoveries, offering funding of up to $2M per year over three years, up to $6M total.

"By bringing researchers together to generate new preclinical tools, our goal is to help accelerate drug discovery and research outcomes for Parkinson's disease,” said Ekemini A. U. Riley, PhD, managing director of ASAP. "This funding opportunity builds on the Collaborative Research Network's collective efforts to grow our understanding of Parkinson's disease through open science, resource generation, and data sharing."

Projects supported within the technical track must have direct relevance to human PD. In addition, teams must adhere to the ASAP team composition, application, and budgetary guidelines while committing to follow ASAP's Open Science Policy. Letter of Intent submissions are due on May 5, 2025, at 6pm ET. ASAP will announce funding decisions in February 2026.

Tools for emerging targets could include the following areas of focus: 

• Generation of preclinical models to support in vivo or in vitro assessments of targets of interest
• Generation of detection reagents such as antibodies, nanobodies, or probes to support improved measurement or visualization of the target or target activity
• Generation of modulation agents such as viral vectors, compounds, or antisense oligonucleotides to understand the directionality of therapeutic benefit for PD

Teams within the Technical Track will join the

, an international, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional network of collaborating investigators working to address high-priority research questions. The goal is to accelerate the pace of discovery for PD and drive new ideas into the research and development pipeline. Since 2021, ASAP has funded 35 teams within a scientific and technical track to provide avenues for discussing and addressing critical topics from functional genomics, disease modeling, and circuit physiology to neuro-immune interactions.

Learn more about the funding opportunity, access the letter of intent (LOI) instructions, and view all requirements by visiting https://parkinsonsroadmap.org/funding-opportunities/technical-track/# 

About 

Aligning Science Across Parkinson's is a research initiative comprised of international, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional researchers working to address resource and knowledge gaps in the development and progression of Parkinson's disease.​ ASAP is deeply rooted in the belief that we can accelerate advances by fostering a collaborative and open approach to research. ASAP is managed by the Coalition for Aligning Science and is working with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to implement its programs. For more information, visit our website and connect with us on LinkedIn and Bluesky. 

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