The Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Initiative invites applications from collaborative teams to join the ASAP Collaborative Research Network (CRN), an international, multidisciplinary, multi-institutional network of research teams working to address high-priority research questions in an effort to advance our understanding of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and drive new ideas into the R&D pipeline. For this cycle, applications within the Scientific Track that focus on dissecting the mechanisms that contribute to PD heterogeneity will be considered.
Areas of Focus
All applications must fall into one of the following six focus areas:
1. Examining PD in the Context of Aging
Advanced age is the best-established risk factor for PD; however, it is still unclear how aging-influenced processes contribute to the underlying pathogenesis of PD. This call will support discovery efforts to understand pathogenesis and progression of PD in the context of biological aging, exploring whether targets for aging-influenced processes are involved in changing the timing of onset, features, and rate of progression of PD. For this call, a variety of well-validated models can be utilized from in vitro, in vivo, in silico and human cohorts.
In scope:
The types of applications we seek to fund would focus on the following areas of study:
Out of scope:
2. Understanding How Co-Pathologies Can Influence PD Pathogenesis and Progression
Human postmortem data has demonstrated that co-pathology exists between PD, Lewy Body Dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. This theme aims to better understand the mechanisms that impact the drivers and downstream effects of co-pathologies in the context of PD development and progression. Although the primary focus is on neurodegenerative co-pathologies, exploration into other known co-occurring conditions, such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, can also be considered.
In scope:
The types of applications we seek to fund would focus on the following areas of study:
Out of scope:
3. Role of Known Environmental Risk Factors in Contributing to Disease Pathogenesis
Environmental factors including exposure to pesticides, industrial chemicals, and other toxins have been linked to an increased risk of developing PD. A greater understanding of the mechanisms through which these various environmental triggers (in isolation and in combination) impact PD risk and the converging/diverging interactions of these mechanisms with known genetic, age-related, biological sex-related, and other pathogenic pathways would uncover key therapeutic targets/prevention strategies for the broad PD population. This theme seeks to understand how various suspected environmental triggers influence processes implicated in PD and/or novel pathways not previously linked in PD.
In scope:
The types of applications we seek to fund would focus on the following areas of study:
Out of scope:
4. Understanding the Circuit Biology Driving Clinical Symptom Presentation (With an Emphasis on Non-motor Symptoms)
PD is largely identified based on the hallmark motor clinical symptoms of rigidity, bradykinesia, and tremor, but clinical presentation varies widely, and non-motor symptoms can be equally or more debilitating to patients. Better efforts in modeling the various motor and non-motor symptoms that recapitulate the key temporal aspects of disease progression will be critical to identifying the mechanisms and circuits that play a role in the development of these symptoms. Modulation of these circuits and pathways using novel technologies could then be tested as potential treatment strategies for people with PD. Through this theme, we will prioritize applications that can connect preclinical and clinical dataset findings to better explore and understand how heterogeneity in PD circuit biology manifests as symptomatic heterogeneity.
In scope:
The types of applications we seek to fund would focus on the following areas of study:
Out of scope:
5. Role of Clearance Mechanisms in PD
Considerable evidence supports the hypothesis that pathological aggregates may initiate organelle damage and precipitate events that lead to dopaminergic cell death. Although progress has been made in defining the nature of this damage and identifying factors that may connect the damage to neuronal death, the challenge remains to define those unique targets that may offer opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Expanded research in basic discovery is essential to elucidate the pathways of protein aggregate turnover, spread or removal (e.g., autophagy, glymphatic clearing, etc.), and to advance these discoveries to specific molecules as drug targets. ASAP will prioritize applications that address the role of these mechanisms in mediating Parkinson’s-relevant pathology and selective vulnerability of dopaminergic neuron populations.
In scope:
The types of applications we seek to fund would focus on the following areas of study:
Out of scope:
6. Identification of Factors Influencing Seeding in the Alpha-Synuclein Seeding Amplification Assay
The identification of Alpha-synuclein Seed Amplification Assay (SAA) as a biomarker of PD provides a biological anchor, enabling a clearer biological definition of the disease beyond its clinical diagnosis. However, the exact alpha-synuclein species detected by the assay, relevance of the observed amplification products to disease pathology, and whether additional co-factors influence seeding ability remain unknown. This theme calls for a comprehensive study on human biomaterials to identify and characterize the seeding agent, investigating the process for seeding biologically relevant aggregates, and interrogating the presence of these species throughout the body to understand the systemic relevance of alpha-synuclein in PD pathology.
In scope:
The types of applications we seek to fund would focus on the following areas of study:
Out of scope:
Institutional Eligibility
● Type – Applications may be submitted by public and private non-profit entities, such as
universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, as
well as eligible agencies of the federal government. For-profit entities may also apply,
provided that the applicant holds a Senior Scientist position or equivalent and agrees to
comply with all outlined policies & requirements including (but not limited to) the ASAP
Open Science policy.
● Submitting Institution – The Coordinating Lead PI must be affiliated with the
institution submitting the application and grant funds will be awarded to that institution,
which will take responsibility for distributing funds to the institutions of the other
members of the collaboration.
Sponsor Institute/Organizations: The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Sponsor Type:
Address: Grand Central Station P.O. Box 4777 New York, NY 10163-4777
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Mar 20, 2025
Aug 07, 2025
$3,000,000
Affiliation: The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Address: Grand Central Station P.O. Box 4777 New York, NY 10163-4777
Website URL: https://www.michaeljfox.org/grant/collaborative-research-network-2025-scientific-track-opportunity
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