Through innovative research projects, the ELA Research Foundation wants to promote the development of promising therapies for leukodystrophies.
The Scientific Committee of the ELA Foundation will favour collaborative and interdisciplinary projects.
Pilot studies are also encouraged.
Key Research Topics
- Well characterized leukodystrophies*:
Preclinical & clinical studies testing gene, cell, enzyme or pharmacological therapies – Improved animal and cell models close to the human disease phenotype
Studies on pathogenesis mechanisms in leukodystrophies will be considered only if they have a clear objective towards the development of therapeutic strategies (identifying novel and druggable targets, development & characterization of experimental models allowing drug screening), and/or are of exceptional and innovative quality, and are fundable for a maximum of 2 years.
- Poorly characterized leukodystrophies**:
High-throughput screening for identification of biomarkers - Study of natural history using clinical databases and biobanks - Development of animal or cell models – Studies of pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic approaches
- Leukodystrophies of unknown cause:
Identification of disease-causing genes – Assembling cohorts using clinical databases and biobanks
- Myelin repair: Therapies promoting remyelination in preclinical animal models of leukodystrophy
*Such as adrenoleukodystrophy/adrenomyeloneuropathy, metachromatic leukodystrophy, Krabbe disease, Canavan disease, Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
**Those with recently identified genes or with genes of unknown functions
Documents to download
- For individual/collaborative projects: Application form - Instructions and Policies
- For fellowships: Application form - Instructions and Policies
Application submission deadline: May 31, 2012 by 5 PM (French time)