SPF received 36 Research Grant proposals, pursuing $4.8 Million but SPF only raised $1.5M in 2024. After thoughtful review, the SPF Board of Directors has approved an initial allocation to support six research grants for 2025, totaling approximately $839,000.
2024
I. HSP Grants
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SP-CERN “Bridge”, Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, M.D., Ph.D., The F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA“Bridge Funding to Sustain and Expand Operations of the Spastic Paraplegia Centers of Excellence – Research Network (SP-CERN)”
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Dr. Liang Oscar Qiang, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA“Combination Therapy for HSP-SPG4: Repurposed FDA Drug, BpV-Mediated Regeneration, and Activity-Based Rehabilitation”
A New Treatment Strategy for HSP-SPG4: Reusing a Safe Drug
with Nerve Repair and Exercise -
Dr. Rahul Sachdeva, University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, KY“Non-invasive Spinal Cord Neuromodulation to Enhance Motor Function in Individuals with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia”
Improving Movement and Walking in People with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Using Noninvasive Spinal Cord Stimulation
Principal Investigator Rahul Sachdeva, Assistant Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R)
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To Cure A Rose (TCAR) Rare Labs, Austin, TXSPAST (SPG4) “Frameshift, Nonsense Mediated Decay Verification, and HiBit-Tag High Throughput Small Molecule Screening Assay”
II. PLS Grant
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Dr. Ikjae Lee, MD MSc, Columbia University, New York, NY“Extension of the PLS Natural History Study”
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Dr. Florence Rage - Institute of Molecular Genetic of Montpellier, France"Decoding Neuronal Network Dysfunction and Extracellular Vesicle Signatures in Primary Lateral Sclerosis"
Recreating Key Neuron Connections in the Lab to Better Understand and Treat Primary Lateral Sclerosis
