Cystinosis Research Foundation

Funds cystinosis research, treatment access, and patient support to advance cures for this rare genetic disease.

The Cystinosis Research Foundation (CRF) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) foundation founded in 2003 by Nancy and Jeff Stack in honor of their daughter Natalie. Based in Irvine, California, it backs research aimed at better treatments and a cure for cystinosis, a rare lysosomal storage disease, and it reports roughly $2 million a year in research and fellowship support.

Its active routes are the CRF Research Grant and the CRF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Funding covers bench, clinical, and translational work, runs on a spring and fall cycle, lasts one to two years, and is reviewed by a Scientific Review Board using NIH standards. The foundation says it has funded 255 multi-year grants, researchers in 13 countries, and more than 122 peer-reviewed publications.

CRF keeps the eligibility bar broad inside a very narrow disease focus: applicants anywhere in the world can apply if the work advances cystinosis treatment or cure goals. Progress reporting is regular, payments track reporting, and the foundation uses the same annual cycle to keep its small grant portfolio moving.