Cure SMA Basic Research Program

Cure SMA Basic Research Grant

Funds novel research on spinal muscular atrophy biology and drug target identification worldwide.

Eligibility · Global — open worldwide

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

Cure SMA is a US-based 501(c)(3) patient advocacy foundation (EIN: 36-3320440, headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois) that has invested over $82 million in spinal muscular atrophy research since 1984, including more than $15 million across 128 basic research grants. Its annual Basic Research Grant programme funds novel scientific investigation into SMA biology, with the explicit goal of identifying therapeutic targets and accelerating drug discovery. The FY2025 cycle released its Request for Proposals on July 30, 2025, with a hard submission deadline of October 3, 2025 at 11:59:59pm ET. Applications were submitted through Proposal Central (GMID=289). Award notifications were issued by January 1, 2026, with public announcements of awardees in February–March 2026.

The FY2025 cycle offered a total funding pool of approximately $750,000, distributed across 5–6 awards. Individual grants ran for one or two years at up to $75,000 per year, with a total award cap of $150,000 inclusive of 8 percent overhead — meaning overhead is built into the cap rather than added on top. Both principal investigators and postdoctoral fellows were eligible to apply; postdoctoral applicants were required to include a letter of support from their supervisor. Eligibility was global — researchers from any country could apply, consistent with Cure SMA's history of funding scientists in Argentina, Canada, Germany, and elsewhere. Historically, approximately 25 percent of submitted proposals receive funding.

The Scientific Advisory Board reviewed all applications on both scientific quality and relevance to the Cure SMA mission. The programme welcomed high-risk, exploratory proposals but noted that even exploratory projects generally require compelling preliminary data to receive maximum funding. Scientific priorities for the cycle included understanding SMA disease pathology at molecular, cellular, and biochemical levels; generating reagents and tools for drug development and clinical trials; and identifying new therapeutic strategies, with particular interest in mechanisms synergistic with SMN-upregulating therapies for older or symptomatic patients. The FY2025 cycle is closed.