FARA Request for Proposals (RFP/RFA)

FARA RFP: Blood-Based Biomarkers for FA

Funds biomarker discovery and validation programs supporting translational research in Friedreich ataxia.

Eligibility · United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany

FARA's Request for Proposals on Blood-Based Biomarkers for FA is a targeted solicitation funding research to discover and validate blood-based biomarkers for Friedreich's ataxia, with particular emphasis on investigators who already hold existing plasma or serum sample collections. The award provides up to $250,000 per year for up to two years, making it the largest single-year funding ceiling in FARA's entire grant portfolio — more than double the General Research Grant cap and 25% above the Bryant Translational Award. FARA issued this RFP as part of its priority area five (translational research facilitation), recognising that validated blood-based biomarkers are a critical bottleneck for FA clinical trial design and regulatory approval pathways.

The Letter of Intent deadline was 1 May 2026; the full application deadline is 1 July 2026, which remains open. Applications must remain strictly within the blood-based biomarker scope; off-topic applications will not be reviewed. Investigators proposing other biomarker modalities (imaging, CSF, urine) should instead apply to the General Research Grant rather than this RFP. FARA also accepts ad-hoc proposals on blood-based biomarker topics outside the formal RFP cycle, which provides a secondary pathway for teams whose work advances after the July deadline. Universities, research organisations, non-profits, and for-profit companies are all eligible; individual applicants are not.

The standard FARA application structure applies: up to ten pages of project description, Data Management and Sharing Plan, detailed budget, milestone timeline, CVs, and applicable IRB/IACUC documentation. Indirect costs are not funded. Budget line caps apply: travel at $3,000/year, publications at $2,000/year, data management at $3,000/year. The program is administered through the FARA online grant portal, with all enquiries to grants@curefa.org. Teams with banked FA patient biospecimens are particularly encouraged to apply, as the RFP text explicitly identifies existing sample collections as a competitive advantage.