HDF Transformative Research Award
Funds high-impact collaborative Huntington disease teams tackling complex mechanisms and novel therapeutic strategies with advanced team science.
The Hereditary Disease Foundation (HDF) Transformative Research Award is the foundation's largest grant instrument, designed for multi-investigator collaborative teams pursuing exceptional, high-risk research into Huntington's disease mechanisms and therapeutic strategies. HDF, founded in 1968 and based in New York, established the program to fund work that would be ineligible for incremental grant programs — the application explicitly excludes incremental research advances. Past recipients include teams from institutions such as Hospital for Sick Children, NIH, Scripps Research, Washington University, Columbia, and Massachusetts General Hospital.
The award provides $300,000 to $500,000 annually for up to two years, with a maximum total of $1,000,000 per award. Indirect costs are capped at 15% of direct costs — unlike HDF's fellowship programs, which pay zero overhead. Eligible applicants include academic institutions, companies, national laboratories, and nonprofits; individual investigators without institutional affiliation are not eligible. The Contact PI must hold an academic appointment with institutional commitment. No country restrictions apply. The 2026 cycle opened its LOI portal November 14, 2025; LOIs were due January 15, 2026; full proposals were invited February 27 and due April 30, 2026; awards will be announced summer 2026 with project start August–September 2026. The 2027 cycle LOI opens January 15, 2027.
All submissions go through ProposalCentral with a 500-word/3,500-character LOI limit. HDF's Scientific Advisory Board screens LOIs; only top-ranked teams are invited for full proposals. Review criteria emphasise transformational novelty with a credible research path, specifically targeting somatic repeat instability, cellular and biochemical disease predictors, and novel disease-modifying therapeutics. Matching funds are prohibited. Progress reports are required biannually in Fall and Spring, each including a 150-word lay summary; payments are tied to approved reports.
Transformational Huntington's disease research with exceptional novelty, prioritising somatic repeat instability, cellular and biochemical disease predictors, and disease-modifying therapeutic strategies.
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