Targets to Therapies: Target Validation Programs

Targets to Therapies: Target Validation Programs sits under the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and funds target validation across mitochondrial biology, alpha-synuclein aggregation, neuroinflammation, and endolysosomal pathways. It is a family of related tracks rather than a single narrow call, all aimed at building the evidence base needed to move a Parkinson's target forward. The award range is $250,000 to $2 million, and the route uses a two-stage process in which pre-proposals come first and invited teams then submit full proposals. The program is open globally, requires open-science compliance, and the mitochondrial track has a 2026 cycle with a May 27 pre-proposal deadline and a September 15 full-proposal deadline. This is a fit for teams that can show target modulation, human relevance, mechanism clarity, biomarker value, or safety support from animal studies. The strongest applications are usually the ones that connect an actionable biological target to a clear Parkinson's use case and a credible plan to advance the package. It is not a discovery-only route; the foundation is looking for evidence that changes the decision to pursue a target.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.