Alpha-1 Foundation: Clinical Pilot Grant

Alpha-1 Foundation: Clinical Pilot Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Alpha 1 Foundation Inc
Amount: Up to US $75,000
Last Updated: December 26, 2025

Summary

The Alpha-1 Foundation's Clinical Pilot program funds innovative research projects involving human subjects to explore new hypotheses and methods related to Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. With grants of up to $75,000 for one year, the program aims to support promising new investigators and facilitate preliminary data collection that can lead to larger-scale studies. This initiative is crucial for advancing clinical research and developing effective therapies for individuals affected by this condition.

Overview

Alpha-1 Foundation Our Mission The Alpha-1 Foundation is committed to finding a cure for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and to improving the lives of people affected by Alpha-1 worldwide. Grants Awards Program The Grants Award Program is the Alpha-1 Foundation’s mechanism to fund a broad range of research that leads to improvements in the lives of people living with AAT Deficiency. Goals The specific goals of the Program are: to promote basic science and clinical research related to the alpha-1 antitrypsin protein and AAT Deficiency;to attract and train clinical researchers for the study of AAT Deficiency;to support and encourage established scientists to work on clinical problems and ethical, legal, and social issues within the field of AAT research (with a preference given to new investigators); and ultimately,to develop effective therapies for the clinical manifestations of AAT Deficiency. The Alpha-1 Foundation will support a broad spectrum of research projects involving basic science, translational and clinical research, and ethical, legal, and social issues. Clinical Pilot The objective of this grant is to provide funds to support projects involving human subjects that will develop and test new hypotheses and/or new methods (or those being applied to the problems of Alpha-1 for the first time), and to support promising new investigators as they establish themselves in research areas relevant to Alpha-1. The intent of these awards is to enable investigators to collect sufficient preliminary data to determine the best strategies and methods for approaching a major question that ultimately will require assessment through larger-scale research and/or multi-center, collaborative trial. Results from Clinical Pilot Grants should lead to the submission of applications for funding from other agencies (i.e. NIH). At the conclusion of the funding term, applicants are expected to apply for further funding by other mechanisms or from outside agencies.  The award is not intended to support continuing programs begun under other granting mechanisms. Objective Support projects involving human subjects that will develop and test new hypotheses and/or new methods (or those being applied to the problems of Alpha-1 for the first time), and to support promising new investigators as they establish themselves in research areas relevant to Alpha-1. Funding Up to $75,000 for a one-year period.

Eligibility

We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Alpha-1 Foundation requires that each applicant allocate $1,000 of the total budget to pay for travel to the Alpha-1 Foundation’s Biennial Investigators’ Meeting for the first year of the proposal’s period of performance. In case the applicant cannot attend the Investigators’ Meeting, the $1,000 budgetary line item is not refundable.

Ineligibility

Please note that the Alpha-1 Foundation does not accept LOIs or grant applications from pharmaceutical companies, biotechs, or industry for its in-cycle grants programs. These entities may not be collaborators on any proposals.  Any individual who received an Alpha-1 Foundation Research Grant in the previous year’s grant cycle is not eligible to apply for an in-cycle grant in the current cycle. Major equipment may not be requested as part of a grant application, in accordance with Alpha-1 Foundation policies. Major equipment is defined as equipment that costs more than $500.The Alpha-1 Foundation does not pay for indirect costs, facilities and administrative costs or overhead costs. Applicants are not eligible to receive a second year of additional funding for a Clinical Pilot Grant but are encouraged to apply to external funding sources (i.e., NIH) to continue research initiated as a Foundation grant.