IDF Research Grant Program

The IDF Research Grant Program supports patient-oriented research projects that have a specified benefit for improving the treatment, health, disease management, or diagnosis of people with primary immunodeficiencies (PI).

Geographic Scope: United States

Focus Areas:

• Patient-oriented research on primary immunodeficiencies
• Diagnosis and treatment of PI
• Disease management for people with PI
• Notable research topics include:
  • Gut microbiome and inflammation in common variable immunodeficiency (CVID)
  • Immune dysregulation measurement in PI
  • Gene activity and genetic variants in PI
  • T cell lymphopenia in infants
  • Gene editing strategies for RAG-1 deficiency SCID and familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)
  • Discovery of new PI types and antiviral pathways

Program History:

• Program began in 2016
• As of 2022, IDF has supported 24 research grants totaling more than $800,000
• As of 2022, awards have totaled more than $650,000 in competitive seed grants

Notable Grant Outcomes:

• Discovery of new PI type caused by variants in TLR8 (Dr. Megan A. Cooper, Washington University School of Medicine, 2018)
• Understanding of interferon receptor gene variants and severe viral infections (Dr. Qian Zhang, Rockefeller University, 2020)
• CRISPR-based gene editing strategies for RAG-1 deficiency SCID (Dr. Pietro Genovese, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 2020)
• Gene editing research for familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (Dr. Michelle Hermiston, University of California, San Francisco, 2020)

Special Recognition:

• Michael Blaese Research Grant Award - inaugural award given to highest-ranking grant applicant (named in honor of IDF's long-time medical advisor Dr. Michael Blaese)

Application Process

No specific step-by-step application details provided in the available text. However, applicants should:

1. Visit the IDF Research Grant Program page for complete application information and requirements
2. Submit applications by the published deadline
3. Applications are reviewed competitively
4. Awards are announced following the deadline period

Note: For detailed application instructions, required materials, narrative questions, and submission procedures, visit the IDF Research Grant Program page or contact IDF directly.