Translational Research Grants

Translational Research Grants

Funder: Emily's Entourage (EE)

Geographic Scope: International (six countries represented in awarded grants)

Mission: Accelerate research and therapeutic development for people with cystic fibrosis (CF) who do not benefit from existing mutation-targeted therapies, specifically targeting the "final 10%" of the CF population.

Focus Areas

• Gene editing technologies (prime editing, retron editors, CRISPR-based approaches)
• Nonsense and splicing mutation therapies
• Phage therapy for drug-resistant CF infections
• CFTR modulator alternatives for ineligible mutations
• Precision medicine and personalized genetic therapies

Eligibility

• Research advancing treatments for CF mutations unresponsive to current CFTR modulators
• Multi-disciplinary research teams
• Academic and research institutions internationally

Key Information

• Total Awards Since 2011: 42 grants awarded; millions of dollars in funding
• Follow-on Funding: Helped secure $52.3 million in additional follow-funding
• Grant Types: Translational grants, collaborative grants, preclinical exploratory grants, venture philanthropy investments
• Contact: Hannah Kleckner, Director of Marketing and Communications, hannah@emilysentourage.org
• Organization: 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Tax ID #45-3768161
• Location: Lower Merion, PA / Merion Station, PA
• Website: emilysentourage.org

Recent 2025 Awards

Four translational research grants announced in 2025: 1. Prime editing strategies for rare CF mutations (David R. Liu, PhD, Broad Institute) 2. Phage-antibiotic combinations for drug-resistant infections (Anca Segall, PhD, San Diego State University) 3. Readthrough antisense oligonucleotides for nonsense mutations (Andrei Korostelev, PhD, UMass Chan Medical School) 4. Retron editors for CFTR gene segment replacement (Ilya Finkelstein, PhD, University of Texas at Austin)