Funded Grants

FARA-Funded Research Grants

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Graduate Research Fellowship | Mechanism or Pathway of Disease

Grant Awarded | Dec 2026

Defining new epigenetic gene silencing axis driving repeat-associated heterochromatin formation in Friedreich’s Ataxia patients’ cells 

Remi Neplaz
Universite Claude Bernard Lyon, Villeurbanne, France

General Research Grant | Outcome Measures & Biomarkers

Grant Awarded | Nov 2026

Defining and targeting cardiac lipid dysregulation in Friedreich ataxia using human iPSC-derived cardiac models 

Jarmon Lees, Ph.D.
St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Victoria, Australia

Postdoctoral Research Award | Drug Discovery

Grant Awarded | Sep 2026

Investigating Synthetic Gene Regulator function in FRDA patient-derived Cardiomyocytes and neuronal cell types

Kumari Sweta, Ph.D
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN

Postdoctoral Research Award | Mechanism or Pathway of Disease

Grant Awarded | Feb 2026

SHIFT-FA – Study of Heterogeneity in Friedreich’s Ataxia Trajectories

Isabell Cordts, MD
University of Munich, Friedrich-Baur-Institut

Postdoctoral Fellowship | Mechanism or Pathway of Disease

Grant Awarded | Feb 2026

Investigating spinal sensory-motor circuit pathology in two mouse models of FA

Nicholas Stachowski, PhD
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

General Research Grant | Outcome Measures & Biomarkers

Grant Awarded | Feb 2026

AIMs_Play: Predicting Disease Progression in Pediatric Friedreich Ataxia with Generative AI-Enabled Platform

Pubudu Pathirana, PhD, and Louise Corben, PhD
Deakin University and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

General Research Grant | Outcome Measures & Biomarkers

Grant Awarded | Feb 2026

Neuro-otology: Diffusion MRI and audiological biomarkers for Friedreich ataxia disease progression

Julien Zanin, PhD
University of Melbourne

General Research Grant | Gene & Stem Cell Therapy

Grant Awarded | Jan 2026

RNA Writing Trans-Splicing for Enhancing Frataxin Translation

Jonathan Gootenberg, PhD, and Omar Abudayyeh, PhD
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital

General Research Grant | Outcome Measures & Biomarkers

Grant Awarded | Jan 2026

Characterization of Fatigue in Patients with Friedreich’s Ataxia by Assessment of Mitochondrial Function in Skeletal and Cardiac Muscle

Puneet Bagga, PhD
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

General Research Grant | Mechanism or Pathway of Disease

Grant Awarded | Jan 2026

Correcting Cell-Autonomous Neuroinflammatory Phenotypes in Friedreich’s Ataxia Microglia Using iPSC-Based Approaches

Stefano Stifani, PhD, and Massimo Pandolfo, MD
McGill University

General Research Grant | Cell & Animal Models

Grant Awarded | Jan 2026

Development and Validation of a New Friedreich’s Ataxia Isogenic Control Mouse

Marek Napierala, PhD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Postdoctoral Research Award | Mechanism or Pathway of Disease

Grant Awarded | Jan 2026

Exploiting Time-Specific Frataxin Inactivation to Unravel Its Role in Peripheral Neurodegeneration in Friedreich Ataxia

Agostina Di Pizio, PhD
CNR Institute of Neuroscience (IN-CNR)