HD Human Biology Project Overview
Despite the identification of the gene responsible for Huntington’s disease (HD) over 30 years ago, to date there are no effective treatments available to patients to modify disease progression. Although animal models have been instrumental to our understanding of HD biology, the most physiologically relevant scientific observations are those that are recorded in humans with HD. As a result, the Huntington’s Disease Society of America has adopted a patient-centric research strategy to push the field closer to meeting our goal of identifying effective therapies. The HD Human Biology Project is the cornerstone of this strategy. To date, HDSA has committed more than $9 million dollars to support this program!
The Human Biology Project was launched in 2013 with the goal of fostering innovative research in collaboration with HD clinics to better understand the biology of Huntington’s disease as it occurs in humans. HDSA encourages researchers to consider one of HDSA’s Centers of Excellence as a potential collaborator, but applicants may propose to work with any HD clinic around the world.
Project Details
- 1-2 years of funding to support a scientist working collaboratively with an HD clinic anywhere in the world
- Awards up to $90,000/year (Up to $72,000 salary support and maximum $30,000 research budget; annual travel costs cannot exceed $5,000).
- Recipient must commit at least 50% effort to the project
- Open to researchers from around the world regardless of position/title
- Preference given to young postdoctoral and clinical investigators (PhD and/or MDs) who are not yet independent
- Innovative ideas from non-scientists will also be accepted and encouraged
- Applications from for-profit institutions are welcome
Request for Proposals
We are gearing up to release the 2025 Request for Proposals! Please check back during the last 2 weeks of May.
Summaries of previously funded projects can be found below.
2024 RECIPIENTS
Zachariah McLean, PhD
Research Fellow in Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Mentor: Dr. James Gusella
Project Title: Unraveling Huntington's Disease pathogenesis: Investigating Repeat Expansion and Genetic Modifiers Using Advanced Cell Models Learn More
Dipika Gupta, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, New York University Grossman School of Medicine
Mentor: Dr. Eli Rothenberg
Project Title: Huntington’s disease etiology and associated mechanisms of repeat expansion Learn More
Nicolas Caron, PhD
Research Associate, University of British Columbia
Mentor: Dr. Michael Hayden
Project Title: Multi-omic biomarker discovery for Huntington disease Learn More
