
Apply for a Grant
The FSHD Society offers investigator-initiated research grants to support basic, translational and clinical-based research in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Applications are accepted twice per year and the process begins with the submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI).
Application Guidelines
- Preference will be given to postdoctoral trainees, clinical fellows and younger faculty establishing their first independent laboratory (less than 5 years). More established researchers should allow their postdocs and fellows to apply for these awards directly, while providing mentorship and guidance for a successful outcome to the proposal.
- The FSHD Society will no longer support pre-doctoral training fellowships.
- Awards have ranged from $5,000 to $100,000 per year for a duration of up to two years.
- All payments subsequent to the initial installment are subject to submission of a satisfactory progress report, which is due at six-month intervals. Progress reports will be kept confidential.
- In accordance with the FSHD Society’s Policies on Awards for Research on FSHD, propagatable reagents and biomaterials, including monoclonal antibodies, recombinant DNAs, cell lines, tissue biopsies, and animal models created using FSHD Society funds are to be made freely available to other investigators following publication of the relevant paper.
If you have questions, please contact Jamshid Arjomand, PhD, Chief Science Officer, at grants@fshdsociety.org.

Other Grant Opportunities
FSH Society Research Grants and Fellowship Program
Researchers, note that NIH and MDA (and most likely AFM and MD UK) are interested in receiving more applications for FSHD projects.
Current calls for research proposals.
Created in 1958 by a group of patients and their families, and recognized as being of public utility in 1976, Association Francaise contre les Myopathies (AFM—French Muscular Dystrophy Association). Its mission is to determine targets for research priorities, and to present them to the Board of Directors of AFM, and to launch the corresponding Call for Proposals. It evaluates the suitability and quality of the proposed research programs, and oversees, a posteriori, the quality of the research. It may call on national or international scientific experts. The grant applications, including the recommendations of the Scientific Council, are presented to the Scientific Commission of the Board, which gives its recommendation and pre-validation. The final validation of the financial engagement is given by the BCA (Managing Committee of the Board) or the Board, depending on the importance of the projects.
Founded in 2008 and based in Australia, FSHD Global Research Foundation funds health and medical research on the causes, prevention, control, relief and cure for FSHD. The Foundation is interested in basic and translational scientific and clinical research. For more information, please see the FSHD Global Research Foundation Research Grants and Application Guidelines.
Friends of FSH Research Independent Investigator Grants provides support for investigators during the critical period between the initiation of research and the receipt of sustained funding. A two-year award typically up to $50,000 per year (typical maximum of $100,000 for two years) is provided to scientists who are clearly independent and function at a principal investigator level. Friends of FSH Research will consider proposals for clinical, basic or applied research; research must be relevant to the understanding and treatment of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy. For instance, identifying the DUX4 promoter is of great interest.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDAUSA) supports research aimed at developing treatments for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). For more information, please see MDA Research Grants Programs.
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign considers applications for research funding in accordance with its research strategy. This includes research into more than 60 different types of muscle-wasting diseases. The charity has an application process in place that involves a rigorous peer review and a panel of “lay experts” so that only the best research is funded. For more information on how to apply, please read about our application procedure.
INSTITUTE-SPECIFIC Funding Opportunity Announcements:
- Exploratory Clinical Trial Grant (R21)
- Clinical Observational (CO) Studies in Musculoskeletal, Rheumatic, and Skin Diseases (R01)
- Clinical Trial Readiness for Rare Neurological and Neuromuscular Diseases (U01)
- NIAMS Clinical Trial Planning Grants (U34)
- NIAMS Clinical Trial Implementation Cooperative Agreement (U01)
- P01 NINDS Program Project Grant (P01) PAR-13-312
- U01 NINDS Cooperative Program in Translational Research (U01) PAR-13-022
- R21NINDS Exploratory/Developmental Projects in Translational Research (R21) PAR-13-023
- R01 NINDS Exploratory Clinical Trials (R01) PAR-13-281
- U01 NINDS Phase III Investigator-Initiated Efficacy Clinical Trials (U01) PAR-13-278
- R21 Pilot and Feasibility Clinical Research Grants in Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (R21) PAR-14-060
- R03 NIAMS Small Grant Program For New Investigators (R03) PAR-12-045
- U34 NIAMS Multi-Center Clinical Study Implementation Planning Grants (U34) PAR-11-169
- P01 NICHD Program Project Grant (P01) PAR-13-257
- P01 NHLBI Program Project Applications (P01) PAR-13-316
Glen Nuckolls, PhD Program Director, Neuromuscular Disease Channels, Synapses, and Circuits Cluster National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2142, MSC 9523 Bethesda, MD 20892-9523 Email: nuckollsg@mail.nih.gov
Tiina Urv, PhD Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Phone: 301-402-7015 Email: tu36j@nih.gov
Jonathan R. Kaltman, MD National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute RKL2 – Two Rockledge Ctr, 8222 Mail Stop: 7940 6701 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892 USA Phone: (301) 435-0528 (301) 480-1454 Email: kaltmanj@mail.nih.gov

Training Grants
Please contact the FSHD Society with training opportunities you would like to post.
NIH
U.S. NIH Extramural Training and Career Development Grants for FSHD are available from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Career development awards provide salary and laboratory support for individuals who have completed their postdoctoral training, or who need “protected time” at critical periods of their research careers. These awards usually have a (K) activity code.
Training awards are designed to support the research training of scientists for careers in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, and to help professional schools to establish, expand, or improve programs of continuing professional education. Training awards can be individual fellowships (F) or institutional training grants (T).
NIAMS
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
NICHD
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
NINDS
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Glen Nuckolls, PhD Program Director, Neuromuscular Disease Channels, Synapses, and Circuits Cluster National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2142, MSC 9523 Bethesda, MD 20892-9523 Email: nuckollsg@mail.nih.gov
Tiina Urv, PhD Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Phone: 301-402-7015 Email: tu36j@nih.gov
Jonathan R. Kaltman, MD National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute RKL2 – Two Rockledge Ctr, 8222 Mail Stop: 7940 6701 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892 USA Phone: (301) 435-0528 (301) 480-1454 Email: kaltmanj@mail.nih.gov