The Gilbert Family Foundation (GFF) is a private foundation, with the goal of accelerating the discovery and development of a cure for neurofibromatosis type 1, which affects nearly 3 million people globally. In 2018, GFF implemented their Gene Therapy Initiative and funded around $11M worth of research and development, related to the discovery and development of gene therapy-based approaches. These grants are for early-stage discovery-based efforts, similar to a researcher-initiated R01.

GFF has just announced a new Request for Proposal (RFP) for high-impact gene therapy strategies that address the loss of neurofibromin 1 gene function in patients suffering from neurofibromatosis type 1.

The RFP has a 2-step, peer-reviewed application process:

1. Letters of Intent (due Feb. 28, 2021)
2. For applications selected to advance (notification by 1st April, 2021), applicants must complete a full-length proposal by May 31st, 2021.

Selection Criteria includes:

• innovative and transformative research (i.e. new approaches with strong scientific rationale)
• potential for quick translation to clinical testing
• scientific merit

For more information, please check out their detailed RFP