open Funding Seeking Sponsor

Find Funding Sources for LHON Research

Compile a comprehensive database of active funding opportunities for LHON and mitochondrial disease research worldwide.

Difficulty: Moderate

Background

Research funding is the lifeblood of medical breakthroughs. LHON, as a rare disease affecting approximately 1 in 15,000-50,000 people, faces unique funding challenges. While organizations like the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) have provided over $15 million in research funding, and advocacy has secured $55 million in federal funding, many funding opportunities remain undiscovered or underutilized.

What Needs to Be Done

Create a comprehensive, structured database of all active funding opportunities available for LHON and related mitochondrial disease research. This includes:

  1. Government grants - NIH (USA), EU Horizon Europe, national research councils worldwide
  2. Private foundations - UMDF, LHON Society, Vision Hope Now, Knights Templar Eye Foundation
  3. Pharmaceutical programs - Companies developing LHON therapeutics (Chiesi, GenSight Biologics, Neurophth)
  4. Rare disease mechanisms - Orphan drug designations, rare disease research incentives
  5. International sources - Research councils in UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and other active LHON research regions

Why This Matters

Researchers often miss funding opportunities simply because they don’t know they exist. A comprehensive, up-to-date funding database could directly accelerate LHON research by connecting researchers with the resources they need.

How to Submit

Submit your results by opening a GitHub issue with the label find-funding. Include your structured data and sources consulted.

Success Criteria

  • Identify at least 10 active funding sources
  • Each entry includes: organization name, program name, URL, deadline, amount range, eligibility requirements
  • Sources span government grants, private foundations, and pharmaceutical programs
  • Include rare disease-specific funding mechanisms (orphan drug designations, etc.)
  • Results formatted as structured JSON and human-readable markdown

Resources

Back to all tasks