The Drug Discovery Initiative Awards program is focused on seed funding preclinical drug testing studies on neurofibromatosis in cell or animal models, and is one of the most successful Children’s Tumor Foundation programs to date. Since this program began in 2006, we have funded over 45 DDI Awards focused on preclinical testing of drug therapies for all aspects of NF1, NF2 and schwannomatosis, from learning disabilities to tumor growth to pain. This has been an investment for the Foundation of $1 million, but we have seen our investment leveraged, as awardees have gone on to secure over $5 million in follow-on funding from federal and other sources.
We are delighted to announce the recipients of the Drug Discovery Initiative Awards from our fall 2011 round. Dr. Toshifumi Tomoda of the Beckman Research Institute receives a $15,000 in vitro Award to study autophagy-inducing compounds as candidate therapeutics for NF2. Dr. David Little of the University of Sydney receives a $30,000 in vivoAward to study MEK inhibition as a therapeutic approach in mouse models of NF1 related tibial pseudarthrosis.
We are also pleased to announce that for 2012 we are significantly increasing DDI Award levels! We now offer $25,000 for in vitro DDI Awards, $50,000 for in vivo DDI Awards, and $75,000 for Advanced DDI Awards.There are two DDI Award deadlines in 2012: February 28th and August 31st. No preliminary data is required for DDI Award applications, and cutting-edge ideas are encouraged. If you have any questions about the DDI program, please contact Min Wong at mwong@ctf.org.
