The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre ('OHC'), a partnership between the University of Oxford, UK and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio, dedicated to creating new medicines for rare diseases, has announced that the FA Alliance Innovation Fund has awarded funding to five researchers from the University of Oxford, each of whom receive £100,000 and specialist support to advance pioneering research projects exploring novel approaches to discover treatments for Friedreich's Ataxia (FA). FA is a debilitating, life-shortening, degenerative multisystem rare disease for which there is currently no cure.
The OHC coordinates the Friedreich's Ataxia Alliance at Oxford (FA Alliance), which brings together researchers and clinicians from across the University of Oxford, supported by philanthropic funding, to develop new therapies or cures for FA. The alliance comprises established experts in FA research together with emerging investigators at the forefront of developing advanced therapeutic modalities and novel delivery systems to ensure appropriate targeting to relevant tissues, which is critical in FA.
The FA Alliance Innovation Fund was established by the OHC in collaboration with a philanthropic foundation that provided up to £650,000 to advance cutting-edge therapeutic research at Oxford into FA. A total of £500,000 was awarded to support research into innovative therapeutic approaches for this devastating neurodegenerative disease.
Read the full story on the Radcliffe Department of Medicine website.