The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announces eight grant awards totaling more than $2 million toward research focused on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The Winter Grants for 2019, awarded ahead of ALS Awareness Month in May, build on the more than $165 million MDA has already invested in ALS research.

“These new grants show MDA’s commitment to fund groundbreaking research that will one day lead to treatments and cures for ALS,” says Amanda Haidet-Phillips, PhD, a scientific portfolio director at MDA, in a media release.

“Every grant will have an impact on therapy development, from improving understanding of disease mechanisms to discovering new therapeutic targets and moving these into clinical trials.”

The newly funded projects will promote therapy development on multiple fronts. The awarded grants include studies to help provide a better understanding of what causes ALS and pinpoint new drug targets, to develop improved therapeutic strategies, and to ensure that the right tools such as biomarkers are in place to pave the way for successful clinical trials, the release explains.

For more information about the Winter Grants 2019 recipients, visit MDA.

[Source(s): Muscular Dystrophy Association, PR Newswire]