Call for Applications: Mito Foundation Incubator Grants (Australia)

This funding mechanism aims to facilitate high-quality preliminary studies to enable the researcher to generate sufficient data to secure external funding to continue their research.

Impact Areas

• Health: Improvements in health through the development of new diagnostic tools and individuals receiving an accurate and timely diagnosis. It also refers to the development of and/or access to treatment options.
  • Patient diagnosis.
  • Development of new diagnostic tools for mito.
  • Preclinical models (iPSCs, organoids, animals) and clinical tools developed.
  • Validation of biomarkers.
  • Preclinical study e.g. proof of concept study, pilot study, drug screens.
  • Clinical study e.g. observational study, quality of life, or interventional study.
  • Facilitating access to an existing therapeutic option.
• Knowledge: Generation of new knowledge that advances the understanding of primary mitochondrial disease mechanisms, diagnosis, prevention, monitoring and treatment options, prevalence and impact before it is implemented in the clinic. It also includes the communication of new knowledge to the wider community beyond the academic environment.
  • Discovery, validation and characterisation of genes, pathways or mechanisms directly related to primary mitochondrial disease.
  • New knowledge into the incidence, prevalence and impact of mitochondrial disease.
  • Non-academic outreach and communication of research, including Mito Foundation events.
• Social: Research findings that improve the understanding of the impacts of primary mitochondrial disease, and improvements in health, including the mental health and wellbeing of the mito community.
  • Research has resulted in a measurable improvement in quality of care.
  • Improved ability to access healthcare services.
  • Improved health literacy.
  • Changes in behaviours and attitudes.
  • Reductions in stigma.
• Informing Decision Making: Research findings that inform decisions about health and healthcare, including public health and social care. It also refers to contributions to policy and advocacy efforts to improve the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring and treatment options for primary mitochondrial disease.
  • Research informed development of policy, changes to guidelines or clinical practice.
  • Contribution to mitochondrial clinical and research advisory panels.
• Mito Workforce Research and Clinical Capacity Building: Supporting a thriving mito workforce, research infrastructure, and meaningful community engagement to maximise the potential benefits of research to the mito community.
  • Enabling researchers to focus on primary mitochondrial disease.
  • Subsequent research funding (linked to Mito Foundation funded projects).
  • Infrastructure for the sharing of materials e.g. biobanks, databases, registries.
  • Evidence of meaningful community engagement in research.
  • Creation of new research and clinical networks.
  • Evidence of industry collaboration and/or considering the future translational pipeline.
  • Leveraging existing registries, including Mito Foundation’s Registry.
• Economic: Improvements that lead to reduced healthcare costs, research commercialisation events, and socio-economic benefits.
  • Improved efficiency of health service delivery.
  • Economic evaluations directly relevant to primary mitochondrial disease.
  • Patents and commercialisation agreements.
  • Funding from or partnerships with industry.

Funding Information

• Mito Foundation’s Incubator Grants are charitable grants of up to A$25,000 for a period of up to 12 months. Funding cannot be used to cover on-costs, infrastructure, or other indirect costs. They encourage applications with co-funding from another organisation, although this is not a requirement for this funding mechanism.
• Mito Foundation reserves the right not to award Incubator Grant funding in any given year.

Eligibility Criteria

• Research must be focussed on primary mitochondrial disease.
• Proposals addressing innovative research efforts will be considered. Funding is not available for well-established research programs under this funding mechanism.
• Australian and overseas applications are welcome.

For more information, visit Mito Foundation.