Celebrating 20 Years of AFTD’s Pilot Grant Program
Over the past 20 years, AFTD’s Pilot Grant program, which supports early-career researchers or new ideas, has funded $2.8 million in innovative FTD research.
In 2005, AFTD founder Helen-Ann Comstock and a small group of medical advisors awarded $35,000 to Eileen Bigio, MD, a clinical researcher at Northwestern University, to identify abnormal proteins present in FTD with motor neuron features, like ALS. This first-ever AFTD research grant was given out while the organization was in just its third year – before it even had paid staff.
Virginia M.Y. Lee, PhD, a prolific and influential neurodegeneration researcher and a pioneer in FTD, was among AFTD’s first cohort of medical advisors. “At the time, FTD research was drastically underfunded and underrecognized, with relatively few investigators dedicated fully to FTD,” Dr. Lee said. “I was proud to help advise on that first grant – which was a signal to the community that AFTD would be an active partner in research.”
Due to the success of the initial grant to Dr. Bigio, AFTD developed the Pilot Grant program, which offers seed money to help researchers generate data and secure more funding. Susan L-J Dickinson, MSGC, joined AFTD as executive director in 2008 (she is now CEO) and has continued to grow the vision of the Pilot Grant program.
A Track Record of Success
The impact of AFTD Pilot Grants is exemplified by Dr. Emily Rogalski, a clinical neuroscientist who in 2013 received funding to conduct a clinical trial called Communication Bridge. Communication Bridge is a telehealth-based speech-language intervention for people with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Early AFTD funding of $60,000 helped Dr. Rogalski show the positive impact of this intervention, allowing her to secure federal funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to conduct a phase 2 trial. Communication Bridge has now expanded into a phase 3 clinical interventional trial and continues to benefit people with PPA.
Thomas Kukar, PhD, received a 2014 Pilot Grant to study progranulin – a key protein in FTD whose precise impact was not fully understood at the time. This funding laid the foundation for Dr. Kukar to apply for larger grants and explore gene therapy approaches. He went on to receive a 2017 Accelerating Drug Discovery grant, a joint effort between AFTD and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, to develop therapeutic strategies to replace granulins.
Allison Lindauer, PhD, APRN, received a 2020 Pilot Grant to test the effectiveness of STELLA-FTD, a remote program to help support FTD care partners. The program was shown to be feasible and helpful, and, having received follow-on federal funding from NIA, continues today in an expanded form.
Between 2005 and 2016, AFTD disbursed $955,000 in Pilot Grant funding, estimated to lead to $7.53 million in follow-on funding.
Nadine Tatton, PhD, AFTD’s previous Scientific Director, and Debra Neihoff, PhD, who recently retired after serving as AFTD’s Director of Research and Grants, showed significant early leadership in expanding the Pilot Grant program (along with other AFTD funding opportunities). Over time, the Pilot Grant program split into two different grants: the Pathways for Hope Pilot Grant, which is awarded based on the original Pilot Grant criteria, and the Well-Being in FTD Pilot Grant, conceived by AFTD leadership to improve the quality of life for people living with FTD and their families. For example, Eline Bunnik, PhD, received a 2023 Well-Being in FTD Pilot Grant to study the ethical considerations involved in having people at risk of FTD learn about predictive biomarkers or receive genetic testing.
Many Pilot Grant recipients go on to maintain long-term relationships with AFTD; some have presented at AFTD Education Conferences, while others have helped AFTD review grant applications. Dr. Rosa Rademakers, 2008 Pilot Grant recipient, is now chair of the AFTD Medical Advisory Council’s Research & Grants Committee.
Three 2025 Pilot Grants Awarded
From the record number of applications AFTD received during the 2025 Pilot Grant cycle, three excellent recipients have been selected.
Cyril Pottier, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University, received a 2025 Pathways for Hope Pilot Grant. Dr. Pottier will study genetic factors that influence FTD onset and resilience in people with progranulin variants.
Indira García Cordero, PhD, a research affiliate at San Andres University in Argentina, also received a 2025 Pathways for Hope Pilot Grant. AFTD previously awarded Dr. Cordero a Clinical Research Training Scholarship in FTD, which paved the way for her own independent research program. She will use her Pilot Grant to study factors that influence white matter changes in the brains of people with behavioral variant FTD, including their location in certain regions of Latin America or North America.
Finally, Stephanie Grasso, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded the 2025 Well-Being in FTD Pilot Grant. Dr. Grasso’s work aims to measure the impact of a culturally and linguistically tailored educational program to support Latino and Hispanic caregivers of individuals with PPA.
Today, AFTD remains fully committed to continuing our investment in exceptional researchers working towards solutions for families affected by FTD. The focus of the investments will continue to evolve as the field progresses further towards the effective treatments so urgently needed by families.
We are deeply grateful to the many donors who have enabled us to maintain and expand this unique funding program over the past 20 years. Together, we will continue to support promising investigators with smart ideas to achieve real progress for FTD research.
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