September 24, 2026 (Washington, DC)—The Kissick Family Foundation, in partnership with the Milken Institute Science Philanthropy’s Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC), today announced five research teams selected to receive a total of $2.5 million through the third funding cycle of the Kissick Family Foundation Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Grant Program. The partners also launched the program’s fourth funding cycle and are now accepting research proposals. Through this program, the Kissick Family Foundation is investing in research that accelerates foundational discoveries, advances novel treatment options, and ultimately improves outcomes for people living with sporadic FTD.
The grant program has selected the following researchers to receive funding, subject to the execution of the relevant grant agreements:
- Institution: University of California, San Francisco
Principal investigator: William W. Seeley, MD
Co-investigator: Alex Pollen, PhD
Project: Probing neuron type-specific vulnerability to reveal upstream FTLD-TDP pathogenesis
- Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Principal investigator: Michael Guo, MD, PhD
Co-investigators: Michael Haney, PhD; Hong Xu, PhD
Project: Decoding somatic genome instability as a driver of selective neuronal vulnerability in FTD
- Institution: Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Principal investigator: Clotilde Lagier-Tourenne, MD, PhD
Co-investigator: Liron Bar-Peled, PhD
Project: Chemical proteomics to establish a pan-FTD DrugMap
- Institution: Ulm University
Principal investigator: Jochen Weishaupt, MD
Co-investigators: Luc Dupuis, PhD, INSERM; Lena Voith von Voithenberg, PhD, German Cancer Research Center
Project: Genetic mosaics: The dark matter of FTD pathogenesis
- Institution: University of California, San Francisco
Principal investigator: Jennifer Yokoyama, PhD
Project: Interferon-driven gene IFI44L as a powerful modifier of sporadic FTD disease trajectory
Together, these projects represent diverse approaches to understanding why FTD develops and progresses differently across individuals. They aim to uncover new biomarkers and therapeutic targets while expanding the scientific foundation for developing more effective treatments. This third cohort joins the research teams supported through the program’s first two funding cycles.
The Kissick Family Foundation and SPARC have also opened the program’s fourth funding cycle, inviting independent researchers whose work is applicable to FTD to review the request for proposals. Letters of intent will be accepted through November 4, 2026. Individual researchers may receive up to $500,000 over two years, inclusive of indirect costs, with awardees expected to be notified in mid-2027.
“FTD is a complex disease, and we believe getting to treatments and cures will require scientists across disciplines coming together,” said Kasey Kissick Duarte, co-president of the Kissick Family Foundation. “We’re proud to support so many incredible research teams around the world and, more importantly, to have helped build a community where researchers can share ideas and build on one another’s successes and failures to move the field forward faster. While it’s too late for my dad, who passed away from FTD in 2024, this work gives us hope that we’re on the cusp of discoveries that will change the outlook for all the other families affected by this disease.”
The Kissick Family Foundation’s partnership with SPARC began in 2022 with an analysis of the FTD research and funding landscape. That work informed the Milken Institute’s November 2023 report, Frontotemporal Dementia: A Giving Smarter Guide, which identified opportunities for focused philanthropic investment to accelerate scientific progress and enrich the FTD research ecosystem.
The grant program was created to put those findings into action, with a particular focus on sporadic FTD—an area in which researchers still face significant gaps in understanding disease biology, identifying reliable biomarkers, and developing effective treatments.
“Neurodegenerative diseases like FTD can be devastating for people living with the disorders and for their families, who deserve tailored treatments, clearer diagnostic journeys, and improved outlooks,” said Sylvie Raver, PhD, managing director of SPARC. “At SPARC, we believe that philanthropic investment is a critical tool to advance these outcomes, through supporting communities of scientists and clinicians conducting high-risk, early-stage research that serves as the foundation for new breakthroughs. Grant programs like these are invaluable for under-resourced fields of study like FTD.”
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About Frontotemporal Dementia
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a group of neurodegenerative disorders marked by deterioration of the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes, affecting behavior, language, memory, and motor function. It accounts for 10–20 percent of dementia cases but remains severely underdiagnosed because of limited awareness and diagnostic complexity. FTD typically affects people between the ages of 45 and 65, making it the most common form of dementia among people under 60. About 60 percent of cases are considered sporadic, meaning they appear to develop without an inherited genetic mutation or a strong family history of FTD.
Average life expectancy is approximately 7.5 years after symptom onset, as symptoms progress to the point where patients need full-time care. There are currently no definitive diagnostic tools or disease-modifying therapies, and most patients do not receive care specifically tailored to FTD.
About the Milken Institute
The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on the path to a meaningful life. With a focus on financial, physical, mental, and environmental health, we bring together the best ideas and innovative resourcing to develop blueprints for tackling some of our most critical global issues through the lens of what’s pressing now and what’s coming next. For more information, visit https://milkeninstitute.org/.
Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy tackles persistent societal challenges by guiding individuals and foundations with the insights and tools to develop strategies, implement giving programs, and foster collaboration to create a better, more equitable world.
The Milken Institute’s Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration works to develop, launch, and lead initiatives that fund medical research and invest to accelerate the development of tools and treatments that will bring better health to millions of people. We partner with philanthropists, leading them through complex medical research and clinical systems.
About the Kissick Family Foundation
The Kissick Family Foundation aims to catalyze change through bold and dynamic philanthropy. It provides critical early support for the leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs who are finding cures, repairing catastrophic damage, and changing entire fields of study. The foundation invests in cutting-edge scientific research and advocacy for neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on frontotemporal dementia. It is equally committed to backing transformative ideas in the climate space, specifically ocean-based solutions with the potential to mitigate and reverse harm to the planet.
