GMJF grants are awarded to applicants from the University of Minnesota Greg Marzolf Jr. Muscular Dystrophy Center.  Eligibility is limited to advanced degree Ph.D. and/or M.D. faculty of the University of Minnesota. While collaboration is valued and encouraged, GMJF requires all work and research to be completed within the State of Minnesota. All grant applications shall be approved by the GMJ MD Center Director to ensure adherence to GMJF eligibility requirements. Grant application proposals for 2025 will be due by noon on Thursday February 20, 2025.

The primary objective of the GMJF Research Grant program is to support new and existing innovative studies that focus on research in Muscular Dystrophy. Preference will be given to those studies that focus on clinical trials and novel therapeutics for Duchenne MD. 

The term of the Research Grant is a one year period with possibility of renewal research grants in subsequent years based on results. The following expenses are NOT allowed:

1. Faculty (tenure or tenure-track) salary and benefits
2. Secretarial salary and benefits
3. Travel to scientific meetings and conferences
4. Publication costs and purchase of reprints or books
5. Service contracts
6. Conferences, workshops, poster sessions, seminars and other meetings
7. Indirect costs 

Applications are reviewed by team consisting of content experts from the University of Minnesota and the GMJF Grant Committee. The GMJF Committee will take the expert content comments and align them with the research mission of the GMJF and develop a funding recommendation.  Grant funding recommendations are submitted to the GMJF Board for final approval. A funding decision will be made on or before April 23, 2025.  Funding decisions are also communicated to our donors to encourage additional support and revenue. We will plan to announce the donor recipients at our May 9, 2025 Gala event.

Research that involves use of human or animal subjects, biohazardous materials, etc., must be approved by the appropriate University of Minnesota committee. An application will be accepted if approval is pending, but funds will not be released in support of an award until approval has been confirmed. For further information, contact your department administrator.  

Grants will be paid to Medical School departments through invoices to UMF (non-sponsored chart strings will be established). Funds must be used within the period of the grant. After the grant expires, unexpended funds revert to GMJF UMF fund for other research projects. 

It is important for the grant recipients to be actively engaged with the GMJF and the GMJ MD Center during and after the funding period.  Grant recipients will be required to provide (1 page maximum) progress report of the GMJF grant related work of their lab by September 15, 2025.  This will be used to assist GMJF in sharing research progress in our Fall magazine mailer.  Please submit reports to foundation@gregmarzolfjr.org. In addition, recipients of GMJF grants will be invited to participate in two events during the award period. First, they will work  with the GMJF Gala Committee during the following year’s Gala event to share the progress and impact of their funded research. The Gala Committee may request either a poster presentation summarizing the research work or a brief personal update to be delivered at the Gala. Second, they will be invited to participate in the following year’s GMJF Symposium, either via an oral presentation and/or poster presentations from their laboratories. These collaborations provide opportunities to highlight the importance of grant funding in advancing medical research and to inspire ongoing support from the community.

Progress reports help us justify our funding decisions to our donors and will help us promote MD Center research. Failure to meet these reporting obligations will negatively impact the potential for future funding.

The application form and guidelines are available at the following link: Application form and guidelines

See the grant evaluation criteria at the following link: Grant submission evaluation criteria