Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance

**Our Mission** The Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) is a national, public, 501(c)(3), non-profit, organization dedicated to the pursuit of scientific research leading to treatments and a cure for Friedreich’s ataxia. **FARA's Mission is...** to marshal and focus the resources and relationships needed to cure FA by raising funds for research, promoting public awareness, and aligning scientists, patients, clinicians, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies and other organizations dedicated to curing FA and related diseases. **Our History** Since 1998, FARA’s Leadership and numerous patient families and friends have raised critical funds to support FA research. **FARA’s Founding** **FARA was founded in September 1998 by a group of patient families and three of the world’s leading FA scientists — Drs. Rob Wilson, Bronya Keats, and Massimo Pandolfo. It was staffed and managed as an all-volunteer organization until late 2005.** FARA’s leadership and numerous patient families and friends have raised critical funds over the years to support FA research. Thanks to the brilliant and committed efforts of many FA scientists, we now understand the cause of FA and specific mechanisms leading to damage in FA patients. These understandings allow for more targeted approaches to treatment which are currently being developed for clinical trials.