NARSAD Grants & Prizes

See all the institutions and scientists we've funded!

The Scientific Council selects the most promising ideas for NARSAD Grants to Young, Independent and Distinguished Investigators. This prestigious group of 138 volunteers are led by founding and current President, Herbert Pardes, M.D., President & CEO of NY Presbyterian Hospital.

A NARSAD Grant is one of the highest distinctions in the field of mental health research. Many investigators go on to receive larger federal and private grants based on their NARSAD Grant projects.

NARSAD Grants support a broad range of the best ideas in brain research. Funding is focused on four priority areas to better understand and treat mental illness, aiming toward prevention and ultimately cures:

BASIC RESEARCH
To understand what happens in the brain to cause mental illness
 

NEW TECHNOLOGIES
to advance or create new ways of studying and understanding the brain
 

DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS / EARLY INTERVENTION
to recognize early signs of mental illness and treat as early as possible
 

NEXT GENERATION THERAPIES
to reduce symptoms of mental illness and retrain the brain

NARSAD Young Investigator Grant

This grant supports scientists at the advanced post-doctoral or assistant professor (or equivalent) level. Grants are up to $30,000/year, for one or two years (maximum of $60,000).

NARSAD Young Investigator,
Tracy Young-Pearse, Ph.D

NARSAD Independent Investigator Grant 

This grant supports scientists at the associate professor (or equivalent) level. Grants are up to $50,000/year, for two years (maximum of $100,000).

NARSAD Independant Investigator,
Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D.

NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grant 

This grant supports scientists at the full professor (or equivalent) level. Grants are up to $100,000 for one year.

NARSAD Distinguished Investigator,
Sarah H. Lisanby, M.D.

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation honors NARSAD Grantees for various achievements at two events each year:

• In the summer, the Klerman and Freedman Prizes are given to NARSAD Young Investigators for their outstanding contributions to mental health research.
   
• In the fall, the Foundation recognizes researchers with five Outstanding Achievement Prizes: The Lieber Prize for Schizophrenia Research, the Bipolar Mood Disorders Prize for Mood Disorder Research, the Ruane Prize for Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Research, the Goldman-Rakic Prize for Cognitive Neuroscience Research, and the Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Prize for Innovative Schizophrenia Research.
  
  Also in the fall, the Productive Lives Awards are given to those living with mental illness who have shown success in defying the odds to become highly accomplished and fully contributing indivuals.

NARSAD is an acronym for National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the former name of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation