Foundation Awards NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants Valued At $1.5 Million to Scientists Pursuing Innovative Mental Health Research
Contact: Nadine Woloshin 212-843-8041/917-699-9456 nwoloshin@rubenstein.com
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Awards NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants Valued At $1.5 Million to Scientists Pursuing Innovative Mental Health Research
NEW YORK CITY (December 8, 2015)—The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation today announced the award of its Distinguished Investigator Grants valued at $1.5 million to 15 scientists, who are full professors or the equivalent, conducting innovative projects in diverse areas of neurobiological and behavioral research. Recipients of the $100,000, one-year grants are seeking new potential targets for understanding and treating psychiatric disorders that affect one in four people, including schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, PTSD and autism spectrum disorders.
Recipients of the 2015 Distinguished Investigator Grants were selected by the Foundation’s Scientific Council, which comprises 165 leading experts across disciplines in brain and behavior research, including two Nobel laureates; four former directors of the NIMH; 13 members of the National Academy of Sciences; 23 chairs of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Departments at leading medical institutions; and 52 members of the Institute of Medicine.
“The Distinguished Investigator awards encourage established scientists to explore new areas of neurobiological or behavioral research, or broaden their current research in ways that may not be possible under current funding structures,” says Foundation President and CEO Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D. “These grants inspire creative approaches to understanding and treating psychiatric disorders.”
“We received a large number of outstanding proposals. Some deal with a specific research problem in one area of mental illness; many are relevant for a number of illnesses; some involve basic research that will serve as the basis of clinical or translational research; and others start from a translational or clinical foundation. We are able to see the growth of the field and the manifestations of the enhanced power of research related to mental illness that have come about with the remarkable support of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation,” said Jack D. Barchas, M.D., Chair and Barklie McKee Henry Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Weill Cornell Medical College, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Paine Whitney Clinic, who chairs the Scientific Council’s Distinguished Investigator selection committee.
Learn about the 2015 Distinguished Investigator grantees
About the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation:
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is committed to alleviating the suffering of mental illness by awarding grants that will lead to advances and breakthroughs in scientific research. The Foundation funds the most innovative ideas in neuroscience and psychiatry to better understand the causes and develop new ways to treat brain and behavior disorders. These disorders include depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $342 million to fund more than 5,000 grants to more than 4,000 leading scientists around the world. This has led to over $3 billion in additional funding for these scientists. The Foundation is also dedicated to educating the public about mental health and the importance of research including the impact that new discoveries have on improving the lives of those with mental illness, which will ultimately enable people to live full, happy and productive lives. For more information, visit http://bbrfoundation.org.
