Klerman & Freedman Prizes

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BBRF’s annual Klerman & Freedman Prizes recognize exceptional clinical and basic research in mental illness conducted by BBRF Young Investigator grantees. The Young Investigator Grant program is the hallmark program of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, enabling aspiring young scientists with innovative ideas to garner pilot data and generate “proof of concept” for their work. These two prizes recognize innovative thinking and remarkable talent across the field of neuropsychiatry. The prizewinners are selected by committees of the Foundation’s distinguished Scientific Council.

On July 29, 2022 at the Scientific Council Dinner BBRF celebrated the extraordinary life of Stephen A. Lieber (8/30/1925–3/31/2020), our Board Chairman Emeritus, who was a global champion of psychiatric research.

A Tribute to Stephen Lieber

2022 Prizewinner Press Release

2022 Program Booklet


Klerman Prize for Exceptional Clinical Research

The Klerman Prize, established in 1994 by Myrna M. Weissman, Ph.D., in memory of her late husband, Gerald L. Klerman, M.D., honors exceptional clinical research by a Young Investigator Grantee.

2025 Klerman Prizewinner:
Klerman Prizewinner

Joseph Taylor, M.D., Ph.D.
Mass General Brigham
Harvard Medical School

Honorable Mentions:

  • Ryan T. Ash, M.D., Ph.D. - Stanford University School of Medicine / University of California, San Francisco
  • Nathaniel G. Harnett, Ph.D. - McLean Hospital / Harvard Medical School

Past Klerman Prizewinners

Selection Committee

Chair:

  • Karen Dineen Wagner, M.D., Ph.D. - University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Members:

  • Anissa Abi-Dargham, M.D. - Stony Brook University School of Medicine
  • Zafiris J. Daskalakis, M.D., Ph.D. - University of California, San Diego
  • Martin B. Keller, M.D. - Brown University
  • Cecile D. Ladouceur, Ph.D. - University of Pittsburgh
  • Dost Ongur, M.D., Ph.D. - Harvard Medical School
  • Nina R. Schooler, Ph.D. - State University of New York Downstate Medical Center

 


Freedman Prize for Exceptional Basic Research

The Freedman Prize honors the late Daniel X. Freedman, M.D., a pioneer in biological psychiatry and psychopharmacology and a founding member of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Scientific Council. It is awarded to a Young Investigator Grantee for exceptional basic studies.

2025 Freedman Prizewinner:
Freedman Prizewinner

Long Li, Ph.D.
Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Honorable Mentions:

  • Hermany Munguba, Ph.D. - University College London
  • Zachary Pennington, Ph.D. - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai / University of British Columbia

Past Freedman Prizewinners

Selection Committee

Chair:

  • Ariel Y. Deutch, Ph.D. - Vanderbilt University

Members:

  • Ted Abel, Ph.D. - Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa
  • Cecilia Flores, Ph.D. - McGill University
  • Peter W. Kalivas, Ph.D. - Medical University of South Carolina
  • Keri Martinowich, Ph.D. - Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
  • Marina Picciotto, Ph.D. - Yale University
  • Vikaas Singh Sohal, M.D., Ph.D. - University of California, San Francisco