Brain Research Foundation 2024 Seed Grant Program

Limited submission program for full-time Assistant or Associate Professors with PI eligibility (UTL, UML, and NTLR appointments), working in the area of studies of neuroscience. This includes molecular and clinical neuroscience as well as studies of neural, sensory, motor, cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning in health and disease. The grant proposal must detail a new research project that is not funded by other sources. A university-wide internal selection process is required.

Internal Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute deadline: October 16, 2023 (see the internal submission guidelines below)
Notification of selection by Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute to PI: November 2, 2023
The institutional official for the applicant selected will submit the LOI prior to the start of Stanford Winter Shutdown: 
Institutional representative (RPM/RMG or CGO/OSR) deadline (LOI requires institutional signature to verify nomination): November 14, 2023
Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline: November 21, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. CST
Institutional representative (RPM/RMG or CGO/OSR) deadline: February 29, 2024
Full proposal (by invitation only) deadline:  March 7, 2024 at 4:00 pm CST

Program Overview

Download a pdf file of the guidelines here.

Each total grant is limited to $80,000 (direct costs) for a two year grant period. The first grant payment of $40,000 will be made upon completion of the Seed Grant Acceptance Form (June 2024). The final payment of $40,000 will be made contingent upon receipt of a preliminary progress and financial report (June 2025). Funds must be utilized within the grant period. No indirect costs are provided. Please see the program guidelines for funding specifics.

• To be eligible, PI must be a full-time Assistant or Associate Professor at an invited US academic institution (UTL, UML, NTLR faculty appointments)
• Applicants must be working in the area of studies of brain function. This includes molecular and clinical neuroscience as well as studies of neural, sensory, motor, cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning in health and disease.
• The grant proposal must detail a new research project that is not funded by other sources. This grant is not to be used as bridge funding.
• Investigators at institutions that are affiliated with a medical school or university are eligible to apply only through the institution where they hold a full-time faculty position.
• Scientists that have previously received a BRF Seed Grant may not receive the award for a second time unless all grant requirements from all previous awards are met. Only one PI may apply per application.
• See program guidelines for additional information. 

The objective of the BRF Seed Grant Program is to support new and innovative projects, especially those of junior faculty, who are working in new research directions. BRF Seed Grant awards are not intended to supplement existing grants. The purpose of our program is to provide start-up monies for new research projects in the field of neuroscience that will likely lead to extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other outside funding sources.

By October 16, 2023, please submit one PDF file containing the following, in the order list below, to:

Chiara Bertipaglia
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute 
bertipag@stanford.edu

File name: Last name_BRF_Seed_Grant.pdf

Institutional representatives: not applicable. You do not need to submit your internal proposal through your institutional official. You may submit your proposal directly to Ipshita Ghosh.

1) Title Page
Title of Program: Brain Research Foundation Seed Grant Program
Title of your proposal (maximum of 110 characters)
PI name, academic title, department, contact information (mailing address, phone number, and email address)

2) Brief summary of program project (1400 word count limit does NOT include figures or images)
Include closing paragraph that explains how this research will develop (next steps)
References may be included on an additional page(s)

3) Biographical sketch (using current NIH format) with other support page (5 page maximum)
Due to limited space, you can supply a link to your full list of publications 

Selection process:
A committee from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute will conduct the internal review. That committee will select the applicant to represent the university.

Institutional representative: not applicable. You do not need to send your internal proposal to your RPM/RMG or your CGO/OSR for institutional review and approval. For inquiries regarding the internal selection process, please contact:

Chiara Bertipaglia
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute 
bertipag@stanford.edu