Brain Research Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Brain Research Foundation’s grant making program funds researchers and scientists conducting innovative research in neuroscience and the treatment of neurological disorders. This is an accessible and transparent funder that welcomes contact, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
IP TAKE: BRF focuses on innovative research in neurology with the expectation that is grantees will go on to secure NIH funding for their work. It’s seed grants support junior-level researchers with two-year grants of $80,000, and its scientific innovation awards provide more established scientists with $150,000 for up to two years. The foundation accepts letters of inquiry for both programs, with due dates in January for seed grants and late June for the innovation awards. Funding is limited to the U.S.
PROFILE: The stated mission of the Chicago-based Brain Research Foundation’s (BRF), established in 1953, is to “accelerate discoveries of the human brain by funding the nation’s most innovative neurological research.” The foundation makes grants through its Seed Grants and Scientific Innovation Award programs.
Neuroscience Grants
The foundation’s Seed Grants provide start-up funding for promising neuroscience research with the expectation that the work will receive future funding from the NIH or other sources.
The foundation does not name specific topics of interest, but grantmaking prioritizes “junior faculty, who are working in new research directions. Seed grants are generally awarded in the amount of $80,000 for a two-year period, with the second installment of $40,000 contingent upon progress and financial reports on the project.
Recent grants have gone to individual researchers working at institutions including the University of California at Los Angeles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and Rutgers University.
For additional information about past seed grants, see the foundation’s Seed Grants Archive. Unsolicited letters of inquiry for seed grants are accepted with a due date in early January of each year. Detailed guidelines are available at the foundation’s website.
BRF’s Scientific Innovation Award fund’s “projects that may be too innovative and speculative for traditional funding sources but still have a high likelihood of producing important findings.”
The award consists of $150,000, distributed over a period of two years, with the second installment of $75,000 contingent on progress reports.
Funding is intended for full-time professors or the equivalent who have received support from the NIH or other peer-reviewed sources of funding in the past three years.
Letters of inquiry are accepted from researchers nominated by “an invited U.S. academic institution” with a due date that usually falls in June.
Detailed application guidelines are available at the foundation’s website. For information about past awards, see BRF’s Award Archive.
Important Grant Details:
BRF makes about $1 million in grants a year, with all grants awarded the amounts specified by its seed grant and innovation awards programs. This funder prioritizes innovative research in neurology, with the expectation that its grantees will go on to secure NIH or other peer-reviewed sources of funding. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s individual program pages or its recent financial reports.
This funder accepts letters of inquiry for both of its funding programs, but prospective grantees should review the eligibility requirements and guidelines that are linked to the program pages before submitting inquiries. Seed grant letters are generally due in January, and innovation award letters are accepted until June of each year. General inquiries may be submitted by email at info@theBRF.org or telephone at 312-759-5150.
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