MCB Assistant Professor of Neurobiology Andrea Gomez has been awarded a 2020 Young Investigator Grant from The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.
The foundation's Young Investigator Grants, valued at more than $10.3 million, are awarded to 150 of the world’s most promising young scientists. The grants, awarded annually, support the work of early career investigators with innovative ideas for groundbreaking neurobiological research seeking to identify causes, improve treatments and develop prevention strategies for psychiatric disorders.
Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $418 million in research grants to more than 6,000 scientists globally.
This year’s Young Investigators are studying some of the most challenging conditions including addiction, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia, as well as research on suicide prevention.
The recipients were selected by the Foundation’s Scientific Council, comprised of 181 leading experts across disciplines in brain and behavior research, including one Nobel Prizewinner; three former directors of the National Institute of Mental Health; four recipients of the National Medal of Science; 11 members of the National Academy of Sciences; 16 National Institute of Health Chiefs & Directors; 41 chairs of psychiatry and neuroscience departments at leading medical institutions; and 54 members of the National Academy of Medicine.
“BBRF Young Investigators represent a new generation of scientists who will pioneer breakthroughs in mental health research,” says Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President and CEO, of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. “With these grants, outstanding researchers are able to pursue bold new ideas to answer important questions or help identify potentially game-changing targets for treatment. The awards function as seed funding for new directions that would otherwise be highly unlikely.”
Herbert Pardes, M.D., President of the Foundation’s Scientific Council and Executive Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, says, “BBRF Young Investigator Grants have led to groundbreaking and important new research that has improved the lives of people living with mental illness. These scientists are making great strides in basic research, new technologies, next-generation therapies and early intervention techniques. This kind of out-of-the box research offers the best hope for change.”
This year, the Foundation’s Scientific Council reviewed 1,012 applications to select the 150 Young Investigators. The breakdown of funding is as follows:
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About 80 percent of the projects funded are basic research,
the wellspring of innovation in brain research to understand what happens in the brain to cause mental illness. -
About 20 percent of the projects funded specifically aim to develop next- generation therapies, diagnostic tools/early interventions, and/or the development of new technologies to advance or create new ways of studying or understanding the brain.
For more detailed information about the Young Investigator Grant recipients, click here.
Content courtesy BBRF communications team September 21, 2020 press release.