Research Funding

2015 MCKNIGHT MEMORY AND COGNITIVE DISORDERS AWARD

Deadline:  March 24, 2014

The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience supports innovative research designed to bring science closer to the day when diseases of the brain can be accurately diagnosed, prevented, and treated. To this end, the McKnight Memory and Cognitive Disorders Award assists scientists working to apply the knowledge achieved through basic research to human brain disorders that affect memory or cognition.

Use of Award Funds

We are interested in proposals that address memory or cognition under normal and pathological conditions. This includes proposals that address mechanisms of memory or cognition at the synaptic, cellular, or behavioral level in animals, including humans. We are particularly interested in proposals that incorporate fundamentally new approaches, as well as those that involve human experimentation. Collaborative and cross-disciplinary applications are encouraged.

Projects restricted to the creation of conventional mouse knockouts in candidate disease genes identified by association studies, or to broadly overexpress those genes, are discouraged. In addition, projects to perform genetic interaction screens on disease genes in model organisms (yeast, worm, fly, fish) will not be considered, unless the project includes substantive specific aims that investigate the disease relevance of any new genes so discovered in human or mammalian model systems.

Eligibility

Investigators who are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents conducting research at institutions within the United States are invited to apply. All PIs on the project must be U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status at the time of submission. Applicants must be in tenured or tenure-track faculty positions; research faculty in annually renewable positions are ineligible. Applicants may not be employees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute or scientists within the intramural program of the National Institutes of Health. Applicants may not hold another McKnight Award that would overlap with the Memory and Cognitive Disorders Award. We are interested in geographic, gender, and racial diversity and we encourage women and minorities, as well as scientists from around the U.S., to apply. Funds may be used toward a variety of research activities, but not the recipient’s salary. The candidate’s other sources of funding will be considered when selecting awards.

Selection Process

For an application form, please visit our website at www.neuroscience.mcknight.org, or email or call the office of The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience (info@mcknight.org; 612-333-4220). The deadline for submission is March 24, 2014. In mid June, the selection committee will invite a small number of applicants to submit more detailed proposals, which will be due October 6, 2014. Funding begins February 1, 2015. Please email ONE PDF file and include the application form, the 2-page project description, and a 4-page NIH bio sketch to: neuro@mcknight.org (references may be outside the 2-page limit, but may be no more than two pages). Please do not include a budget. If you do not receive email confirmation of receipt of your LOI within 5 business days, please contact Eileen Maler at 612-333-4220 or emaler@mcknight.org.

The Endowment Fund will fund up to four awards, each providing $100,000 per year for three years.

 

Selection Committee

Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D. (Chair)

Robert Edwards, M.D. * Howard Eichenbaum, Ph.D. * Helen Mayberg, M.D.

 Robert Malenka, M.D., Ph.D., * Richard O’Brien, M.D., Ph.D. * Steve Petersen, Ph.D.

 Matthew Shapiro, Ph.D.

 

Leave a Reply

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.