BRF Seed Grants Lead to New Funding For Critical Neuroscience Research
The Brain Research Foundation (BRF) announced today that two of its Seed Grant recipients — David J.Freedman, Ph.D. of the University of Chicago and Dane M. Chetkovich, M.D., Ph.D. of Northwestern University — have segued their work into new and greater funding for additional research that may help unravel some of the many mysteries of the brain.
A BRF Seed Grant enabled Dr. Freedman to study the way the brain learns, stores, recognizes and recalls the meaning of sensory experiences, and provided him with the data required to earn a five-year $950,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. His work will one day help science understand disorders such as learning disabilities, dyslexia and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “As a junior faculty member, the BRF Seed Grant has been critical in allowing me to establish my lab,” said Dr Freedman. “Because of this grant, I’ve been able to gather preliminary data that has led to the National Science Foundation grant.”
A separate BRF Seed Grant funded Dr. Chetkovich's work toward understanding the abnormal brain activity that leads to seizures, and engineering genetic viruses that may be able to stop these seizures. His BRF Seed Grant has led to both additional BRF funding as well as an exploratory/developmental research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Chetkovich's gene therapy treatment for epilepsy may one day help patients who are otherwise resistant to medical and surgical therapies. “The ideas we’re exploring in our lab are cutting edge and novel. The Seed Grant from BRF has allowed us to test the viability of our approach,” said Dr. Chetkovich.
"The successes of Drs. Freedman and Chetkovich underline the critical importance of the Seed Grant Program," said Dr. Terre Sharma, Executive Director of the Brain Research Foundation. "Our funding enables promising scientific study at a critical exploratory state and allows researchers to produce the data and work they need to secure larger grants." BRF issues approximately 15 grants each year to support neuroscientists’ early stage work.
About the Brain Research Foundation
The Brain Research Foundation funds innovative neuroscience research that expands understanding of how the brain works, and provides educational programs for researchers, families struggling with debilitating brain disorders and the general public. The Foundation plays a critical role in the scientific process by funding seed grants that are the starting blocks to discovery, allowing scientists to prove the feasibility of their projects and produce data that will make them eligible for larger government and institutional funds.
About the Brain Research Foundation Seed Grants
The Brain Research Foundation began awarding Seed Grants in 1981. Since that time, 571 grants have been awarded totaling more than $8.5 million. Grants are awarded after review by the BRF Scientific Review Committee. Members of the Scientific Review Committee are based at leading neuroscience research institutions across the country.