Brain Research Foundation Announces 10 Neuroscience Researchers Are Fay/Frank Seed Grant Winners

May 17, 2012 - PRLog -- BRAIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 10 NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCHERS ARE 2012 FAY/FRANK SEED GRANT WINNERS

$40,000 grants designed to advance critical research to next funding milestone
   
CHICAGO, IL – (May 17, 2012) The Brain Research Foundation (BRF) today announced
that ten recipients will receive 2012 Fay/Frank Seed Grants. Established to help innovative neuroscience researchers gather the data required to validate their hypotheses, the BRF Seed Grants are a critical first step in groundbreaking discoveries into neurological disorders. By enabling these scientists to generate the preliminary data needed to validate additional major grants, the Foundation estimates that its investment has led to more than ten times amount that in additional funding for grantees.  “We play a unique role by awarding grants to promising, underfunded research,” states Terre Constantine, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Foundation. “Without BRF support, critical research would be delayed or would never get underway.”
The researchers’ proposals were reviewed by the Brain Research Foundation’s Scientific Review Committee, prominent neuroscientists who evaluate each grant to determine the most promising new research projects in the field. Selected from a large pool of applicants are those projects expected to lead to extramural funding from outside funding sources such as the National Institutes of Health. “These studies provide new scientific knowledge to researchers worldwide,” Constantine added. “This is where tomorrow’s breakthroughs in unraveling the mysteries of brain disorders begin.”
This year’s grant recipients will explore diverse areas of neuroscience that may one day have direct impact on our understanding and treatment of numerous neurologic disorders such as depression, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorders, traumatic brain injuries and others.  
2012 Seed Grant Winners
•   Dane Chetkovich, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Neurology, Northwestern University
•   David Freedman, Ph.D., Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago
•   Yong-Chao Ma, Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University/Children’s Hospital Research Center
•   Adnella Matic, Ph.D., Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University
•   Leslie Osborne, Ph.D., Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago
•   Raphael Pinaud, Ph.D., Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University
•   Murali Prakriya, Ph.D., Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, Northwestern University
•   Mitchell Roitman, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago
•   Geoffrey Swanson, Ph.D., Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, Northwestern University
•   Kuei Tseng, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Rosalind Franklin University
Since 1981, BRF has awarded $9.6 million to researchers.
   About the Brain Research Foundation
The Brain Research Foundation supports cutting-edge neuroscience research that will lead to novel treatments and prevention of all neurological diseases in children and adults. We deliver this commitment through research grants, which provide initial funding for innovative projects, as well as educational programs for researchers and the general public.

For more information, please visit our website http://www.theBRF.org. You can friend us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/brainresearchfoundation and follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/theBRF