The UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, established by the extraordinary generosity of Joan and Sanford I. Weill, brings together world-class researchers with top-ranked physicians to solve some of the most complex challenges in the human brain.
The UCSF Weill Institute leverages UCSF’s unrivaled bench-to-bedside excellence in the neurosciences. It unites three UCSF departments - Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurological Surgery - that are highly esteemed for both patient care and research as well as the Neuroscience Graduate Program, a cross-disciplinary alliance of nearly 100 UCSF faculty members from 15 basic-science departments, which awards doctoral degrees in a variety of research areas. Also included is the UCSF Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, a multidisciplinary research center focused on finding effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders. By integrating these areas, UCSF strengthens an already stellar record across the neurosciences.
The Institute’s Program in Neuroscience Innovation seeks to fuel innovation in neuroscience by fostering high risk, high impact, clinical/translational research through funding of highly meritorious research projects and supporting high-potential neuroscience researchers, both enabling investigators to pursue ideas that might not be easily fundable by other mechanisms.
The target for this program is clinical and translational research focused on a broad spectrum of neuroscience challenges, including therapeutics, diagnostics, imaging technology, biomarker discovery/validation, and computational methods. We seek to support creative research projects that are focused on improved patient outcomes, especially those that employ concepts of convergent neuroscience research, crossing levels of analysis from genomics and imaging to behavior and implementation, and considering the dimension of time.
Funding has been generously provided by Joan and Sanford I. Weill to drive innovative and collaborative efforts across disciplines focused on neuroscience challenges. For 2016 and 2017, the Neurosciences Innovation Award will fund up to 3 research awards at up to $600,000 (total budget) for up to 3 years and the Neurosciences Scholar Award will provide up to $100,000 for up to 6 investigators for 1 year (carryforward allowed).