Funding Opportunities
Now accepting applications. Deadline: November 3, 2025, 5:00 PM Eastern time
The purpose of the Zimmerman Innovation Awards in Brain Science is to launch innovative projects that have great potential to advance science and benefit society in enduring ways. Projects that are too risky and early stage to be appropriate for NIH or similar funding mechanisms are strongly favored.
The Zimmerman Innovation Awards in Brain Science are intended to catalyze progress on a project with a clear long-term intellectual arc with substantial and lasting impact. A primary goal of the program is to launch new projects that will continue at Brown beyond the term of the innovation award.
Federal funding for research is undergoing significant actual and potential changes, including shifting priorities, reductions in agency budgets, reduced funding paylines, and reductions in federal reimbursement for the actual cost of doing science. We encourage proposals that leverage collective expertise and create tools and resources that help our community remain productive and competitive for funding; for instance, collaborative teams that develop new methods/technologies, generate novel datasets, or develop computational approaches to analyze large data. Proposals that include clear plans for data sharing and support for adoption by theBrown research community are especially encouraged.
The Carney Institute will invest up to $100,000 per project for one year. Supplements for junior investigator-led projects are available. Active Innovation Awards may submit proposals for a second year of funding; however, new projects will be prioritized. Renewal requests must provide evidence of progress and a strong r tionale for additional funding.
All areas of brain science research will be considered. In addition, a pool of funds is available to specifically support projects addressing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
ADRD proposals are submitted through the same application process and will be reviewed as a separate pool of applications. The Zimmerman Innovation Awards in Brain Science are open to all Brown faculty members conducting brain science research at Brown University or its affiliated hospitals. Principal Investigators (PI) must hold a faculty appointment (assistant, associate, or full professor rank) by the anticipated start date of the award. Collaborative interdisciplinary projects with more than one P.I. are encouraged but not required.
Zimmerman Innovation Awards are funded by:
| Brain Science Pool: ● Brown Institute for Brain Science Innovation Awards ● Richard Bookman Innovation Awards in Brain Science ● Catalyst Fund for Innovation | ADRD Pool: ● Innovation Fund for Alzheimer's Disease and Neurodegeneration ● Stanley and Josephine Chen Research Innovation Fund |
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LINKS:
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
REVIEWER INFO – INTERNAL*
REVIEWER INFO – EXTERNAL*
*Reviewer information will be posted shortly.