BRF Scientific Innovations Award | Office of Proposal Development

Brain Research Foundation Scientific Innovations Award (SIA)

New Requirement: All applications for this internal competition must be submitted via InfoReady. You can sign in using your Net-ID and your @stonybrook.edu email address. Please allow sufficient time to familiarize yourself with the portal prior to submitting your pre-application. Pre-application requirements are listed in the announcement below.

The Office for Research and Innovation invites applications for the Brain Research Foundation Scientific Innovations Award. The program provides funding for innovative science in both basic and clinical neuroscience. It is designed to support creative, exploratory, cutting edge research in well-established research laboratories, under the direction of established investigators. Stony Brook University can nominate ONE candidate for the 2026 funding cycle.

Please see below for details. If you are interested in applying, you must submit a pre-application via the BRF SAI Pre-Application Portal in InfoReady by Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 9 am. Pre-applications for internal review and selection must be uploaded to the portal as a single PDF document.

WHAT DOES IT FUND: Funding is to be directed at projects that may be too innovative and speculative for traditional funding sources but still have a high likelihood of producing important findings. This should be a unique project for senior investigators who are encouraged to stretch their imagination into areas that can substantially change an area of research. Studies should be related to either normal human brain development or specifically identified disease states, including molecular and clinical neuroscience as well as studies of neural, sensory, motor, cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning in health and disease. The proposed project must not be funded by other sources.

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS:

Candidates must be a full-time associate professor or full professor at SBU working in the area of studies of brain function in health and disease.
Current major NIH or other peer-reviewed funding is preferred, but evidence of such funding in the past three years is essential.
Scientists that have previously received a BRF Scientific Innovations Award may not receive the award for a second time until five years has elapsed since the beginning date of the prior award.

AWARD: $150,000 (direct costs) for a two year grant period.

SPONSOR DEADLINE: The LOI is due June 3, 2025. The full application (by invite only) is due September 23, 2025.

A complete pre-application should comprise of the following:

Brief summary of program project (3 pages max) including a closing paragraph that explains how this research will develop. References may be included on an additional page(s).
List of current grants, including abstracts, specific aims and indicate if there is any overlap.
NIH style Biosketch