In 2025, the聽聽awarded Distinguished Investigator Grants valued at $1 million to 10 senior-level scientists who are conducting groundbreaking research in neurobiological and behavioral science. Recipients of the $100,000, one-year grants are exploring critical areas of mental health, including opioid use disorder, depression in pregnant women, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the effects of psychedelics on perception and consciousness.
Recipients of the Distinguished Investigator Grants are full professors at research institutions in the United States and abroad. They were selected by a committee of the BBRF Scientific Council, which is comprised of 192 experts across disciplines in brain and behavior research who review grant applications and recommend the most promising ideas to fund.
The Recipients of the 2025 Distinguished Investigator Grants are as follows:
E. S. Anton, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will investigate signaling molecules and processes (the 鈥渟ignalome鈥�) engaged when the primary cilium of neurons is activated, including how it might be harnessed in the service of neural circuit modulation and correction. The hope is to establish how deregulated primary cilia signaling interferes with neural circuit dynamics and contributes to circuit malfunction.
Flavio Frohlich, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will develop and test a novel non-invasive neurostimulation approach (aperiodic tACS) designed to rapidly reduce depression symptoms in women who are pregnant. tACS, or transcranial alternating current stimulation, has been shown to be safe and effective in major depressive disorder in several pilot trials.