New York, March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) today announced it is awarding Distinguished Investigator Grants totaling $1 million to 10 senior-level scientists conducting groundbreaking research in neurobiological and behavioral science. These $100,000, one-year grants support projects 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. The awards are made possible by the WoodNext Foundation. This is year two of their overall grant commitment of $5 million over 5 years to support the BBRF Distinguished Investigator Grants program.
“Mental illnesses affect millions of individuals and families, yet there is still so much to learn about the underlying biology and potential treatments,” said Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. “By supporting bold, high-risk research, our Distinguished Investigator Grants empower leading scientists to pursue innovative ideas that could pave the way for major breakthroughs in preventing, diagnosing, and treating psychiatric illnesses. We are deeply grateful to the WoodNext Foundation for their generous support, which makes it possible to fund these pioneering studies.”
“At WoodNext Foundation, we believe that bold, high-impact scientific research is essential to advancing our understanding of mental health and improving lives,” said Nancy Chan, Executive Director of the WoodNext Foundation, a component fund administered by Greater Houston Community Foundation. “We are honored to support BBRF’s Distinguished Investigator Grants, which empower leading researchers to push the boundaries of knowledge and develop innovative approaches to mental illness.”
Recipients of the Distinguished Investigator Grants are professors at research institutions in the U.S. and internationally. They were selected by a committee of the BBRF Scientific Council, comprising 192 leading experts in brain and behavior research, who review grant applications and recommend the most promising projects.
BBRF 2025 Distinguished Investigators
Eva S. Anton, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will investigate signaling molecules and processes (the “signalome”) 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.
Rita Goldstein, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, seeks to identify reliable behavioral markers of brain function that change with treatment and predict outcomes in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). The team will employ a naturalistic approach targeting spontaneous speech, which will serve as a behavioral marker of neural plasticity with treatment.
Marek Kubicki, M.D., Ph.D., Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Inc., focuses on matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), a protein involved in conveying pro-inflammatory molecules from the periphery into the brain via the blood-brain barrier. MMP-9 blood levels are elevated in all stages of schizophrenia, The team will employ PET scanning to test a recently developed MMP-9 brain marker called [18F] MMPi in 12 individuals.
Christopher J. Pittenger, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University, investigates rare, potentially causal mutations in OCD. The team recently identified the first such mutation, in a gene called Scube1. Recapitulating this mutation in a mouse leads to repetitive behaviors and cognitive inflexibility. This project will further characterize the model, seeking insights into consequences of the mutation that can then be investigated in patients.
Sagiv Shifman, Ph.D., The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, hypothesizes that a brain “protection factor” provides resistance for neurodevelopmental disorders in females, and aims to identify its neurobiological origin. The team will use mouse models of autism spectrum disorder that show social behavior problems in males. They will also use a mouse model to assess how sex chromosomes and sex hormones affect gene activity in the brain and determine what factors contribute to the protective effect in female mice.
Doris Tsao, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, aims to uncover neural mechanisms behind the effects of psychedelics on perception and consciousness. She will study these effects using macaque monkeys. By comparing how the brain represents expectations in facial perception with and without the influence of psychedelics, she hopes to be able to observe how these substances alter perception at the neural level.
Jared W. Young, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, seeks to develop therapeutics to address cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder patients. The team will target presynaptic mechanisms related to very high dopamine levels (hyperdopamienrgia), specifically, the trace amine associated receptor-1 (TAAR1), which can catabolize dopamine at the presynaptic level. The receptor will be specifically targeted (with an agonist) in the mouse anterior cingulate cortex, on the hypothesis that it will remediate ACC hyperdopaminergia in the mice.
Venetia Zachariou, Ph.D., Boston University, aims to understand the neurochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of opioids, in order to make interventions that promote analgesia while minimizing the risk of addiction. This project identify seeks to identify novel G protein signaling cascades that control gene expression maladaptation associated with undesired action of opioids and risk for the development of substance use disorders.
Stanislav S. Zakharenko, M.D., Ph.D., St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will elucidate cellular manifestations of auditory hallucinations in mouse models of the two strongest genetic predictors of schizophrenia, 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome (22q11DS) and 3q29 microdeletion syndrome (3q29DS). He proceeds from the team’s identification of abnormal sound-associated neuronal ensembles that appear during periods of silence (SNEADS) in the auditory cortex, investigating the possibility that SNEADS might be a pathogenic event that is a cellular correlate of auditory hallucinations.
About Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness. These illnesses include addiction, ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, and schizophrenia, as well as research on suicide prevention. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $462 million to fund more than 5,600 leading scientists around the world. 100% of every dollar donated for research is invested in research. BBRF operating expenses are covered by separate foundation grants. BBRF is the producer of the Emmy® nominated public television series <>Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, which aims to remove the stigma of mental illness and demonstrate that with help, there is hope.
About WoodNext Foundation
The WoodNext Foundation manages the philanthropy of tech innovator and Roku CEO/founder, Anthony Wood, and his wife Susan. Their philanthropic efforts are guided by their overall mission to advance human progress and remove obstacles to a fulfilling life. The WoodNext Foundation makes grants and investments in a variety of areas, including scientific and biomedical research, mental health, homelessness, education, nature conservation, disaster recovery, and economic opportunity, with a focus on addressing root causes. WoodNext supports regional, national, and international efforts. For more information about the WoodNext Foundation, please visit:
Instagram: @WoodNext
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/woodnext/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/woodnext/
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Myrna Manners
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
(718) 986-7255
mmanners@mannersdotson.com