The Pershing Square Foundation’s (PSF) brain initiative funds cutting-edge research that revolutionizes our ability to predict, prevent, and treat neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). Advancing our fundamental understanding of the brain and cognition to ultimately combat neurodegeneration and related diseases is a goal of increasing urgency. Breakthroughs in basic scientific and translational research will yield critical tools for and knowledge of NDDs, including Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia, which affect millions of people worldwide.
The MIND (Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery) Prize supports and empowers early-to-mid-career investigators to rethink conventional paradigms around NDDs. Modeled after the Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research, the MIND Prize catalyzes interdisciplinary approaches and facilitates collaborations across academic departments and institutions. It fuels the groundbreaking research that will accelerate our understanding of NDDs at every level.
Projects may range from the invention of novel tools, techniques, and technologies for mapping and analyzing the brain to bold approaches that demonstrate extraordinary therapeutic potential. Research domains may include—but are not limited to—neurobiology, brain imaging and mapping, machine learning, drug delivery, and synthetic biology.
MIND Prize winners will each receive $250,000/year for three years, and they become part of a unique network of researchers associated with PSF. Generally five to seven prizes will be awarded annually.
The deadline to submit a Letter of Intent is Monday, November 13th, 2023.
An MD, PhD, or MD-PhD degree (or equivalent) is required. Applicants must have completed at least one (1) but no more than ten years of independent research experience as a tenure-track faculty member by the start date of the Prize (May 2024). Principal Investigators (PIs) must hold faculty appointments at academic research institutions in the United States of America. Multiple applicants from the same institution may apply as long as eligibility criteria are met. An applicant, who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, by submitting an application for this funding, assures that his/her visa status will provide sufficient time to complete the project and grant term within the United States. Investigators need not be specifically trained in neuroscience; however, they should have access to an environment capable of conducting high-quality, high-impact research related to the understanding of the human brain and/or cognition, with a lens on Alzheimer's Disease and Dementias. The Pershing Square Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
MIND Prize winners will each receive $250,000/year for three years, and they become part of a unique network of researchers associated with PSF. Generally five to seven prizes will be awarded annually.
