2024 BBRF Distinguished Investigator (DI) Grant

Eligibility

• Applicants must be a full professor (or equivalent), and maintain peer reviewed competitively funded scientific programs.
• Applicants may not receive the award for a second time.
• Applications must be completed and submitted online by the deadline listed below. Late submissions will not be accepted.
• Requests for further information will be made to selected investigators.

Summary

The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation is the world’s largest private funder of mental health research grants. BBRF awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness. The Foundation’s Distinguished Investigator Grant Program offers up to $100,000 for a one-year period and is intended for established scientists who maintain peer reviewed competitively funded scientific programs. Extensions to the grant will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

BBRF funds the most innovative ideas in neuroscience and psychiatry to better understand the causes and develop new ways to effectively treat brain and behavior disorders. These illnesses include addiction, ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, schizophrenia, as well as research in suicide prevention. BBRF’s Distinguished Investigator Grant program supports basic and/or clinical investigators and is designed to stimulate the development of key personnel and resources, to facilitate the rapid initiation of research in innovative areas, and to enable investigators to create unique scientific opportunities.

Trans-diagnostic designs involving several disorders are welcome. Some disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are supported by BBRF but only if primary psychiatric disorders listed above are included in the research design and the proposal emphasizes the work’s impact on our understanding of brain and behavior disorders.

Overhead

8% of direct costs (excluding equipment).

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via RMS in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Additional Resources

Face Sheet

2024 DI Grant application guidelines 

Application Portal

Complete list of Scientific Council Members