Brain & Behavior Research Foundation awards 165 Young Investigator Grants to advance mental health research

$11.4 million in two-year awards—selected from 895 applications—will fuel early-career breakthroughs in depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, and more

2025-09-30

(Press-News.org) The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) today announced the 2025 class of 165 Young Investigator grantees, providing $11.4 million in two-year seed funding to early-career scientists pursuing innovative basic, translational, and clinical studies in brain and behavior disorders. This represents a 10% increase in the number of grants, to enhance our support for young scientists. Grantees were selected from 895 applications by BBRF’s Scientific Council, a volunteer body of 194 leading experts across psychiatry and neuroscience.

“BBRF Young Investigators represent a new generation of researchers who will pioneer breakthroughs in mental health research. They are at the cutting edge of progress in brain and psychiatric research,” said Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. “We are proud to be able to support the work of these young scientists who will apply powerful new technologies and insights to understanding, treating, and curing mental illness.”

Meeting urgent needs across illnesses

This year’s awards address a wide spectrum of mental illnesses. More than half (55%) are relevant to depression or schizophrenia, with others spanning anxiety disorders, addiction and substance use, PTSD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, OCD, and suicide prevention. Notably, a dozen projects will employ induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, pioneered in part by earlier BBRF grantees, to study how illness-related pathologies first emerge in the brain.

Research mix and global reach

The 2025 Young Investigator class reflects the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s unique role in seeding breakthrough ideas:

76% of grants support basic research—the wellspring of future progress 21% fund next-generation therapies 14% advance diagnostic tools and early interventions 3% focus on new technologies Grantees represent a global community, with 82% based in the U.S. and 18% across 13 other countries.

“These early-career scientists are pushing the boundaries of basic and clinical research to develop earlier prediction and prevention strategies and next-generation treatments,” said Judith M. Ford, Ph.D., President of BBRF’s Scientific Council and Co-Chair of the Young Investigator Grant Selection Committee.

A full list and summaries of the 2025 Young Investigator projects—spanning addiction, ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, brain biology, childhood & adolescence, depression, eating disorders, OCD, prenatal brain development, psychosis, schizophrenia, and suicide prevention—are available in BBRF’s 2025 Young Investigator Grants booklet.

About the 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 $475 million to fund more than 5,700 leading scientists around the world. 100% of every dollar donated for research is invested directly in research grants. BBRF operating expenses are covered by separate foundation grants. BBRF is also 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.

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