(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.
END
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
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Advanced AI tool detects tiny brain lesions in children with epilepsy
2025-09-30
An advanced AI tool can detect tiny brain lesions that cause severe epilepsy in children, allowing faster diagnosis, more precise treatment and a potential cure, according to a new study.
Developed by a team at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), the ‘AI epilepsy detective’ can find lesions (focal cortical dysplasias) the size of a blueberry, in up to 94 per cent of cases with the support of medical imaging.
MCRI’s Dr Emma Macdonald-Laurs, a RCH neurologist, who led the team that created the detector, said more accurate diagnosis of cortical dysplasia ...
Study finds altering one area of the brain could rid alcohol withdrawal symptoms
2025-09-30
By targeting a specific area of the brain, researchers at Washington State University may now hold the key to curbing the debilitating symptoms of alcohol withdrawal that push many people back to drinking.
The new study found the answer to helping people get through alcohol withdrawal may lie in a region of the brain known as the cerebellum. In mice experiencing withdrawal, scientists were able to ease the physical and emotional symptoms by altering brain function in this brain region using both genetic tools and a specialized compound. The findings, published in the journal Neuropharmacology, could help pave the way for targeted therapies that make recovery more manageable.
“Our ...
Firstborn behavioral problems impact sibling relationships
2025-09-30
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, September 30, 2025 – A new study from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) sheds light on how a firstborn child's behavior after the arrival of a sibling can predict the quality of their sibling relationship over time. The research, published in Social Development (https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.70008), highlights the crucial role of maternal reflective functioning in mitigating negative outcomes, particularly for children exhibiting internalizing behavioral problems.
The study, co-authored by Prof. Naama Atzaba-Poria and Dr. Porat Yakov from BGU's Department ...
Study first to show if nesting heat affects sea turtle hatchling ‘IQ’
2025-09-30
As sand temperatures continue to rise, concerns about the future of sea turtles are growing. Hotter nests not only skew sex ratios – producing more females – but also reduce hatchling survival, slow growth, and increase the likelihood of physical deformities. Yet one important and often overlooked question remains: does this heat also affect cognitive ability – how well hatchlings can learn, adapt and respond to the rapidly changing world they face from the moment they emerge?
A new study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of ...
Craig Newmark Philanthropies awards grant to CIAS Community Cybersecurity Clinic
2025-09-30
The Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at The University of Texas at San Antonio has received a $100,000 grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to support a pioneering program that provides low- and no-cost cybersecurity services to organizations in need while cultivating hands-on workforce development opportunities for UT San Antonio students.
CIAS Community Cybersecurity Clinic (C4) strengthens community safety and resilience by offering organizations cybersecurity services, such as training, reputation ...
ESA's Gaia telescope discovers our galaxy’s great wave
2025-09-30
Our Milky Way galaxy never sits still: it rotates and wobbles. And now, data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope reveal that our galaxy also has a giant wave rippling outwards from its centre.
We’ve known for about a hundred years that the galaxy’s stars rotate around its centre, and Gaia has measured their speeds and motions. Since the 1950s, we've known that the Milky Way's disc is warped. Then in 2020 Gaia discovered that this disc wobbles over time, similarly to the motion of a spinning top.
And now it has become clear that a great wave ...
Binghamton University named one of the nation’s best colleges by US News & World Report
2025-09-30
Binghamton University has been named one of the nation’s best universities and best values in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings, recognized for its strong academic quality and affordability.
The newly released list by U.S. News & World Report places Binghamton University as the #35 best college in the nation for value, up three spots from the 2025 list, and well above the 2024 list, when Binghamton was ranked #85 in that category.
Looking at public universities specifically, Binghamton was ranked the #3 best value institution in the nation and the #1 best value ...
Machine learning sharpens earthquake risk assessment maps for Tokyo
2025-09-30
Tokyo, one of the world’s most densely populated megacities, sits on a highly active seismic zone where the threat of major earthquakes is ever-present. One of the most destructive aspects of seismic events in Tokyo is a geological phenomenon known as soil liquefaction. This occurs when the intense shaking from an earthquake causes saturated, loosely packed soil to temporarily lose its strength and stiffness, essentially causing the ground to behave like a liquid. The devastating effects of soil liquefaction have been documented many times, such as in the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and the recent 2024 Noto Peninsula ...
Pediatric investigation study links dietary preferences to childhood asthma in Shanghai
2025-09-30
Childhood asthma, a chronic inflammatory condition affecting millions worldwide, may be shaped not only by genetics and environment but also by what children prefer to eat. A new study published on 4 September 2025 in Pediatric Investigation has found that dietary preferences for pickled, smoked, and fried foods are linked to an elevated risk of asthma among first-grade children in Shanghai.
Researchers surveyed 8,412 children aged about 6.6 years across 42 public schools in Minhang District, Shanghai. ...
Uncovering EUDAL – An RNA that shields oral cancer from drug therapy
2025-09-30
Oral cancer is one of the most common head and neck cancers worldwide, with hundreds of thousands of new cases diagnosed every year. Despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, survival rates remain poor. One of the main challenges is that tumors quickly adapt and develop resistance to drugs that previously controlled them.
A key factor behind this resistance is hypoxia—or the shortage of oxygen that develops inside tumors as they grow. Hypoxia not only promotes aggressive cancer behavior but also makes treatments less effective. Scientists have long suspected that hypoxia interacts with critical growth pathways in cancer cells, but ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Pandemic ‘beneath the surface’ has been quietly wiping out sea urchins around the world
Tea linked to stronger bones in older women, while coffee may pose risks
School feeding programs lead to modest but meaningful results
Researchers develop AI Tool to identify undiagnosed Alzheimer's cases while reducing disparities
Seaweed based carbon catalyst offers metal free solution for removing antibiotics from water
Simple organic additive supercharges UV treatment of “forever chemical” PFOA
£13m NHS bill for ‘mismanagement’ of menstrual bleeds
The Lancet Psychiatry: Slow tapering plus therapy most effective strategy for stopping antidepressants, finds major meta-analysis
Body image issues in adolescence linked to depression in adulthood
Child sexual exploitation and abuse online surges amid rapid tech change; new tool for preventing abuse unveiled for path forward
Dragon-slaying saints performed green-fingered medieval miracles, new study reveals
New research identifies shared genetic factors between addiction and educational attainment
Epilepsy can lead to earlier deaths in people with intellectual disabilities, study shows
Global study suggests the underlying problems of ECT patients are often ignored
Mapping ‘dark’ regions of the genome illuminates how cells respond to their environment
ECOG-ACRIN and Caris Life Sciences unveil first findings from a multi-year collaboration to advance AI-powered multimodal tools for breast cancer recurrence risk stratification
Satellite data helps UNM researchers map massive rupture of 2025 Myanmar earthquake
Twisting Spins: Florida State University researchers explore chemical boundaries to create new magnetic material
Mayo Clinic researchers find new hope for toughest myeloma through off-the-shelf immunotherapy
Cell-free DNA Could Detect Adverse Events from Immunotherapy
American College of Cardiology announces Fuster Prevention Forum
AAN issues new guideline for the management of functional seizures
Could GLP-1 drugs affect risk of epilepsy for people with diabetes?
New circoviruses discovered in pilot whales and orcas from the North Atlantic
Study finds increase in risk of binge drinking among 12th graders who use 2 or more cannabis products
New paper-based technology could transform cancer drug testing
Opioids: clarifying the concept of safe supply to save lives
New species of tiny pumpkin toadlet discovered in Brazil highlights need for conservation in the mountain forests of Serra do Quiriri
Reciprocity matters--people were more supportive of climate policies in their country if they believed other countries were making significant efforts themselves
Stanford Medicine study shows why mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines can cause myocarditis
[Press-News.org] 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