NARSAD Grants

NARSAD Grants are awarded to researchers by the Scientific Council of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. The council comprises a group of 138 volunteer mental health professionals considered leaders in their fields. NARSAD is an acronym for National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the former name of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. The mission of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is to alleviate the suffering caused by mental illness by awarding grants that will lead to advances and breakthroughs in scientific research.

The first NARSAD Grant was awarded in 1987 and since then more than 4,000 grants have been awarded totaling nearly $300 million. The Scientific Council is still led by its founding president, Herbert Pardes, M.D., Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

NARSAD Grants are given in four research priority areas:

In addition to the above four research areas, grants are awarded to researchers in three different stages of their careers. NARSAD Young Investigator Grants are up to $35,000 per year for one or two years and are given to advanced post-doctoral or assistant professor or equivalent-level scientists. NARSAD Independent Investigator Grants are up to $50,000 per year for two years for scientists at the associate professor or equivalent level. Finally, NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants are up to $100,000 for one year for scientists at the full professor or equivalent level.

Prizes are awarded by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation twice annually. In the summer, The Klerman Prize for Exceptional Clinical Research and The Freedman Prize for Exceptional Basic Research ($1,000 each) are given to NARSAD Young Investigator Grantees.

In the fall, five prizes are awarded for lifetime achievement to distinguished researchers:

The following are the latest NARSAD Grant statistics as of February 2013 according to the Foundation website:

Total given since 1987 (26th year of grant giving): $289,322,696.27
Total number of grantees: 3,319
Total number of grants given: 4,278
Total number of institutions: 434
Total number of countries (other than the U.S.): 32

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