Program Descriptions

1.     Investigator Program

Open to Faculty (UCB, UCSF, UW, Allen Institute)

The purpose of this program is to foster cross-institutional, interdisciplinary teams of researchers who create and test bold new concepts and employ innovative approaches to advance the diagnosis and treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Funding supports new team-science explorations of novel projects with transformational potential. This program is open to teams of investigators from UCSF, UC Berkeley, UW, and the Allen Institute. Teams must feature members from at least three of the four Weill Neurohub Partner institutions. Investigators with primary affiliations at other institutions will not receive support through this award.

This program will fund up to $500k/year/team for two years (up to $1M total), with the possibility of one additional year. Budget should reflect direct costs only.

Note that awardees from Allen Institute will be funded separately by Allen Institute, and their portion of the proposed project should align with Allen Institute’s scientific goals

A brief annual progress report is required for continuation of the project. Reports will be collected as part of an annual overall program report.

2.     Next Great Ideas Award

Open to Faculty (UCB, UCSF, UW, Allen Institute)

This program supports high-risk, high-reward research projects in neuroscience, neuroengineering, psychiatry, and neurology, with an emphasis on proposals that require cross-campus collaboration to succeed. Funding is open to interdisciplinary teams of two or more researchers from UC Berkeley, UCSF, UW, and the Allen Institute. Teams must feature cross-institutional collaborations, representing at least two of the four Weill Neurohub Partner Institutions.

This program will provide $250k/team, with funding expendable over a duration of up to two years. Expenditure of the one-time $250K award is flexible over the two-year period. Budget should reflect direct costs only.

Note that awardees from Allen Institute will be funded separately by Allen Institute, and their portion of the proposed project should align with Allen Institute’s scientific goals.

A brief annual progress report is required for continuation of the project. Reports will be collected as part of an annual overall program report.

3.     Fellowship Award

Open to Postdoctoral Fellows (UCB, UCSF, UW) and Allen Institute Sci I researchers

The Weill Neurohub Fellows Program seeks to advance the next generation of innovators and help launch their careers as independent researchers. Fellows are provided funding with which to train with experts on the UC Berkeley, UCSF, and UW campuses. Fellows will interact regularly and will become key members of a collaborative and growth-focused research environment across the Weill Neurohub Partner institutions, and will have the opportunity to receive mentorship from more than one institution and to interact with Weill Neurohub partner organizations where research interests align.

This program will provide $75,000/ year for two years in salary support for university-based postdoctoral fellows. Allen-based researchers will be supported via Allen funds. A brief annual progress report is required for continuation of the support.

4.    Visiting Scientist Program (Allen Institute < > University) *NEW*

Open to Postdoctoral Fellows and Faculty (UCB, UCSF, UW, Allen Institute).

This program enables extended research visits (residencies) for Weill Neurohub university researchers at the Allen Institute, as well as Allen Institute researchers at UCB, UCSF, and the University of Washington. (The program does not support Visiting Scientists from one university to another.)

The Visiting Scientist Program will enable researchers to rapidly develop new directions for their collaborative research and will help to build scientific and cultural ties across the collaborators’ shared communities. The Visiting Scientist residencies are of flexible duration (2 weeks to 6 months). Applications should be jointly prepared by the prospective Visiting Scientist and the prospective Host. The Host applicant must be full-time faculty (universities) or an Allen Investigator.  

This program will provide support for travel and lodging, details of which will be determined as part of the award administration.

Timeline

Key Dates

Program announcement:                   March 5, 2025

Info Sessions held:                             March 24, April 22 & May 14, 2025

Proposal submission deadline:      May 28, 2025

Review period:                                   June-July 2025

 Award announcements:                     August 2025 

 Anticipated start date:                       September 1, 2025

Info Sessions

Weill Neurohub leadership will hold info sessions via Zoom that are open to all prospective applicants. These sessions will provide an opportunity for Q&A about the RFPs and opportunity to informally explore ideas and form collaborations.

March 24 from 4-5pm:

https://ucsf.zoom.us/j/99247599695?pwd=wjIOnwS3ahOKtsPoc69pNTnqtPmm1u.1

Meeting ID: 992 4759 9695

Password: 932170

April 22 from 4-5pm:

https://ucsf.zoom.us/j/95483882477?pwd=h6CCKgePtHDYucmH4jU8w4tNSrrJuD.1

Meeting ID: 954 8388 2477

Password: 240915

May 14, 4-5pm:

https://ucsf.zoom.us/j/92945211200?pwd=aHkE2eT1KBogi1t3WzHLCJ43SbbULc.1

Meeting ID: 929 4521 1200

Password: 333305

Review & Evaluation

Review and Evaluation

Applications will be reviewed and ranked according to the criteria below by a committee of researchers of appropriate expertise. The rankings will inform the selection of finalists, whose proposals will be discussed and considered by leaders drawn from across the four Neurohub Partner institutions, leading to the selection of awardees. 

1. Projects should address problems with high impact on human health;

2. Projects should employ an innovative neuroscience approach;

3. Projects should lead to and describe tangible benefit to patients, including the likelihood that the study will have an immediate impact, and a contribution to the broader community;

4. Projects should employ convergent neuroscience concepts; bridging different disciplines of enquiry is encouraged;

5. Projects should be relevant to the aims and research areas of Weill Neurohub, including fostering collaborations between neuroscientists and researchers working in an array of disciplines — e.g., engineering, computer sciences, physics, chemistry, and mathematics — and across institutions.

Proposal Instructions

General Instructions:

Please submit proposals in Arial 11 font, minimum 0.5 inch margins.

Be sure to provide a title for your proposal.

Investigator Program

Six pages total, not including cover page, references, and biosketches. Please include the following.

• Cover Page with:

  • name of award program

  • title of proposal

  • amount of funding requested

  • Principal Investigator name(s), academic titles, departments, phone numbers, and email addresses, with one PI designated as the contact PI.

• Lay summary

• Project Description: Includes specific aims, background and significance, uniqueness of project goals and timing, Weill Neurohub relevance, deliverables, success criteria, and a brief management plan. Figures must be included within this section and are included in the overall page limit.

• References (not part of page limit)

• Budget and Budget Justification (1-page limit) for first year. Funds may be used for only minimal faculty salary support (<5% of total budget). Include direct costs only. This program will fund up to $500K/year per team for two years, with the possibility of one additional year.

• Biosketches (not part of page limit): NIH-style biography for each PI, including current and pending funding sources (amount, title, short description).

 To Apply

Submit your proposal as a single PDF via email to stine.jewett@ucsf.edu no later than 5:00 pm PST, May 28, 2025. Any questions may be addressed to stine.jewett@ucsf.edu.

Next Great Ideas Award

Three pages total, not including cover page, references, and biosketches. Please include the following.

• Cover Page with:

  • name of award program

  • title of proposal

  • amount of funding requested

  • Principal Investigator name(s), academic titles, departments, phone numbers, and email addresses, with one PI designated as the contact PI.

• Lay summary

• Project Description: Includes specific aims, background and significance, uniqueness of project goals and timing, Weill Neurohub relevance, deliverables, success criteria, and a brief management plan. Figures must be included within this section and are included in the overall page limit.

• References (not part of page limit)

• Budget and Budget Justification (1-page limit) for first year. Funds may be used for only minimal faculty salary support (< 5% of total budget). Include direct costs only. This program will fund up to $250K per project, with a single tranche of funding expendable over a duration of up to two years.

• Biosketches (not part of page limit): NIH-style biography for each PI, including current and pending funding sources (amount, title, short description).      

To Apply

Submit your proposal as a single PDF via email to stine.jewett@ucsf.edu no later than 5:00 pm PST, May 28, 2025. Any questions may be addressed to stine.jewett@ucsf.edu.

Fellowship Award

Applicants should submit a proposal comprising the following documents:

• CV

• Personal statement (1-page maximum)

• Proposed research project (3-page narrative describing the proposed research, its significance and potential impact, the unique advantage of Neurohub for the work, and a plan for mentoring and collaboration); a title must be included

• Contact information for two references aside from the proposed faculty advisor

• A statement of support for the candidate’s application from the faculty advisor describing how they will support and mentor the fellow, and how the fellow’s proposed project fits into their research portfolio (including a list of other sources of current and pending funding for their lab), and why the candidate is a strong candidate for support. If the fellow will be dually mentored, both mentors must provide a statement.                                                     

To Apply

Submit your proposal as a single PDF via email to stine.jewett@ucsf.edu no later than 5:00 pm PST, May 28, 2025. Any questions may be addressed to stine.jewett@ucsf.edu.

Visiting Scientist Award

Three pages total, not including cover page, references, and biosketches. Please include the following.

• Cover Page with:

  • name of award program

  • title of proposal

  • duration of visiting scientist residency & number of round-trip flightsVisiting Scientist and Host name(s) (and name of Visiting Scientist’s mentor(s), if a postdoctoral fellow), and academic titles, departments, phone numbers, and email addresses, with one PI designated as the contact PI.

• Lay summary

• Project Description: Includes specific aims, background and significance, uniqueness of project goals and timing, Weill Neurohub relevance, deliverables, success criteria, and a brief management plan. Figures must be included within this section and are included in the overall page limit.

• References (not part of page limit)

• Biosketches (not part of page limit): NIH-style biography for each participant, including current and pending funding sources (amount, title, short description).       

To Apply

Submit your proposal as a single PDF via email to stine.jewett@ucsf.edu no later than 5:00 pm PST, May 28, 2025. Any questions may be addressed to stine.jewett@ucsf.edu.