ZI Friday Funding Monthly Digest: Spotlight on Early Career Faculty and Postdocs: McKnight, Klingenstein-Simons, and Leon Levy Awards

By
V. Zhuravleva and A. Uhimov
June 16, 2023
ZI Friday Funding Monthly Digest: Spotlight on Early Career Faculty and Postdocs June 16, 2023 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 


Pre-Award and Research Development

June 16, 2023 

News and Updates

Drs. Abdus-Saboor, El-Shamayleh, and Gadagkar win the prestigious McKnight Foundation Scholar Awards!


Dr. Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, Dr. Yasmine El-Shamayleh, and Dr. Vikram Gadagkar each received the selective McKnight Foundation Scholar Award for their exceptional research and commitment to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is the first time since the inception of the program in 1977 that three scientists from the same institute have been named in a single year.

Congratulations to our Klingenstein-Simons Neuroscience Fellows:

Drs. El-Shamayleh and Gadagkar!

In addition to the McKnight Foundation Scholar Award, Dr. Yasmine El-Shamayleh and Dr. Vikram Gadagkar each received the competitive Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience to study "Cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying visual shape perception" and "Courtship as a Window into the Neural Mechanisms of Performance Evaluation", respectively.

Congratulations to our Leon Levy Scholars:
Drs. Arzua, Berman, and Chai!


Three of our ZI postdocs, Thiago Arzua (Marlin Lab), Shai Berman (Shohamy Lab), and Cynthia Chai (Card Lab), are named members of the first cohort of the New York Academy of Sciences' Leon Levy Scholarships in Neuroscience.

Weekly Office Hours

Every Thursday, 2:00-3:00 pm:

Meet the team and ask any questions during office hours on Thursdays from 2:00 - 3:00 pm.

Click here to join the Zoom meeting. 

Schedule time to meet with the team

Congratulations to our recent award recipients!

May 20 - June 16, 2023

Postdoc Awards

Thiago Arzua: New York Academy of Sciences Leon Levy Scholarship in Neuroscience "How information about stressful events is encoded in the brain and how it can be passed through generations" (Marlin Lab)

Shai Berman: New York Academy of Sciences Leon Levy Scholarship in Neuroscience "How the body’s physiological states—particularly hunger— affect value-based decision making" (Shohamy Lab)

Cynthia Chai: New York Academy of Sciences Leon Levy Scholarship in Neuroscience "Identifying the neural circuit and genetic elements that undergo the strongest selective pressures to enhance survival through the study of escape responses in closely-related fly species" (Card Lab)

Early Career Investigator Awards

Ishmail Abdus-Saboor: McKnight Foundation Scholar Award ""Skin-Brain Axis for Rewarding Touch Behaviors"

Rudy Behnia: McKnight Foundation Matthew Pecot Fellowship Award to support undergraduate Gonzalo Alarcon

Yasmine El-Shamayleh: (1) McKnight Foundation Scholar Award "Cortical Circuits for Perceiving Visual Form"; (2) Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience "Cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying visual shape perception"

Vikram Gadagkar: (1) McKnight Foundation Scholar Award "Neural Mechanisms of Courtship and Monogamy"; (2) Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience "Courtship as a Window into the Neural Mechanisms of Performance Evaluation"

Established Investigator Awards

Vincent Ferrera: NIH/NIMH R01 "Implicit serial learning"

Wesley Grueber: NIH/NINDS R03 "Disentangling Self-Avoidance"

Upcoming funding opportunities

Team Grants


Want to write a huge grant? Come talk to us about planning and executing team grant applications. Schedule a meeting with our team here!


New/Highlighted Team Grant Opportunities

  1. BRAIN Initiative U19: Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - TeamBCP. Integrated, interdisciplinary research teams that focus on examining dynamic circuit functions related to behavior, using advanced and innovative technologies. September 15 2023, September 13 2024
  2. NINDS RM1: Collaborative Opportunities for Multidisciplinary, Bold, and Innovative Neuroscience (COMBINE). Integrated team effort from 3-6 PD/PIs who will each bring a distinct scientific viewpoint or expertise necessary to pursue the interdisciplinary approach. October 20 2023, October 8 2024
  3. BRAIN Initiative U01: Exploratory Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - eTeamBCP: Team effort from 3-6 PIs to enable a large-scale analysis of neural systems and circuits within the context and during the simultaneous measurement of an ethologically relevant behavior. June 14 2024

Established Investigators (view full list on our website)


New/Highlighted Funding Opportunities

  1. BRAIN Initiative R01: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects - TargetedBCP. June 30, October 4
  2. BRAIN Initiative R34: Targeted BRAIN Circuits Planning Projects – TargetedBCPP. June 30, October 4
  3. BRAIN Initiative U01: Optimization of Instrumentation and Device Technologies for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System. To optimize instrumentation and device technologies for recording and modulation of neural cells and circuits, to address major challenges and to enable transformative understanding of dynamic signaling in the central nervous system. June 30; January 19, 2024; October 1, 2024
    • See companion R01 here. For proof-of-concept testing and development of new technologies and novel approaches for recording and modulation of neural cells and circuits.
  4. BRAIN Initiative R01: Integration and Analysis of BRAIN Initiative Data: October 13, June 7, 2024

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

  1. NIH Parent R01: New: October 5, February 5, June 5; Renewal/Resubmission:
    July 5, November 5, March 5
  2. NIMH Basic Neurodevelopmental Biology of Circuits and Behavior  -  R01/R21 : R01: October 5, February 5, June 5. R21: October 16, February 16, June 16
  3. NIMH Temporal Dynamics of Coordinated Neural Activity - R01/R21: R01: October 5, February 5, June 5. R21: October 16, February 16, June 16
  4. NIH Parent R21: New: October 16, February 16, June 16; Renewal/Resubmission: July 16, November 16, March 16
  5. NIH Diversity Supplement: Salary/stipend support for trainees at all career stages. Deadline varies by funding agency. (Quarterly, monthly, rolling)

Early Career Investigators (view full list and timeline on our website)

  1. NIMH BRAINS R01: must have ESI status; for launching an innovative clinical, translational, basic, or services research program that holds the potential to profoundly transform the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of mental disorders. June 20
  2. Edward Mallinckrodt Scholar Program: must be within 4 years of faculty appointment; high risk/high reward proposal. Limited submission - call for submissions expected: Mid-June. Internal application due: Early July
  3. NSF CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development) Program: Can apply a maximum of 3 times. July 26
  4. Beckman Young Investigator Program: U.S. citizen/permanent resident; within first 4 years of tenure-track position. Letter of Intent: August 1
  5. Rita Allen Foundation Scholars: Basic biomedical research in the fields of cancer, immunology, and neuroscience. Must be in the first three years of their tenure track appointment (start date after September 2020). Limited submission - call for submissions expected: Mid-July. Internal application due: Late July - Early August
  6. NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Program (DP2): For early stage investigators of exceptional creativity who propose highly innovative research projects with the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important areas relevant to the mission of NIH. August 18
  7. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship: Must be tenure-track, though untenured.
    Candidate’s faculty position must carry a regular teaching obligation. September 15
  8. Research With Activities Related to Diversity (ReWARD) R01: Provides support for the health-related research of scientists who are making a significant contribution to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) and who have no current NIH research project grant funding. The ReWARD program provides funding for both the scientific research and the DEIA activities of investigators. October 5, February 5, June 5

Post-Docs (view full list and timeline on our website)

  1. NIH F32 NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship
  2. NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence (1-2 years of postdoc + 3 years of faculty funding)

    • NIH Parent K99/R00: Transition to faculty. International applicants eligible. 3rd - 4th year postdocs. New: October 12, February 12, June 12. Resubmission: July 12, November 12, March 12 

    • NIH MOSAIC K99/R00 : Transition to faculty. 3rd - 4th year postdocs under-represented in sciences (all women included). New: October 12, February 12, June 12; Resubmission: July 12, November 12, March 12

    • NIH BRAIN Initiative K99/R00: Transition to faculty. 3rd - 5th year postdocs under-represented in sciences (all women included). New: October 13, February 13; Resubmission: July 13, November 14, March 14

    • NIH HEAL Initiative K99/R00 or HEAL Initiative K99/R00 to Promote Diversity: Transition to faculty. International applicants eligible. Pain and substance use disorder research. 3rd - 4th year postdocs. For diversity track application, must be from a group under-represented in sciences (all women included), and U.S. citizen/permanent resident. New: October 11, February 9

  3. NIH K01 Career Development Award

    • NIH/NINDS K01: 2nd - 4th year postdocs. New: October 12, February 12, June 12. Renewal/Resubmission: July 12, November 12, March 12.

    • NIH Parent K01: 2nd - 5+ year postdocs. New: October 12, February 12, June 12. Renewal/Resubmission: July 12, November 12, March 12.

  4. Simons Foundation Junior Fellowship: By nomination (ask your PI). At program start, no more than ~2 years since finished Ph.D. Mid-September
  5. Life Sciences Research Foundation Postdoctoral Research Award: Must apply within 5 years of receiving Ph.D. or M.D.; must have begun (or will begin) working in your proposed postdoc lab between August 1 of the previous year and July 31 of the upcoming year; Post-doc must be in different lab than Ph.D. October 1
  6. NIH Diversity Supplement: Salary/stipend support. For all career stages. Deadline varies by funding agency. (Quarterly, monthly, rolling)

   *Check with us regarding eligibility window extensions for NIH grants

Graduate Students (view full list and timeline on our website)
  1. NIH F31 or F31 Diversity NRSA: For U.S. citizens/permanent residents. August 8, December 8, April 8
  2. NIH Dissertation Grants
    • NIMH R36: Mental health research. Must be: U.S. Citizen/Permanent resident; from a background under-represented in the health sciences (race/ethnicity, disability, disadvantaged background); at the dissertation stage of training (must have an approved dissertation proposal at the time of award). August 10, December 11, April 11
    • NIDA R36: For substance-use disorder related dissertation research. Must be at the dissertation stage of training (must have an approved dissertation proposal at the time of award). Expected next deadline: October 16, February 16, June 16
  3. NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP): Pre-grad, first or second year Ph.D.; U.S. citizen/permanent resident; Cannot have a master’s degree. Mid-October
  4. Hertz Foundation Fellowship: Pre-grad or first year; U.S. citizen/permanent resident. Expected deadline: Mid - late October
  5. NIH/NIA F99/K00: Transition to Aging Research for Predoctoral Students. must be a U.S. citizen/permanent resident OR non-U.S. citizen with a valid U.S. visa; for grad students with 1.5-2 years left of PhD (typically 3rd or 4th year students). October 20
  6. Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans: First or second year Ph.D.; Less than 31 years old; Must be an immigrant or child of immigrants; U.S. citizen/permanent resident, DACA, asylee, refugee. October 26
  7. NIH F99/K00 D-SPAN: Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience; must be a U.S. citizen/permanent resident; for grad students from an under-represented backgrounds, with 1.5-2 years left of PhD (typically 3rd or 4th year students). December 15
  8. NIH Diversity Supplement: Salary/stipend support. For all career stages. Deadline varies by funding agency. (Quarterly, monthly, rolling)


The Future in Mind

The Zuckerman Institute Friday Funding monthly email recaps the latest award wins of our researchers and outlines important upcoming grant deadlines.