ONE MIND RISING STAR AWARDS 2023
Opens Apr 21 2023 11:00 AM (PDT)
Deadline Jun 1 2023 05:00 PM (PDT)
$300,000.00
Description

One Mind invites applications from early career investigators in neuroscience, psychiatry, and related disciplines for three $300,000 research grants to accelerate the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychiatric disorders.

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OVERVIEW

One Mind launched the Rising Star Awards in 2005 under the fundamental premise that investing in world-class early career investigators (ECIs) pursuing innovative, high-risk research would accelerate breakthroughs for psychiatric disorders. Since launch, One Mind has awarded 42 Rising Star Awards to ECIs who are pushing the frontiers of mental health science through their research and leadership.

This year, One Mind is offering three (3) One Mind Rising Star Awards to advance rigorous, evidence-based scientific research with great potential to benefit people living with psychiatric disorders and the mental healthcare system. The three awards are:

  • 2023 One Mind–Ben Langford and Nicholas Hall Rising Star Award
  • 2023 One Mind–Luther Family Rising Star Award
  • 2023 One Mind–Russ and Stephanie Deyo Rising Star Award

The three One Mind Rising Star Award winners will each be awarded a $300,000 research grant over the course of three years to catalyze a deep mechanistic understanding of psychiatric disorders and therapeutic action, and with the end-goal of identifying or developing biomarkers and therapeutic interventions to better diagnose, treat, and prevent such disorders.

The awardees will be selected by One Mind’s Scientific Advisory Board based on their academic credentials, research productivity, research proposal, and leadership potential. Applications are due by Thursday, June 1, 2023. 


SCOPE

  • The 2023 One Mind Rising Star Awards will support grant proposals spanning basic/ preclinical, translational, and clinical research for psychiatric disorders. 
  • These include, but are not limited to, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and suicidality. Studies at the intersection of addiction/ substance use disorders and psychiatric disorders are within scope.
  • Autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and neurodegenerative disorders are out of scope. 
  • Examples of relevant research include, but are not limited to studies that aim to: 
    • Discover the molecular/genetic, synaptic, cellular, or circuit/network basis of psychiatric disorders in model organisms or humans.
    • Advance biomarker development to improve diagnosis and/or treatment outcomes. 
    • Investigate common mechanisms of brain dysfunction between two or more disorders.
    • Develop new experimental or computational approaches/model/tools for a sophisticated understanding of disease etiology, pathophysiology, resilience, and/or recovery.
    • Evaluate therapeutic mechanisms and modes of action for interventions including pharmaceuticals, neurostimulation, digital therapies, and other cognitive/behavioral health interventions. 
    • Identify and/or test novel pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic targets.
    • Improve our understanding of how age, race/ethnicity, and/or comorbidities impact the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment effectiveness. 
  • Transdiagnostic investigations and research that bring us closer to precision psychiatry will be given special attention. Illustrative examples include metabolomics biomarkers, gut microbiome-brain interactions, psychedelics, closed-loop neurostimulation, natural language processing (NLP)-based biomarkers, and predictive analytics-based models for evaluating risk or treatment efficacy.

 

AWARD

Each 2023 One Mind Rising Star Award winner will receive: 

  • A research grant of $300,000 over a three-year project period.
  • Eligibility for the One Mind Rising Star Leadership Program, enabling participation in select leadership training, entrepreneurship, media, and networking opportunities/ events offered by One Mind.


ELIGIBILITY

  • Applicants must be independent investigators (faculty or equivalent) already employed at the rank of assistant or associate professor (or equivalent) in a non-profit (public or private) academic or non-academic research institution. 
  • Applicants should be within 10 years of their initial independent appointment to qualify as an ECI. 
  • Applicants will have a doctoral level degree (e.g., MD, PhD, PsyD, PharmD, etc.) with demonstrated academic excellence and research productivity in scientific fields that can be applied to the study of psychiatric disorders. 
  • One Mind encourages applications from underrepresented minorities and women. There are no citizenship or geographical restrictions. International applicants are welcome to apply. 
  • Pre-doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors are not eligible to apply. 
  • Applicants can apply for the award only one time per year for a maximum of three times in their career. 
  • One Mind reserves the sole right to decide if an applicant meets the eligibility requirements.


APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

All applications must be completed and submitted by June 1, 2023 through One Mind’s online grants management portal at https://onemind.smapply.io. Please register your account first on the portal and then click the Apply button to start your application. Other application details are available once you log into the portal. The application includes the following:

  • Face Sheet: Please fill in the requested information on the application portal.
  • Project Narrative: Written in plain language understandable by a lay audience, the narrative should summarize the proposed research and articulate how it might translate into better diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatments for psychiatric disorders. Up to 500 words.
  • Research Proposal: The proposal should generally include background, significance/impact, hypothesis, rationale, experimental design, brief methods, predicted outcomes/expected datasets, pitfalls, and alternative strategies. The exact format is left to the applicant’s discretion. Preliminary data is not required. The proposal should not overlap with existing funding.
    • Specifications: 2 pages maximum, Arial 11 pt. font, single-spaced, minimum 0.5” margins. Page limit includes figures, tables, and schematics. Bibliography should be submitted on a separate 3rd page.
  • Budget: Include a summary budget for Year 1 of the proposal.
  • Data Sharing Plan: Separate page. Provide a brief description about how data will be made available to the broader research community. If the research involves human subjects, informed consent documents should be written to request approval to share de-identified clinical data and biological samples in adherence with Institutional Review Board (IRB) policies aimed at protecting patient privacy. IRB approval is not required for submission of the application but will be required prior to the release of funds.
  • Recommendation Letter: for the applicant from the Dean, Department Chair, or Head of Scientific Program. The letter should briefly describe:
    • merits of the applicant and 
    • resources and support provided to the applicant by the home institution and be signed by the nominator.
  • NIH style Biosketch: of the principal investigator. 5 pages maximum.
  • Resources & Personnel: Include a description of all applicable facilities and equipment already available. List all key personnel (including graduate students and postdocs) who will work on the project. It is understood that applicants starting their labs may not have facilities/equipment in place and might need to hire personnel. 1 Page maximum.
  • Leadership Essay: Please share your responses to these three questions: A. What does leadership mean to you? B. Describe a time in your life when you took a significant risk; C. What do you deeply care about and what have you done about it? Up to 1000 words total.
  • Portal submission of your application to your Nominating Officer for final approval is required.


SELECTION PROCESS

The One Mind Scientific Advisory Board (along with independent scientific experts as needed) will review the grant proposals for feasibility, scientific merit, innovation, and potential for impact on people living with psychiatric disorders. Applicants will be evaluated for their academic track record, research productivity, and leadership potential. The Scientific Advisory Board will forward their recommendations to the One Mind Board of Directors for final approval. Awardees will be notified around July 16, 2023. One Mind is unable to provide feedback/reviewer comments to the applicants given the large number of applications received each year. 


KEY DATES

April 20, 2023               Application portal opens 

June 1, 2023                 Applications due by 5 P.M. Pacific Time (PT)

July 16, 2023                 Notification of decision (subject to change)

January 1, 2024            Earliest start date for the Award (subject change)


AWARDEE EXPECTATIONS & POLICIES 

  • One Mind expects the highest standards for ethical conduct of research from awardees, and in general regards the policies of the National Institutes of Health as gold-standard guidelines for such procedures.
  • Awardees will be invited to attend and present their proposed research at the Scientific Symposium during One Mind’s 29th Music Festival for Brain Health on September 8 - 9, 2023 in Napa Valley, California. One Mind will cover all cost associated with travel and boarding/lodging. 
  • Progress reports and financial statements will be due at the conclusion of each grant year for all awarded projects. 
  • The project period is three years. $100,000 will be disbursed to awardees annually. Research funding for Years 2 and 3 is contingent upon satisfactory progress made towards fulfillment of aims outlined in the grant proposal as determined by the One Mind Scientific Advisory Board. 
  • Indirect costs are limited to a maximum of 10% and will be taken from direct costs.
  • One Mind allows reasonable flexibility in the use of funds for equipment, software, salaries, stipends, etc., as long as they are in service of the research proposal. Funds cannot be used for travel and conferences/meetings.
  • Unused research funds may be carried over to the following year, and requests for no-cost extensions will be considered.
  • One Mind advocates for open and rapid dissemination of scientific methods, reagents, tools, and results. 
    • Reagents/tools developed with this funding, including plasmids/clones, cell lines, transgenic organisms, and antibodies will be made available for dissemination to the research community via suitable repositories (e.g. Addgene, Jackson Labs.)
    • Software code developed for the proposed research is to be made publicly available on GitHub or a similar public platform. 
    • Any datasets curated or generated through the proposal will be made publicly available through an appropriate data repository.
    • Publications related to this funded work must be submitted to a preprint server (e.g. bioRxiv) at or before the first submission to a journal. 
  • One Mind requests awardees to acknowledge support from this funding in all resulting publications, preprints, and presentations. 


CONTACT

For all scientific, administrative, technical assistance, and other inquiries pertaining to this RFA, please email Pushkar Joshi, Ph.D., at pushkar.joshi@onemind.org

ONE MIND RISING STAR AWARDS 2023


One Mind invites applications from early career investigators in neuroscience, psychiatry, and related disciplines for three $300,000 research grants to accelerate the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychiatric disorders.

-------------------------------------------------------------------


OVERVIEW

One Mind launched the Rising Star Awards in 2005 under the fundamental premise that investing in world-class early career investigators (ECIs) pursuing innovative, high-risk research would accelerate breakthroughs for psychiatric disorders. Since launch, One Mind has awarded 42 Rising Star Awards to ECIs who are pushing the frontiers of mental health science through their research and leadership.

This year, One Mind is offering three (3) One Mind Rising Star Awards to advance rigorous, evidence-based scientific research with great potential to benefit people living with psychiatric disorders and the mental healthcare system. The three awards are:

  • 2023 One Mind–Ben Langford and Nicholas Hall Rising Star Award
  • 2023 One Mind–Luther Family Rising Star Award
  • 2023 One Mind–Russ and Stephanie Deyo Rising Star Award

The three One Mind Rising Star Award winners will each be awarded a $300,000 research grant over the course of three years to catalyze a deep mechanistic understanding of psychiatric disorders and therapeutic action, and with the end-goal of identifying or developing biomarkers and therapeutic interventions to better diagnose, treat, and prevent such disorders.

The awardees will be selected by One Mind’s Scientific Advisory Board based on their academic credentials, research productivity, research proposal, and leadership potential. Applications are due by Thursday, June 1, 2023. 


SCOPE

  • The 2023 One Mind Rising Star Awards will support grant proposals spanning basic/ preclinical, translational, and clinical research for psychiatric disorders. 
  • These include, but are not limited to, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and suicidality. Studies at the intersection of addiction/ substance use disorders and psychiatric disorders are within scope.
  • Autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and neurodegenerative disorders are out of scope. 
  • Examples of relevant research include, but are not limited to studies that aim to: 
    • Discover the molecular/genetic, synaptic, cellular, or circuit/network basis of psychiatric disorders in model organisms or humans.
    • Advance biomarker development to improve diagnosis and/or treatment outcomes. 
    • Investigate common mechanisms of brain dysfunction between two or more disorders.
    • Develop new experimental or computational approaches/model/tools for a sophisticated understanding of disease etiology, pathophysiology, resilience, and/or recovery.
    • Evaluate therapeutic mechanisms and modes of action for interventions including pharmaceuticals, neurostimulation, digital therapies, and other cognitive/behavioral health interventions. 
    • Identify and/or test novel pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic targets.
    • Improve our understanding of how age, race/ethnicity, and/or comorbidities impact the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment effectiveness. 
  • Transdiagnostic investigations and research that bring us closer to precision psychiatry will be given special attention. Illustrative examples include metabolomics biomarkers, gut microbiome-brain interactions, psychedelics, closed-loop neurostimulation, natural language processing (NLP)-based biomarkers, and predictive analytics-based models for evaluating risk or treatment efficacy.

 

AWARD

Each 2023 One Mind Rising Star Award winner will receive: 

  • A research grant of $300,000 over a three-year project period.
  • Eligibility for the One Mind Rising Star Leadership Program, enabling participation in select leadership training, entrepreneurship, media, and networking opportunities/ events offered by One Mind.


ELIGIBILITY

  • Applicants must be independent investigators (faculty or equivalent) already employed at the rank of assistant or associate professor (or equivalent) in a non-profit (public or private) academic or non-academic research institution. 
  • Applicants should be within 10 years of their initial independent appointment to qualify as an ECI. 
  • Applicants will have a doctoral level degree (e.g., MD, PhD, PsyD, PharmD, etc.) with demonstrated academic excellence and research productivity in scientific fields that can be applied to the study of psychiatric disorders. 
  • One Mind encourages applications from underrepresented minorities and women. There are no citizenship or geographical restrictions. International applicants are welcome to apply. 
  • Pre-doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors are not eligible to apply. 
  • Applicants can apply for the award only one time per year for a maximum of three times in their career. 
  • One Mind reserves the sole right to decide if an applicant meets the eligibility requirements.


APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

All applications must be completed and submitted by June 1, 2023 through One Mind’s online grants management portal at https://onemind.smapply.io. Please register your account first on the portal and then click the Apply button to start your application. Other application details are available once you log into the portal. The application includes the following:

  • Face Sheet: Please fill in the requested information on the application portal.
  • Project Narrative: Written in plain language understandable by a lay audience, the narrative should summarize the proposed research and articulate how it might translate into better diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatments for psychiatric disorders. Up to 500 words.
  • Research Proposal: The proposal should generally include background, significance/impact, hypothesis, rationale, experimental design, brief methods, predicted outcomes/expected datasets, pitfalls, and alternative strategies. The exact format is left to the applicant’s discretion. Preliminary data is not required. The proposal should not overlap with existing funding.
    • Specifications: 2 pages maximum, Arial 11 pt. font, single-spaced, minimum 0.5” margins. Page limit includes figures, tables, and schematics. Bibliography should be submitted on a separate 3rd page.
  • Budget: Include a summary budget for Year 1 of the proposal.
  • Data Sharing Plan: Separate page. Provide a brief description about how data will be made available to the broader research community. If the research involves human subjects, informed consent documents should be written to request approval to share de-identified clinical data and biological samples in adherence with Institutional Review Board (IRB) policies aimed at protecting patient privacy. IRB approval is not required for submission of the application but will be required prior to the release of funds.
  • Recommendation Letter: for the applicant from the Dean, Department Chair, or Head of Scientific Program. The letter should briefly describe:
    • merits of the applicant and 
    • resources and support provided to the applicant by the home institution and be signed by the nominator.
  • NIH style Biosketch: of the principal investigator. 5 pages maximum.
  • Resources & Personnel: Include a description of all applicable facilities and equipment already available. List all key personnel (including graduate students and postdocs) who will work on the project. It is understood that applicants starting their labs may not have facilities/equipment in place and might need to hire personnel. 1 Page maximum.
  • Leadership Essay: Please share your responses to these three questions: A. What does leadership mean to you? B. Describe a time in your life when you took a significant risk; C. What do you deeply care about and what have you done about it? Up to 1000 words total.
  • Portal submission of your application to your Nominating Officer for final approval is required.


SELECTION PROCESS

The One Mind Scientific Advisory Board (along with independent scientific experts as needed) will review the grant proposals for feasibility, scientific merit, innovation, and potential for impact on people living with psychiatric disorders. Applicants will be evaluated for their academic track record, research productivity, and leadership potential. The Scientific Advisory Board will forward their recommendations to the One Mind Board of Directors for final approval. Awardees will be notified around July 16, 2023. One Mind is unable to provide feedback/reviewer comments to the applicants given the large number of applications received each year. 


KEY DATES

April 20, 2023               Application portal opens 

June 1, 2023                 Applications due by 5 P.M. Pacific Time (PT)

July 16, 2023                 Notification of decision (subject to change)

January 1, 2024            Earliest start date for the Award (subject change)


AWARDEE EXPECTATIONS & POLICIES 

  • One Mind expects the highest standards for ethical conduct of research from awardees, and in general regards the policies of the National Institutes of Health as gold-standard guidelines for such procedures.
  • Awardees will be invited to attend and present their proposed research at the Scientific Symposium during One Mind’s 29th Music Festival for Brain Health on September 8 - 9, 2023 in Napa Valley, California. One Mind will cover all cost associated with travel and boarding/lodging. 
  • Progress reports and financial statements will be due at the conclusion of each grant year for all awarded projects. 
  • The project period is three years. $100,000 will be disbursed to awardees annually. Research funding for Years 2 and 3 is contingent upon satisfactory progress made towards fulfillment of aims outlined in the grant proposal as determined by the One Mind Scientific Advisory Board. 
  • Indirect costs are limited to a maximum of 10% and will be taken from direct costs.
  • One Mind allows reasonable flexibility in the use of funds for equipment, software, salaries, stipends, etc., as long as they are in service of the research proposal. Funds cannot be used for travel and conferences/meetings.
  • Unused research funds may be carried over to the following year, and requests for no-cost extensions will be considered.
  • One Mind advocates for open and rapid dissemination of scientific methods, reagents, tools, and results. 
    • Reagents/tools developed with this funding, including plasmids/clones, cell lines, transgenic organisms, and antibodies will be made available for dissemination to the research community via suitable repositories (e.g. Addgene, Jackson Labs.)
    • Software code developed for the proposed research is to be made publicly available on GitHub or a similar public platform. 
    • Any datasets curated or generated through the proposal will be made publicly available through an appropriate data repository.
    • Publications related to this funded work must be submitted to a preprint server (e.g. bioRxiv) at or before the first submission to a journal. 
  • One Mind requests awardees to acknowledge support from this funding in all resulting publications, preprints, and presentations. 


CONTACT

For all scientific, administrative, technical assistance, and other inquiries pertaining to this RFA, please email Pushkar Joshi, Ph.D., at pushkar.joshi@onemind.org

Value

$300,000.00

Opens
Apr 21 2023 11:00 AM (PDT)
Deadline
Jun 1 2023 05:00 PM (PDT)