Limited Submission Opportunity 

Brain Research Foundation – Seed Grant Program 

Number of slots: 1 faculty member (assistant or associate professor) 

Internal Deadline: September 25, 2025 at 5 pm CST 

LOI Submission Deadline: October 23, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. CST 

Full Proposal Deadline: March 5, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. CST 

The Award & Eligibility Criteria 

The objective of the Brain Research Foundation Seed Grant Program is to provide start-up funds for new and innovative research projects in the field of neuroscience, especially those of junior faculty, that will likely lead to extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other outside funding sources. Each total grant is limited to $100,000 (direct costs) for a two-year grant period.  

 
To be eligible, the nominee must be a full-time assistant or associate professor working in the field of neuroscience, neurology, neurobiology, physiology, psychiatry, psychology, or related disciplines, proposing scientific projects with a focus on brain health and disease, including cancer. The grant proposal must detail a new research project that is not funded by other sources. The grant is not to be used as bridge funding. 

For more details, please see the full guidelines here.  

Guidance for the Nomination Process 

An internal competition will be held to assign the single slot. Interested PIs should submit a 2-3 page summary of their proposed project, and Biosketch in NIH format, in OpenWater by 5pm on September 25, 2025, here: https://slu.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/219/home 

A SLU faculty selection committee will review and select the most suitable applicant and notify all applicants of the outcome by October 3, 2025, barring any unforeseen circumstances.  The LOI submission deadline is October 23, 2025.  The full proposal deadline is March 5, 2026.   

For further information, including program guidelines and a complete list of requirements, please click here.  To learn more about the Brain Research Foundation, click here. 

For more information or questions, contact Christine Luebbert at christine.luebbert@slu.edu