Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience pilot grant program makes institute history
Funding novel, high-risk research is critical to advance science. Since 2015, the pilot program at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester has awarded more than $3.5-million in funding to research that opens new doors of understanding of the brain and central nervous system. The 2021 pilot program made history at the institute awarding the most funding ever – nearly $900-thousand to 20 researchers from eight different departments across the University of Rochester and the Medical Center. This program is maintained by philanthropic support, and it has generated more than $37-million in external research support to date.
There are a total five programs the Del Monte supports, and within each program are multiple pilot grants. The Schmitt Program in Integrative Neuroscience (SPIN) supports basic science and translational projects that advance understanding of normal and abnormal brain functioning. The Harry T. Mangurian Jr. Foundation supports basic, clinical, and translational research projects for Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Rochester Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research (RCADR), supports basic science and translational projects that advance understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Philanthropic funds within the RCADR support awards aimed at understanding Alzheimer’s – the Feinberg Family Fund and the Sally J. States Pilot Fund in Alzheimer’s Research. The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Research Pilot and Feasibility Program supports basic science and translational and clinical projects that advance our understanding of both normal and abnormal brain functioning. The Friends of Del Monte Funds supports novel basic, clinical and translational projects in the neurosciences, these awards are new to the program and are for assistant professors and research assistant professors.
All applications for these pilots go through a rigorous review process, two-thirds of the reviewers are from outside the University.
2021 Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Pilot Recipients
Schmitt Program in Integrative Neuroscience (SPIN)
|
Faculty |
Title of Study |
|---|---|
| Houhui Xia, Ph.D. | ​The role of nuclear inhibitor of protein phosphatase-1 (NIPP1) in neuronal excitability and CNS myelination |
| Ian Dickerson, Ph.D. |
​Mechanisms of CGRP Signaling Bias in Pain Perception |
| Julie Fudge, M.D. |
Dopamine-driven substrates of hallucinations​ |
| Judy Thompson, Ph.D. |
​​​Natural Speech Processing, the Influence of Expectations, and Auditory Hallucinations in Early-Stage |
| Edward Brown, Ph.D. | Interactions between microglial dynamics and the brain extracellular matrix |
| Lizabeth Romanski, Ph.D. | ​​Use of intracortical microstimulation to determine the role of VLPFC in audiovisual working memory​ |
| Development of an APOE4 Homozygous Model of the Human Neurovascular Unit |
Rochester Center for Alzheimer’s disease Research (RCADR)
| Faculty | Title of Study |
|---|---|
| M. Kerry O'Banion, M.D., Ph.D. |
Microglia:Synapse Interactions in Brain Radiation Injury (Supported by Sally J. States Pilot Fund) |
| Ania Majewska, Ph.D. |
Developing a mouse model of alcohol exacerbation of Alzheimer’s pathology to probe microglial contributions​​ (Supported by Feinberg Family Fund) |
| Gail Johnson, Ph.D. | Using Optogenetics to Define Tau Oligomer Dynamics in the Context of Alzheimer’s Disease​​ |
Harry T. Mangurian Jr. Foundation
|
Faculty |
Title of Study |
|---|---|
| Jennetta Hammond, Ph.D. | Mouse models of Sez6L2 autoantibody-associated cerebellar ataxia​​​ |
| Houhui Xia, Ph.D. | ​Modeling protein phosphatase-1-related human intellectual developmental disorder in mouse |
Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Research Pilot and Feasibility Program
| Faculty | Title of Study |
|---|---|
| Edmund Lalor, Ph.D. | ​​A comparative modeling approach to exploring speech processing in the human visual system |
| Andrew Anderson, Ph.D. | Predicting semantics in the perspective-taking brains of romantic couples: How perspective-taking ability |
| Ian Fiebelkorn, Ph.D. | ​​​​​Microstimulation of the Nucleus Basalis: A Neuromodulatory Source of Theta-Rhythmic Sampling During Selective Attention? |
| Cesare Orlandi, Ph.D. | ​​​​​Targeting brain enriched orphan G protein coupled receptors​ |
| Adam Snyder, Ph.D. | Specific and selective neural mechanisms of transcranial electrical stimulation for affecting cognition​​​ |
| Paul Geha, M.D. | Validation of chronic pain biomarkers in a clinical setting using brain imaging​​ |
Friends of Del Monte Funds
| Faculty | Title of Study |
|---|---|
| Brian Keane, Ph.D. | ​Microsaccade differences in psychosis and their contribution to abnormal vision |
| Kavaljit Chhabra, Ph.D. | ​Identification of a brain glucose sensor that may explain the pathology of potentially fatal​​ hypoglycemia-unawareness in diabetes​​ |
The Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Pilot Program was featured in .
