GCRI-BN: Research and Administration

The UVA Brain Institute builds and sustains interdisciplinary neuroscience research teams across Grounds to address major societal challenges. We provide a unified vision for bringing UVA neuroscience to preeminence and offer unique capabilities to respond to a rapidly evolving neuroscience research landscape. In addition to awarding funds for transformative pilot funding, facilitating recruitment, and investing in equipment, the Brain Institute facilitates neuroscience research through proficiency in project management, the ability to directly support teams through expertise in bench, clinical and translational research, as well as with regulatory experience with IRBs and FDA. We also provide expert support in preparing large, multi-PI grant submissions that enhance our research and training environments. The Brain Institute has recently played an integral role in coordinating the Grand Challenges in Brain and Neuroscience investments by bringing groups of scientists, clinicians, and interventionists together to stimulate advances in Alzheimer’s, autism, and neurodevelopmental research through research program development and future faculty recruitment plans. By facilitating and leveraging the strengths of the UVA neuroscience community, the Brain Institute is poised to bring neuroscience to preeminence and make both good and great contributions to our local community, commonwealth, country, and world.

The Brain Institute has made substantial progress in the first year of SIF188D funding. We started the year by conducting a series of focus groups with neuroscience faculty and key stakeholders to revisit needs and opportunities in strategic priority areas. We established our Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), which met in April 2023, to provide guidance and advice on meeting the goals of the SIF award and institute more broadly. To enhance the visibility of seed funding and trainees programs and share information broadly with neuroscience stakeholders and the community, we developed and launched new websites for the Brain Institute (https://braininstitute.virginia.edu/) as well as for the Virginia Alzheimer’s Disease Center (https://alzheimers.virginia.edu), which is a Brain Institute supported initiative. 

We implemented 4 new seed funding programs in 2023 and are pleased to have awarded over $850,000 across 21 projects this year. The seed funding mechanisms include 1) Transformative Neuroscience Pilot Grants for Basic Science, 2) Human Neuroscience, 3) Pitch and Catch, and 4) Targeted Investment Grants. 

The Brain Institute administrative infrastructure provides expertise to facilitate complex, multidisciplinary proposals for extramural funding. We have experience in complex submissions, including NIH T32, P30, P50, R25, and U01, as well as other extramural federal and foundation funders, and provide project management, budget development, and cross-unit/school coordination. In 2023, our team helped to develop and submit 6 large-scale, interdisciplinary extramural funding proposals requesting over $70 million.

To support our goal of training the next generation of neuroscientists, in 2023, we have launched a new BRAIN Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, awarding over $150,000 across 5 fellowships. In partnership with the OGPA, we are providing salary support for an Assistant Director of Postdoctoral Affairs to expand research and professional development activities for this program. We are again administering collaborative graduate research through the Presidential Fellowship for Collaborative Neuroscience, which provides a stipend, tuition and fees for 6 co-mentored 3rd and 4th neuroscience graduate students. We also sponsored 5 neuroscience Summer Research Internship Program students in 2023.