Eligibility

The PI for the proposal must be a full-time OSU or NCH faculty member or post-graduate trainee (resident, clinical fellow, or post-doctoral fellow) conducting neuroscience-related research. Faculty members and post-graduate trainees will be reviewed in separate cohorts. Priority will be given to projects submitted by junior faculty and/or trainees. Trainee applications are required to have a faculty mentor.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by a NRI Seed Funding Panel (overseen by both the NRI Director and Associate Director; and will be reviewed by the NRI Translational and Cross-collaborations Committee and other experts deemed necessary). Panelists will be representative of NRI affiliated-departments.

Applications with a focus on neurobiology of aging and/or neurodegeneration will be prioritized. Selections will be made based on the following criteria:

• Scientific Merit:
  • New/unfunded project
  • Relevance to neuroscience/NRI mission
• Impact:
  • Innovation
  • Likelihood of future extramural funding
• Interdisciplinarity:
  • Collaborative/interdisciplinary projects
  • Translational projects/use of human samples
  • Use of NRI Brain Bank & Biorepository (highly preferred)
    • including samples currently in Biorepository and/or prospective collections please see updated NRI newsletter for latest inventory and/or email NRI- BBB@osumc.edu

Proposal Requirements

• Cover Page
  • Project title
  • Pl name
  • Co-Pl/collaborator names, if applicable
• Abstract (not included in page limit)
  • 250 words or less
• Project Summary (limited to 3 pages) which should include:
  • lntroduction
  • Hypothesis and Specific Aims
  • Background and Significance
  • Research Strategy (including methodology)
  • Biostatistics/Bioinformatics Approach (power analysis preferred (if applicable))
  • External Funding Potential (not included in page limit)
  • References (not included in page limit)
• Proposed Budget Detail and Budget Justification:
  • Applicants should budget for $25,000. Budget period is for one year and has an anticipated start date of July 1st, 2024. Budget should not contain any salary for Pl. Non-Pl support may be approved in unique circumstances if fully justified as essential for project and approved by committee at the time of proposal review.
• PI(s) Biosketch or CV (inclusion of all current and pending grants)
• Documentation of IRB, IACUC, and/or IBC approval if relevant (Please attach submission and/or approval letters)
• Supplemental Material (not required) which may include:
  • Letters of support from collaborators

Please submit your application as a PDF file via email to the NRI Associate Director at OSU- NRI@osumc.edu on or before Friday, April 5, 2024. Please title your email 2024 NRI Seed Grant. The NRI expects to fund about 3 Seed grants in 2024. All funded PIs will be required to submit progress reports, present at a NRI-sponsored event, and acknowledge the NRI in all associated publications and presentations.

Any questions can be emailed to OSU-NRI@osumc.edu.

Diana Acosta, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar - Neuroscience (Fu Lab)
"Uncovering the role of cholesterol transporter, GRAMD1B, in the development and spread of tau pathology"

 

Jeff Atkinson, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar - Neurology (Segal Lab)
"Age-associated glial cell dysregulation in CNS autoimmune disease"

 

Mark Hester, PhD
Assistant Professor - NCH Institute of Genomic Medicine
"Investigating molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental deficits in a patient caused by biallelic variants in SPATA5"

 

Nhat Le, PhD
Assistant Professor - Cancer Biology & Genetics
"Employ nanobody-based proteolysis targeting chimera to therapeutically target neurodegenerative disease"

Maria Balch, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar - Neurology

"Impact of Central Nervous System Injury on Form and Function of the Neuromuscular Junction"
Elucidation of the cellular and molecular alterations within paretic muscle tissue following injury to the brain or spinal cord.

Michael Butler, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar - Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research

"The Impact of Western Diet Consumption on T-cell Brain Infiltration in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease"
Comprehensive assessment of a western diet on brain infiltration and reactivity of proinflammatory T-cells, Alzheimer's Disease pathology, and cognitive deficits.

Jerusha Naidoo, PhD
Research Scientist - Neurosurgery

"Novel Intracranial Delivery of AAV-based Gene Therapy for Sensorineural Hearing Loss"
Comparison of cochlea transduction efficiency of multiple AAV vector serotypes following intracranial administration.

Yinan Zhang, MD
Assistant Professor - Neurology

"Markers of Biological Aging in Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis"
Investigation of the association of multiple mechanisms of biological aging in Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis patients with disease outcomes.

Faith Brennan, PhD
Research Scientist - Neuroscience

"Understanding microglial control of central nervous system disease and repair with spatiotemporal resolution"

Setty Magana, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor - Nationwide Children's (Neurology)

"Role of extracellular vesicles and miRNAs in multiple sclerosis pathogenic blood-brain-barrier dysfunction—a novel human 3D cerebrovascular-on-a-chip model"

Kristy Townsend, PhD
Associate Professor, Neurosurgery

Dave Arnold, MD
Associate Professor, Neurology

"Aging Of The Peripheral Nervous System And Loss Of Synaptic Fidelity At The Adipocyte And Muscle"

Cole Vonder Haar, PhD
Assistant Professor, Neuroscience

"Microbiome-Induced Alterations to Catecholamine Processing after Traumatic Brain Injury"