Seed Grants

Seed Grant Applications Now Open

The Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain is pleased to announce its FY26 annual seed grant competition. There are two award mechanisms that will be supported in the current year, one for graduate students/trainees/fellows and one for faculty.

We acknowledge that during this period of potential extraordinary change in the federal funding climate, early career researchers with good ideas need extra support. We highly encourage early career scholars to submit applications. In recognition of these challenges, priority consideration will be given to individuals whose projects or funding have been directly impacted by stop-work orders or related disruptions.

We welcome proposals that represent the full breadth of MIDB researcher interests. We strive to maintain focal strengths (e.g., MRI based methodologies, developmental disabilities, DOHaD approaches, adolescent decision making and emotion regulation) and to buttress research that will help MIDB/UMN grow in promising directions. We are committed to a varied and multifaceted research portfolio to catalyze positive change for families in Minnesota and beyond. 

Provisions for both award types:

*1. Priority will be given to work that will be conducted at the MIDB unless it is impossible to use the facility for data collection (e.g., a hospitalized sample is being studied; the work is preclinical bench work; a sample is being assessed in a community setting). 
2. The project must be registered with the MIDB.
3. Human clinical, cognitive or affective scientific studies are encouraged as are preclinical studies that contribute to our understanding of the developing organism. Work that has clinical implications or that includes community partners is especially encouraged. 
4. Two year awards will be allocated unless the budget stipulates a one-year plan; a one year no-cost extension will be available; you must provide a detailed budget for each year of support. 
5. The proposed work must fit the overall mission of the MIDB. 
6. For the faculty award, up to $10K can be used to support faculty/researcher salary. For the trainee awards, funds cannot be used to support trainee or mentor salaries. Funds may be used to support laboratory personnel. Faculty must include a list of nonsponsored funds available for their use and whether these funds will be used to support the proposed work. Cost-sharing is encouraged, but researchers with substantial nonsponsored funds should carefully consider whether this is the right time to apply for this mechanism. 
7. Note that the services of the MIDB service hubs are provided at a cost to investigators charged either in the FTE model (e.g., percentage of technician time) or in the ISO model (e.g., blood draws). A budget for these services, if utilized, should be part of your proposal and you must indicate as part of your submitted letter of intent that you have started to plan for this component of this work. Investigators invited to submit a full proposal will be contacted by an MIDB Project Manager to participate in an expedited engagement process. Technical meetings will be held to discuss the project support needed in more detail, and statements of work will be issued which outline the financial support required for any agreed upon deliverables.  
8. Applicants must be active members of the MIDB. Information about MIDB membership can be found on the MIDB website.
9. Funds will not be allocated until IRB/IACUC approval is obtained. 
10. We anticipate that awards will be allocated in the late summer with start dates to begin around Sept. 1, 2025. 
13. To submit your application, please email all requested components to this address: [email protected] 
Please include a subject heading of “MIDB seed grant application attached”. If you have questions, contact Brie Katterjohn, MIDB Research Administrative Associate at [email protected]

Review/Evaluation

The review will be coordinated/administered by J. Elison. He and M. Georgieff will evaluate all LOIs and determine which grants to invite for full submission and review. For the LOI phase, review considerations include the following: 1) return on investment – e.g., will data from this funding anchor a successful R submission, will this investment generate data and subsequent products that will augment career progression for the investigator at UMN, etc.;
2) maintaining a diverse funding portfolio – we want to fund investigators from all MIDB stakeholder units, different types of research (e.g., clinical and preclinical) and across levels of analysis, and varying degrees of high-risk high-reward research; and 3) ensuring the research aligns with the MIDB mission. 

After the LOI phase, all submitted grant applications will be reviewed by at least two faculty members. Review criteria include those stated above as well as NIH-like criteria of significance and impact. All applications and their corresponding reviews will be considered by the Research Advisory Council (currently consisting of the following members: Jed Elison, Amy Hewitt, Monica Luciana, Amy Esler, Steve Nelson, Katie Cullen, Richard Betzel, Meghan Swanson, Jeff Bishop, Sonya Wang, Jessica Simacek). This group will make funding recommendations to the directors.