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.

MIDB Trainee Awards:

Up to 5 awards; awards can be proposed for any amount up to 20k ($100k total to be awarded)

These awards are intended to support graduate students and postdoctoral trainees (including medical residents and medical fellows) who are pursuing training in child development, psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, or a related discipline. Human as well as preclinical studies are encouraged. The proposed work must be consistent with the mission of MIDB and preferably conducted at MIDB*. Cross-departmental and/or interdisciplinary collaborative work is highly encouraged but not required for the trainee award, and applicants must indicate who is advising/mentoring their work.

Application instructions:

A. Please submit the following by May 16, 2025:

1. Letter of intent with your name, your home department, the tentative title of your project, the names or your research mentors and their affiliations, and if warranted which MIDB service hubs will be utilized to facilitate the research (write as a formal letter, do not exceed 1 page – see below).

The letter of intent allows us to gauge how many applications we will receive, which service hubs will be engaged, and whether the overarching topic is aligned with the theme of the call and/or the mission of MIDB. J. Elison and M. Georgieff will critically evaluate all of the LOIs and determine whether to invite a full application.

B. Once the LOI is approved, please schedule a discussion with relevant MIDB hub service leads (if warranted) in order to discuss their role and budget needs. Please submit the following by June 27, 2025 as an integrated pdf document:

1. Research proposal (limited to 3 single-spaced pages; 0.5 inch margins; 11 pt Ariel or Times New Roman font); include your study aims, background, methods, and data analytic plan.
2. Which MIDB hubs will be utilized to facilitate the research? Use of MIDB hub services is encouraged but not required for the trainee award. Descriptions of these services can be found on the MIDB website. If your proposal does not necessitate support from any of the service hubs, state why/how you already have the support you need (½ page).
3. Applications should provide a statement of how the work fits the mission of the MIDB (½ page) and confirm whether the study will take place at MIDB.
4. Updated NIH biosketch of all key personnel (typically applicant and their primary mentor).
5. Current transcript if you are a graduate student (this can be an unofficial transcript).
6. Letter of endorsement from proposed mentor(s)-1 page if you are a grad student or postdoc.
7. Detailed budget and budget justification with timeline.
8. Please include information regarding the project’s IRB/IACUC status.
Note that budgets cannot include funds for graduate student support/stipends or for faculty salaries. Applicants may propose a one-year or a two-year research plan. Within your budget justification, please indicate the support, if any, that you will need from MIDB (e.g., technician time; scanning hours; EEG facility – if you include funds for the service hub be sure to budget for the hub PM).

MIDB Interdisciplinary Faculty Research Awards

Proposals may request up to $100k in support to fund two years of work; up to $400k will be allocated

MIDB Faculty Research grants are intended to encourage exploratory/developmental research by providing support for early stages of project development that could lead to subsequent externally funded projects (e.g., NIH R21 or R01 grants). Proposals can involve preclinical or human research but should have direct application to the mission of MIDB. Faculty from all ranks are eligible to apply. Budgets of up to $50,000 per year for 2 years ($100k total) will be considered. Applicants must have a position that is in a faculty or P&A research track (must meet PI status) to apply for this award.

Interdisciplinary research will be prioritized in review – namely research involving faculty or scientific personnel from at least two departmental units and must utilize the services of at least two MIDB research hubs.

Application instructions:

A. Please submit the following by May 17, 2025:

1. Letter of intent with your name, your home department, the tentative title of your project, the names or your research mentors and their affiliations, and if warranted which MIDB service hubs will be utilized to facilitate the research (write as a formal letter, do not exceed 1 page).

The letter of intent allows us to gauge how many applications we will receive, which service hubs will be engaged, and whether the overarching topic is aligned with the theme of the call and/or the mission of MIDB. J. Elison and M. Georgieff will critically evaluate all of the LOIs and determine whether to invite a full application.

B. Once the LOI is approved, please schedule a discussion with relevant MIDB hub service leads in order to discuss their role and budget needs. Please submit the following by June 27, 2025 as an integrated pdf document:

1. Research proposal (limited to 3 single-spaced pages; 0.5 inch margins; 11pt Ariel or Times New Roman font); within the proposal, include a detailed description of the project (aims, background, methods, data analytic plan).
2. Which MIDB hubs will be utilized to facilitate the research? Use of MIDB hub services is strongly encouraged. Descriptions of these services can be found on the MIDB website (½ page).
3. Applications should provide a statement of how the work fits the mission of the MIDB (½ page) and confirm whether the study will take place at MIDB.
4. NIH-formatted biosketch for each faculty member involved in the proposal; clearly indicate the affiliations of each faculty collaborator.
5. Detailed budget and budget justification with timeline.
6. For all participating faculty, please list sources of non-sponsored funding available for your use and current balances.
7. Please include information regarding the project’s IRB/IACUC status.
Note that budgets can include up to $10K in total for faculty/researcher salary. Applicants may propose a one-year or a two-year research plan. Within your budget justification, please indicate the support that you will need, if any, from MIDB and which MIDB services will be utilized.

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.