Clinical Neuroscience Research Initiative
Two clinical research programs will support the O'Donnell Brain Institute's mission of developing impactful therapies for patients with brain disease.
The OBI Human Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program provides resources and funding for clinical research teams pursuing hypothesis-driven projects that will further scientific knowledge developed through human neuroscience research. The goals of the program are to encourage clinical and translational interdisciplinary research team development; development of a database and/or repository of well characterized specific patient cohorts; and creation of a sustainable plan to continue interdisciplinary clinical research efforts.
The OBI Clinical Investigator Development Program supports early career faculty pursuing prospective human subject research. In addition to funding, the O'Donnell Brain Institute will assist with assembling a peer mentor group that can provide support in areas such as career development, leadership development, scientific writing, and peer review.
(Applications are currently closed.)
2025 Human Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program Awardees
Project: “Multi-method characterization of cholinergic circuits in humans”
The team aims to better understand how brain activity gives rise to cognitive behavior by unraveling how cholinergic systems influence theta oscillations that are crucial for memory formation, attention, and coordination between different brain regions. The project seeks to develop new applications for enhancing cognitive health through the use of best team-based scientific principles with a focused, hypothesis-driven, and highly integrated experimental program that uses the unique advantages of different platforms to generate first of its kind clinical neuroscience data.
Project: “Development of peripheral blood biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases linked to progressive accumulation of tau and αsynuclein assemblies"
The project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Marc Diamond, M.D., who directs a basic research program in neurodegenerative diseases, Brendan Kelley, M.D., who directs clinical research in AD, and Vibhash Sharma, M.D., who directs clinical research in PD. The team aims to establish blood-based biomarkers that report on key pathogenic mechanisms and might serve as new sensitive detection tools and a means to monitor neurodegenerative disease progression.
2025 Clinical Investigator Development Program Awardees
Dr. Kota is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and researcher in the Chalak Lab. The CID grant will support his work developing quantitative electroencephalogram biomarkers to predict seizure onset as well as monitor brain injury progression during the critical early hours of life in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
“This program will accelerate my transition to an independent researcher with National Institutes of Health funding as well as boost my career in neonatal neuroinformatics.”
Dr. Chan is an Assistant Professor in the Advanced Imaging Research Center and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Chan’s research is centered on developing a novel magnetic resonance spectroscopy scan to acquire a neurochemical profile of bipolar depression and major depressive disorder. Dr. Chan will investigate the scan’s diagnostic potential in distinguishing the two disorders.
“The grant will allow me to develop both the technical and clinical research skills needed to effectively collaborate with other researchers on improving diagnostics and developing novel therapeutics for mood disorders.”