When the Friedman Brain Institute (FBI) Research Scholars Program launched in 2016, its goal was to secure early-stage funding for novel ideas and daring nascent brain research projects. Funded entirely by philanthropy, our donors recognized the essential role that private funding would play in bridging the gap between ideation and implementation, enabling researchers to gather the preliminary data necessary to secure external funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other sources. At the Friedman Brain Institute, we seized this unique opportunity to offer donors a front-row seat to some of the pioneering avenues of research that our scientists, particularly those in the early stages of their careers, are eager to pursue.
Since its inception, the program has expanded significantly, receiving more than 60 competitive applications each year. Many scholars publish their work, influencing their respective research fields. More than half secure additional funding after their initial support. Beyond the specific projects and scholars funded each year, the program’s uniqueness and commitment help Mount Sinai attract talented scientists who are drawn to the institute’s distinctive bench-to-bedside connection between research and patient care, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit supported by dedicated donors who believe in bold science.
This year, the FBI Scholars are focusing on personalizing treatments for patients with the aim of improving outcomes more rapidly. Their research includes examining communication between the brain and the heart; investigating the impact of sleep on postpartum depression and anxiety; exploring new treatments for schizophrenia; finding ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease earlier; and studying how sleep patterns can affect caregiving.
We thank this year’s donors—Joseph DiSabato and Nancy Sakamoto, Michael and Beth Fascitelli, Richard and Susan Friedman, Stuart Katz and Dr. Jane Martin, Joshua and Beth Nash, Ram Sundaram and Preethi Krishna, the Glickenhaus Family and the Lipschultz Family—for their spectacular support of this unique program and its exciting science.
Meet this year’s FBI Research Scholars:
Ram Sundaram and Preethi Krishna Research Scholar Award
Brain-Heart Communication
Filip Swirski, PhD, Professor, Medicine, Cardiology; Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology, Immunology and Immunotherapy
Abha K. Rajbhandari, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Nash Family Research Scholar Award
New Approach to Neural Changes
Chrystian Junqueira Alves, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience
Daniel da Silva, PhD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience
Lipschultz Research Scholar Award
New Schizophrenia Treatments
Deepak Kaji, MD, PhD, Instructor, Psychiatry
Joseph and Nancy DiSabato Research Scholar Award
Treatment Options for Alzheimer’s Disease
Eun-Jeong Yang, PhD, Instructor, Neurology
Jane Martin and Stuart Katz Research Scholar Award
The Hippocampus and Alzheimer’s Disease
Evan Schaffer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience
Glickenhaus Research Scholar Award
Therapeutic Strategies to Combat Substance Use
Sai Ma, PhD, Assistant Professor, Genetics & Genomic Sciences
Zheng (Herbert) Wu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience
Richard and Susan Friedman Research Scholar Award
Matching Correct Depression Treatments to Patients
James Murrough, MD, PhD, Professor, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Yael Jacob, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Stuti Bansal, BA, MD-PhD Student, Neuroscience
Laurel Morris, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Psychiatry
Fascitelli Research Scholar Award
Revolutionary Sleep Patch
Ankit Parekh, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, and Artificial Intelligence and Human Health
Maria de las Mercedes Perez-Rodriguez, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry
Yun Soung Kim, PhD, Assistant Professor, Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology