The Parekh Center for Interdisciplinary Neurology is proud to announce our 2024 request for applications (RFA) for the Parekh Center Research Program (PCRP). This program provides funding to support creative, collaborative projects that are designed to foster new connections across NYU Langone for the study neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric diseases.

PCRP Objectives

The program’s objectives are as follows:

• establish partnerships between basic and clinical research scientists at NYU Langone to drive transformative insights by capitalizing on collective expertise
• enhance the current understanding of shared pathways and facilitate breakthroughs in therapeutic interventions across a spectrum of neurological disorders

PCRP Proposals

The Parekh Center for Interdisciplinary Neurology is interested in understanding immune, glial, or microbiome dysfunction and interaction of peripheral and central nervous system components shared across multiple neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Proposed investigations addressing these areas will be prioritized but need not be limited to them.

Proposals should outline how the integration of diverse and novel methodologies will enhance our understanding of shared pathways that are relevant for multiple diseases. Successful projects will combine established insights with cutting-edge approaches to elucidate these fundamental mechanisms. Priority will be given to proposals with collaborations between basic scientists and clinical researchers/clinicians. Appropriate statistical consideration should be included, and statistical support may be available from the Parekh Center SAB if necessary.

We are seeking proposals at various stages, ranging from early-stage exploratory interdisciplinary collaborative project proposals involving two or more laboratories who have not previously collaborated and are eager to explore a new joint topic or approach, to pilot proposals testing novel hypotheses and/or develop new research methodology to understand shared pathways among neurodegenerative disorders. The proposal should include clear milestones to obtain sufficient preliminary data for acquiring additional extramural funding. The proposal is expected to test high-risk/high-reward ideas.

The support is available in amounts of less than $10,000, $10,000-$50,000, or up to $100,000, depending on the stages and goals of the project, to be disbursed over a (maximum) 2-year period, though less time may be requested.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include faculty members in all academic tracks of NYU Langone whose proposals fit the criteria listed below. Students and postdoctoral fellows are not eligible to apply as private investigators (PIs), but specific inclusion of trainees in the proposal is encouraged.

Application Process

Applications for funding from the Parekh Center for Interdisciplinary Neurology must be submitted via our online application portal. Please include the following items with your application:

A two-page letter of intent (LOI) due on September 16, 2024, along with National Institutes of Health (NIH) biosketches for all PIs/Co-PIs of each submission are required.

• A one-page overview of the project, containing a brief description of the research project. This should include significance of research, hypothesis, aims, experimental approaches, milestones/ expected timeline, and total overall budget value.
• One additional page including:
  • A brief description of why the proposed project is innovative within the focus area.
  • A brief description of why the Parekh Center for Interdisciplinary Neurology funding would be essential to your research.
  • A statement outlining current or future collaboration between clinical and basic research arms of NYU Langone Health.
  • A clear indication of how the funding and research generated will be used to achieve future funding or translational success at the completion of the award.

Full proposal by invitation is due on November 18, 2024.

Budget

The LOI should include the total overall budget value. The detailed budget will only be requested for those applications chosen to submit a full proposal.

Award Selection Process

LOIs will be reviewed by a selection committee, led by the center’s directors and advisory committee, comprising faculty across multiple disciplines and departments including but not limited to the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, the Neuroscience Institute, and the Center for Human Genetics and Genomics.

Criteria for funding of these awards include the following:

• the applicant’s capacity to conduct bold, exceptionally creative research
• the potential impact for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment or basic understanding of neurological diseases and disorders
• the current limited resources of the applicant to pursue the proposed research based on traditional funding models
• the extent of collaborations among various departments, divisions, and disciplines
• projects that focus on a single disease-specific mechanism will be less competitive
• projects that bring together diverse groups of researchers (defined by gender, underrepresented minorities, or differentially abled individuals) or focus on nontraditional patient cohorts/diseases will be strongly competitive

A strength of previous successful projects was a willingness for research in novel areas, or with new clinical/basic science collaborators.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about Parekh Center Research Program or how to apply, please email Parekh.Center@NYULangone.org.