Neurological Research Institute Seed Grant is sponsored by Ohio State Medical Center. Provides seed funding for innovative neuroscience research projects.

Email us: OSU-NRI@osumc. edu Download a list of external funding sources (excel file) The PI for the proposal must be a full-time OSU or NCH faculty member or post-graduate trainee (resident, clinical fellow, or post-doctoral fellow) conducting neuroscience-related research. Faculty members and post-graduate trainees will be reviewed in separate cohorts.

Priority will be given to projects submitted by junior faculty and/or trainees. Trainee applications are required to have a faculty mentor. Applications will be reviewed by a NRI Seed Funding Panel (overseen by both the NRI Director and Associate Director; and will be reviewed by the NRI Translational and Cross-collaborations Committee and other experts deemed necessary).

Panelists will be representative of NRI affiliated-departments. Applications with a focus on neurobiology of aging and/or neurodegeneration will be prioritized.

Selections will be made based on the following criteria: Relevance to neuroscience/NRI mission Likelihood of future extramural funding Collaborative/interdisciplinary projects Translational projects/use of human samples Use of NRI Brain Bank & Biorepository (highly preferred) including samples currently in Biorepository and/or prospective collections please see updated NRI newsletter for latest inventory and/or email NRI-BBB@osumc.

edu Co-Pl/collaborator names, if applicable Abstract (not included in page limit) Project Summary (limited to 3 pages) which should include: Hypothesis and Specific Aims Background and Significance Research Strategy (including methodology) Describe use of NRI biorepository (if applicable) Biostatistics/Bioinformatics Approach (power analysis preferred (if applicable)) External Funding Potential (not included in page limit) References (not included in page limit) Proposed Budget Detail and Budget Justification Applicants should budget for $25,000.

Budget period is for one year and has an anticipated start date of July 1st, 2026. Budget should not contain any salary for Pl. Non-Pl support may be approved in unique circumstances if fully justified as essential for project and approved by committee at the time of proposal review.

No travel or publication fees allowed. PI(s) Biosketch or CV (inclusion of all current and pending grants) Documentation of IRB, IACUC, and/or IBC approval if relevant (Please attach submission and/or approval letters) Supplemental Material (not required) which may include: Letters of support from collaborators Please submit your application as a PDF file via email to the NRI Associate Director at OSU-NRI@osumc.

edu on or before Friday, April 3, 2026. Please title your email 2026 NRI Seed Grant. The NRI expects to fund ~3-4 Seed grants in 2026.

All funded PIs will be required to submit progress reports, present at a NRI-sponsored event, and acknowledge the NRI in all associated publications and presentations. Any questions can be emailed to OSU-NRI@osumc. edu .

Postdoctoral Fellow - Department of Neurology "Study of Genes Escaping X Chromosome Inactivation as Mediating Factors of Sex-Differences in Alzheimer’s Disease" Postdoctoral Fellow - Department of Cancer Biology & Genetics "Investigating Neuron-Driven Mechanisms in Glioblastoma" Devi Jaganathan, PhD & Sergiy Chornyy, PhD Research Scientists - Nationwide Children's Hospital "Development of In Vivo Organoid model of Human Corpus Callosum to Investigate Disease Mechanism in TBCD-Related Early-Onset Neurodegenerative Encephalopathy" Assistant Professor - Department of Neurology "Unraveling the transcriptional programs and TCR characteristics of CNS-protective regulatory T cells" Postdoctoral Fellow- Department of Neuroscience (Tedeschi Lab) "Decoding the mechanisms of intramuscular fat accumulation after spinal cord injury" Assistant Professor - Neurology "Assessing immune senescence in Alzheimer’s disease patients" Postdoctoral Scholar - Neuroscience (Fu Lab) "Uncovering the role of cholesterol transporter, GRAMD1B, in the development and spread of tau pathology" Postdoctoral Scholar - Neurology (Segal Lab) "Age-associated glial cell dysregulation in CNS autoimmune disease" Assistant Professor - NCH Institute of Genomic Medicine "Investigating molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental deficits in a patient caused by biallelic variants in SPATA5" Assistant Professor - Cancer Biology & Genetics "Employ nanobody-based proteolysis targeting chimera to therapeutically target neurodegenerative disease" Postdoctoral Scholar - Neurology "Impact of Central Nervous System Injury on Form and Function of the Neuromuscular Junction" Elucidation of the cellular and molecular alterations within paretic muscle tissue following injury to the brain or spinal cord.

Postdoctoral Scholar - Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research "The Impact of Western Diet Consumption on T-cell Brain Infiltration in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease" Comprehensive assessment of a western diet on brain infiltration and reactivity of proinflammatory T-cells, Alzheimer's Disease pathology, and cognitive deficits.

Research Scientist - Neurosurgery "Novel Intracranial Delivery of AAV-based Gene Therapy for Sensorineural Hearing Loss" Comparison of cochlea transduction efficiency of multiple AAV vector serotypes following intracranial administration.

Assistant Professor - Neurology "Markers of Biological Aging in Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis" Investigation of the association of multiple mechanisms of biological aging in Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis patients with disease outcomes.

Research Scientist - Neuroscience "Understanding microglial control of central nervous system disease and repair with spatiotemporal resolution" Assistant Professor - Nationwide Children's (Neurology) "Role of extracellular vesicles and miRNAs in multiple sclerosis pathogenic blood-brain-barrier dysfunction—a novel human 3D cerebrovascular-on-a-chip model" Associate Professor, Neurosurgery Associate Professor, Neurology "Aging Of The Peripheral Nervous System And Loss Of Synaptic Fidelity At The Adipocyte And Muscle" Assistant Professor, Neuroscience "Microbiome-Induced Alterations to Catecholamine Processing after Traumatic Brain Injury" For questions/inquiries, email: OSU-NRI@osumc.

edu