PHILADELPHIA — Greg J. Bashaw, PhD, a professor of Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been awarded research funding under a novel, multi-year pilot program from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
The award, one of 31 nationally, will allow outstanding investigators to receive continuous, predictable, and flexible funding for their research on the brain and nervous system. Recipients will receive a single, renewable grant for as long as eight years. An assessment of progress will be made during the fifth year of the award. The Bashaw lab is expected to receive approximately $5.2 million over the eight-year award period.
This new program is aimed at reducing the time spent on writing, submitting, and reporting on multiple grants, thus increasing the productivity of proven investigators as well as allowing them to carry out longer range, innovative research.
Applicants proposed broadly conceived research programs as opposed to the conventional focused proposals of most other funding submissions. No specific goals or detailed experimental plans were included. Instead, the emphasis was on the applicant’s record of scientific contributions. Applicants were also asked to highlight their professional service and mentoring.
Bashaw’s research interests include understanding how axons in the developing nervous system successfully navigate to their correct targets. Uncovering the mechanisms that underlie this process will help generate insight into how the nervous system is wired correctly during development and may have implications for treating developmental brain disorders and promoting nerve regeneration.
This award is provided by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R35NS097340).
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