Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD2)
Discovery Research Grant, Cycle 5
Award: up to $5,000,000 over 4 years
Deadline: November 20, 2026
Interested? Notify [email protected] for more information. All LOI documents will be due to our office no later than November 13.
Overview
Funder seeks to support innovative and collaborative groups of researchers working to improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms that underlie bipolar disorder. There is an emphasis on multidisciplinary teams to develop targeted and groundbreaking research applications that examine the genetic, molecular, cellular, circuit, and/or behavioral mechanisms of bipolar disorder.
For Cycle 5, they encourage applications that fall in one of these spotlight areas:
- proposals that center of women's health, sex differences, and the role of hormones in bipolar disorder. This includes studies that examine increased risk during the post-partum period, biological mechanisms underlying female-specific presentation of the illness, or the impact of reproductive transition on symptom progression. Proposals must aim to test a specific biological hypothesis, not observational.
- proposals that incorporate the BD2 Integrated Network, including use of the Integrated Network Dataset or cross-network colaborations.
Important Information
Funder is hosting an informational webinar on October 8, sign up HERE
If you are considering an application in which you are the Principal Investigator, please ensure you meet PI eligibility requirements.
Process
This is a two-step application process.
- The Letter of Intent (LOI/step 1) is managed by the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.
- If you would like to apply, email [email protected] for more details and an LOI worksheet.
- Submit the completed LOI worksheet by November 13, 2026.
If invited to submit a full proposal (step 2), it will be managed by the Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA).