Israeli Prof. Wins US Grant For Innovative Mental Health Research

An Israeli professor is among 10 international recipients of an award for innovative neurobiological and behavioral research.  

Prof. Dorit Ben-Shachar from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is one of the 10 senior-level scientists to equally share the grant of $1 million from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF). 

Ben-Shachar aims to target mitochondria (the producers of energy within a cell) with a treatment that can help with biological and behavioral problems in schizophrenia. If successful, it can offer a better understanding of the role of mitochondria in schizophrenia, and potentially a new way of treating the condition. 

New York-based BBRF is a nonprofit organization that funds mental health research. The foundation gives grants for research in areas such as addiction, bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia. 

The Distinguished Investigator Grant is awarded to professors at research institutions from all over the world. The recipients are selected by 193 experts across different disciplines in brain and behavior research.  

“It is wonderful to see the relaunching of this very important component of BBRF’s research portfolio,” said Dr. Eric J. Nestler, chair of the BBRF Distinguished Investigator Grant committee and member of the scientific council.

“The Distinguished Investigator Award Program serves a unique niche by supporting established investigators to explore high risk but also high yield ideas. We are delighted with the slate of award winners this year. The new awards were selected from a large group of highly competitive applications and will support exciting and innovative lines of research consistent with BBRF’s mission to better understand and ultimately treat severe mental illness.”