Giving
Research programs conducted at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute (ZNI) are mainly supported through grants awarded to individual investigators holding academic appointments within the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Primary funding comes from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), augmented by nonprofit foundations and private benefactors.
The NIH funds research programs on a competitive basis, usually providing awards that run from one to five years. The NIH is comprised of many different agencies, most of which limit their review of applications for research projects to three times a year. Some of the NIH Institutes funding investigators at ZNI include the National Cancer Institute, National Eye Institute, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Always highly competitive, over the last few years, the number of research grants awarded by the NIH has been drastically scaled back, with most funding levels significantly reduced as well.
Most researchers at ZNI also receive support from foundations and nonprofit organizations. Recent contributions have been accepted from the American Heart Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, among other groups. Some private nonprofits recognize the best and brightest researchers by providing fellowships and awards. Only three years old, the ZNI is already home to recipients of many of these grants, including faculty fellowships from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, David Wright Foundation and the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation.
There are always opportunities for private benefactors to support active biomedical research programs at ZNI. Our current proposals for collaborative projects with ZNI researchers are as follows:
- Cellular Degeneration and Cell Death in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
- Functional Genomics: Neural Function, Development and Disease
- Nervous System Repair: Regeneration, Reinnervation and Remyelination
- Neural Mechanisms underlying Developmental Mental Retardation: A Fragile X Model
- Proteomics Core Facility: Development of a Resource
- Sensory Cortical Mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's Disease: A Specific Consideration for Early Diagnosis and Therapeutics
- Stem Cell-Based Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease
- Understanding Mechanisms of Neural Degeneration in the Retina: Implications for Restored Visual Function
- Video-Conference and Digital Archive System for ZNI Herklotz Seminar Room-
For information on how to fund these or other research projects—or to otherwise support the ZNI—please contact the Cheryl Difatta, Director of Development at (323) 442-2684 or email cheryl.difatta@keck.usc.edu.