Dr. Benjamin Awarded Prestigious 2025 BBRF Young Investigator Grant
🧠 Advancing Schizophrenia Research: Dr. Benjamin Receives 2025 BBRF Young Investigator Grant
We’re thrilled to announce that Dr. Kynon J Benjamin has been selected for the 2025 Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) Young Investigator Grant, one of the most competitive awards supporting early-career researchers in neuroscience and mental health.
🧬 Project Title: Unraveling cell type-specific schizophrenia risk across multiple brain regions using deconvolution 📅 Grant Period: January 15, 2026 – January 14, 2028
🔍 Project Overview
Schizophrenia is a complex and often debilitating brain disorder with strong genetic roots — but pinpointing exactly how risk manifests at the cellular level remains a major challenge.
Dr. Benjamin’s research will use state-of-the-art computational methods to analyze gene expression across three critical brain regions: the caudate nucleus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. By deconvoluting bulk transcriptomic data, the project aims to:
- Identify cell type-specific gene expression changes linked to schizophrenia
- Highlight how specific gene alterations disrupt neural function
- Integrate findings with large-scale genetic studies to uncover actionable schizophrenia risk genes
The ultimate goal: provide a clearer roadmap for the development of precision-based, cell-targeted therapies for schizophrenia.
We’re deeply honored by this recognition and excited to contribute new insights to the field of psychiatric genomics.