Research Funding in Neuroscience. A Profile of The Mc: Knight Endowment Fund

The book is a history of the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience and an assessment of its effectiveness in advancing neuroscience. The book discusses the Fund's early and steady commitment to basic science as well as it's tradition of leveraging relatively modest dollars to make a big difference in careers and the field overall. The fund exists strictly to give awards and create a community of peers through an annual conference dedicated to research. In near unison, scientists who have received awards say they were able to test a risky idea, get their career off the ground, or make a significant change in their career because of McKnight's flexible dollars. The book consists of three parts: (1) origins--including both the funder and the scientists who shaped the program; (2) a review of the science to show how McKnight awardees have advanced the field; and (3) 10 keys to success. We also have an interview with Julius Axelrod (one of the early advisors, done shortly before his death in 2004) and stories of how awardees used their McKnight grants, plus other information. Front cover......Page 1 Research Funding in Neuroscience A Profile of The McKnight Endowment Fund......Page 4 Copyright page......Page 5 Table of contents......Page 8 Introductions......Page 10 HOW MCKNIGHT’S NEUROSCIENCE PROGRAM HAS EVOLVED......Page 16 AN INTERVIEW WITH JULIUS AXELROD......Page 40 HOW THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION HAS NURTURED NEUROSCIENCE......Page 48 ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: A CASE STUDY IN BENCH-TO-BEDSIDE PHILANTHROPY......Page 84 WHY MCKNIGHT’S PROGRAM HAS MADE AN IMPACT......Page 94 IN THEIR OWN WORDS: TESTIMONIALS FROM AWARD RECIPIENTS......Page 116 Historical Highlights......Page 132 MCKNIGHT TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN NEUROSCIENCE AWARDS......Page 136 MCKNIGHT NEUROSCIENCE OF BRAIN DISORDERS AWARDS......Page 137 PAST AWARDS......Page 138 MCKNIGHT SCHOLAR AWARDS......Page 140 MCKNIGHT TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN NEUROSCIENCE AWARDS......Page 146 MCKNIGHT NEUROSCIENCE OF BRAIN DISORDERS AWARDS AWARDS......Page 148 MCKNIGHT INVESTIGATOR AWARDS......Page 150 MCKNIGHT SENIOR INVESTIGATOR AWARDS......Page 153 NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE RECIPIENTS......Page 156 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES MEMBERS......Page 157 HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE INVESTIGATORS......Page 159 Appendix IV: Index of Names......Page 162 Index......Page 180 "In 1976, The McKnight Foundation established a program of support for neuroscience to honor its founder, William L. McKnight. A brilliant businessman who had led the 3M Company for 50 years, McKnight believed support for brain research would be a great gift to humanity. After seeking the advice of the late Julius Axelrod, one of the seminal neuroscientists of the 20th century, the Foundation created an awards program with the fundamental goal of allowing excellent scientists the freedom to pursue their own ideas as they sought to discover the workings of the brain. The awards program was unusual in eschewing a narrow focus on a particular disease, and in spreading its funds widely among individual scientists, rather than giving to institutions. Ten years later, the Foundation established an independent entity, The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience, to carry on the program, with remarkable results. This book explores how a family foundation has leveraged its investment to make a significant impact on neuroscience."--Jacket Provides a history of the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience and an assessment of its effectiveness in advancing neuroscience. This book discusses the Fund's early and steady commitment to basic science as well as it's tradition of leveraging relatively modest dollars to make a big difference in careers and the field overall.