Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience: Call for Proposals FY2026

Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience: Call for Proposals FY2026

The T&C Chen Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience invites proposals supporting fundamental research in molecular and cellular neuroscience, including studies of nervous system development, physiology, and function. The Center seeks research that elucidates the molecular, cellular, and subcellular mechanisms that underlie the formation, organization, and operation of neural circuits.

Proposed projects may address developmental processes—such as neural patterning, cell fate specification, circuit assembly, and maturation—as well as the molecular and cellular bases of neural physiology and function, including mechanisms of signaling, excitability, synaptic transmission, and plasticity. Studies may focus on any stage of the nervous system, from early development through mature function, with an emphasis on uncovering generalizable and fundamental principles.

Research at all levels of analysis and employing any experimental, theoretical, or computational approaches is welcome, provided the work is grounded in basic, discovery-driven neuroscience. The Center particularly encourages early-stage, exploratory projects and proposals designed to seed new collaborations across laboratories, disciplines, or methodological approaches.

Two to three awards, with individual awards of up to $75,000–$100,000, depending on project scope and available funds.

Eligibility, terms and review criteria

The full proposal must include:

1) A completed Application Form. Download the fillable PDF form here
Please provide the following information in the dedicated fields on the application form:
a) RFP applying for
b) Lead PI name and division
c) Co-PI name(s) and division(s), if applicable
d) Proposal Title
e) Project Summary, 2 - 3 sentences.
f) Proposal questions, answer each in 3 - 4 sentences.

• How is it innovative and different from "business-as-usual" science in your lab?
• What important and fundamental problem in neuroscience does the proposal address? Be as specific as possible while communicating the fundamental nature of the question.
• How does it engage other members from the Caltech community?
• Do you anticipate being able to apply for federal funding based on the results of this proposal? If so, please provide an approximate timeline and strategy for this process.
• To your knowledge, is anything similar being done by colleagues at other universities? If so, by whom and where and how does it differ from what you propose?

2) Additional Documents: to be attached separately from the application form.
a) What do you propose to do? Description of your project, 500 words max, 12-point font. One page of figures with legends, 4 figures max (use 10 or 11-point font for figure legends, these are not counted in the 500 word limit) and list of references (no page limit).
b) Simple budget (no page limit): Outline how you propose to use the funds, each with a short (1-2 sentence) justification.
Budget may include:

c) Document listing other support: title of grant, amount of money, and brief one sentence description, (no page limit).
d) Signed Division Approval Form (DAF): Please note that if you are submitting a proposal with collaboration between labs in different divisions then the DAF must be signed by all Division Chairs.

Submission
Email your completed application form, project description, budget, list of support, and DAF as a single PDF file to: [email protected]
Name your attached PDF file as follows: Last Name_2026
Your proposal will be uploaded to Box and you will receive a confirmation email from Box within a few minutes of submission. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact us directly at [email protected]