A bipolar disorder research initiative backed by Big Tech has announced $36 million in new funding for research into the disease’s biology.
BD²: Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder was launched in 2022 with backing from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Roblox founder David Baszucki and Keystone Capital chair Kent Dauten. The initiative is awarding $18 million in its second round of grant-making, while also pledging to give a third round of $18 million in grants, BD2 said in a Sept. 26 release.
“This second round of funding includes projects with direct links to programs throughout BD², building the scientific basis for new diagnostic and treatment approaches,” Cara Altimus, Ph.D., managing director for BD² and managing director at the Milken Institute Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration, said in the release.
The $18 million in second-round funding will be spread across four recipients, who will each receive $4.5 million over three years.
A team led by Paul Harrison at the University of Oxford will use their grant to investigate the role of voltage-gated calcium channels in bipolar disorder. Lance Kriegfeld, Ph.D., at the University of California, Berkeley, will explore the interplay between sleep disruption and reward-related behavior in bipolar disorder. Tracy Young-Pearse, Ph.D., of Mass General Brigham will lead a team examining the immune system’s role in the disease, while Jen Pan, Ph.D., of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard will study gene-driven dysfunction in key brain regions.
Applications for the third round of funding are now open. The first round of grantees, who began their projects last year, include groups from Yale University, Stanford University, New York Genome Center and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University.