Alkermes Pathways Research Awards

The Alkermes Pathways Research Awards program supports early-career researchers working to advance understanding of diseases and conditions in neuroscience. Alkermes describes the program as part of its commitment to the pursuit of science in neuroscience and reports that 25 Pathways awards have been presented since 2018. The program is intended to support the next generation of researchers working on neurological and complex psychiatric conditions. Individual research grants of up to $100,000 per research project are available for investigators conducting research relating to sleep disorders, schizophrenia, or bipolar I disorder, including sleep and circadian disturbances associated with these conditions. The program's stated areas of interest include schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder, sleep and circadian disturbances within bipolar I disorder and/or schizophrenia, narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia. Examples of sleep and circadian disturbances identified by the program include excessive daytime sleepiness and hypersomnolence. Eligible research designs include preclinical, clinical, translational, and epidemiological research; treatment and patient-centered outcomes; clinical and health economic outcomes using real-world data; and outcomes research supporting continuity of care through telehealth or other technology-based approaches. Applications are not required to include an Alkermes product. The Pathways Research Awards program is specifically intended for investigators in the early stages of their careers who focus on and have demonstrated a commitment to sleep disorders, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. Applicants must hold an M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent and must be affiliated with a medical or research center within the United States at the time of application. An applicant must be within five years of an initial academic appointment, such as an assistant professor appointment, or be a current postdoctoral fellow. Applicants must also have a research mentor with extensive experience in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and/or sleep medicine. Additional eligibility requirements apply to the investigator's funding history, residency or immigration status, and ability to receive the award. At the time of award, an applicant must not have received a DP2 award or NIH R01 grant, although an applicant may be the recipient of a career development K award or another mentored research grant. Applicants must be willing and able to accept funding from a for-profit biopharmaceutical company and must be capable of completing the proposed research within two years. An applicant must also be a United States citizen or permanent resident, or hold a temporary non-immigrant visa that remains valid for the duration of the two-year grant period. Applications are formally reviewed by an Independent Review Committee composed of prominent researchers in the relevant field, and that committee has final responsibility for selecting awardees. Evaluation criteria include, but are not limited to, the proposal's overall impact, the candidate, the mentor, the research environment, the institution's commitment to the applicant, and the research plan. These criteria indicate that applicants should establish both the scientific significance of the proposed work and the qualifications and support structures surrounding the investigator and project. The current Pathways application period is closed. Awardees for the eighth annual Pathways Research Awards are expected to be announced in the second half of 2026. Alkermes directs interested parties to return to the program page for updates concerning the ninth annual Pathways Research Awards cycle. The program's history and reference to an eighth and ninth annual cycle support treating the opportunity as recurring annually, although the source does not provide the ninth-cycle opening date or application deadline. No pre-application deadline, letter of intent requirement, current application opening date, final application deadline, named program contact, email address, or telephone number is provided in the supplied material. Applicants requiring clarification are directed to submit an inquiry through the Pathways inquiry form.

Align the proposal with the stated neuroscience areas of interest and research design criteria; clearly demonstrate overall impact, candidate strength, mentor strength, research environment, institutional commitment, and the research plan. An Alkermes product is not required.