Education and Development Initiatives

Department of Psychiatry Forensic Research Grant Program

The Isaac Ray Research Program provides limited grant funding to support new or ongoing research by the Department of Psychiatry faculty in the area of behavioral science and the law. Funding may be used to support the collection of pilot data for a new project, or to expand an ongoing project. Although there are no restrictions on allowable expenses, nonspecific requests to “buy out” a portion of FTE for research will not be considered.

Who is eligible?  

The Principal Investigator must hold a faculty appointment (full- or part-time) at any rank in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences or Lurie Children’s Hospital.  Students and residents are not eligible for these awards.  More than one Principal Investigator may be designated on the application.  Applicants can submit only one application per year per grant.  Prior applicants are encouraged to reapply.   

Because this grant is designed to encourage new investigators and the development of new research projects, priority will be given to junior and mid-career faculty, and applications that demonstrate the potential of proposed research to: (1) inform the mechanisms underlying the interactions between human behavior and legal systems, and (2) result in or support a sustainable externally funded program of research related to forensic psychology or psychiatry.  

The grant is not intended to support graduate students (except to carry out the proposed project), to supplement ongoing investigations, or fund shortfalls in ongoing research studies. 

How much is available? What is the duration of support? 

The maximum level of support is $10,000 including direct and indirect costs.  We anticipate funding one award per year. A project is eligible to be funded only once, and grants are not renewable.  If an application for the small grant is unsuccessful, it may be resubmitted the following year. In some years, grants may not be awarded if meritorious projects are not received.  The period of funding is September through August of each year.  

Application:

Applications must include the following sections: 

  • Contact Information and Study Personnel 
  • Background and Specific Aims (1 page maximum NOT including references) 
  • Research Strategy (1 page maximum) 
  • Budget Summary (including a brief budget justification) 

Deadlines:   

Applications are due by June 15, 2023 for research to be conducted in FY 2024. Submitted applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the Isaac Ray Research Program Steering Committee in July 2023. Funding decisions will be communicated by July 28, 2023. Funding will begin on September 1, 2023.   

Applications should be submitted to Dr. Brook via email mbrook@northwestern.edu   

If you have questions about the eligibility of your research or the application process, please schedule a consultation with Dr. Brook

Reporting and Requirements:  

  • Formal Institutional Review Board or Animal Care and Use Committee approval will be required before projects are allowed to collect or analyze data on human subjects or animals.  

  • Grantees must submit a year-end report by November 1, 2024.  

  • If the study is published, Investigators should acknowledge support of the Isaac Ray Program Forensic Research Award.  

Past Award Recipients:

2019: Mindfulness-based intervention for violence-related PTSD symptoms in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups

Inger Burnett-Zeigler, PhD

2020: The “I am Enough” Project

Tracy Fehrenbach, PhD

2021: Intersections of Psychology and Law for Child Asylum Seekers

Rebecca Ford-Paz, PhD

Cavanaugh Research Fellowship

The Isaac Ray Research Program awards sponsors a competitive merit-based scholarship awarded to an incoming forensic psychiatry fellow who demonstrates academic potential. The goal of this award is to support the next generation of clinician scientists by enabling trainees to conduct independent research in the area of forensic mental health.

Past Award Recipients:

Fred Cecil Jones-Rosa, MD (faculty sponsor: Phillip O’Donnell, PhD): Potential Bias in Fitness Evaluations for Juveniles in Chicago

Andrew Rosen, MD: Factitious Disorders, Pseudologia Fantastica, and the Law

Isaac Ray Research Program Grand Rounds Lecture

Past Speakers (click on lecture title to watch lecture recording):

The Isaac Ray Research Program sponsors an annual lecture within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Grand Rounds Series. The goal of this lecture is to attract nationally and internationally renowned scholars in the area of behavioral sciences and the law.