BBRF’s annual Klerman & Freedman Prizes recognize exceptional clinical and basic research in mental illness conducted by BBRF Young Investigator grantees. The Young Investigator Grant program is the hallmark program of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, enabling aspiring young scientists with innovative ideas to garner pilot data and generate “proof of concept” for their work. These two prizes recognize innovative thinking and remarkable talent across the field of neuropsychiatry. The prizewinners are selected by committees of the Foundation’s distinguished Scientific Council.
Klerman Prize for Exceptional Clinical Research
The Klerman Prize, established in 1994 by Myrna M. Weissman, Ph.D., in memory of her late husband, Gerald L. Klerman, M.D., honors exceptional clinical research by a Young Investigator Grantee.
2021 Klerman Prizewinner:

Nicholas L. Balderston, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Honorable Mentions:
- Hengyi Cao, Ph.D. - The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
- Nolan R. Williams, M.D. - Stanford University
Selection Committee
Chair:
- Robert M.A. Hirschfeld, M.D. - Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University
Members:
- Martin B. Keller, M.D. - Brown University
- Rachel G. Klein, Ph.D. - New York University
- Nina R. Schooler, Ph.D. - State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
- Karen Dineen Wagner, M.D., Ph.D. - University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Freedman Prize for Exceptional Basic Research
The Freedman Prize honors the late Daniel X. Freedman, M.D., a pioneer in biological psychiatry and psychopharmacology and a founding member of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Scientific Council. It is awarded to a Young Investigator Grantee for exceptional basic studies.
2021 Freedman Prizewinner:

Meaghan Creed, Ph.D.
Washington University in St. Louis
Honorable Mentions:
- Denise Cai, Ph.D. - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Tomasz J. Nowakowski, Ph.D. - The University of California, San Francisco
Selection Committee
Chair:
- Ariel Y. Deutch, Ph.D. - Vanderbilt University
Members:
- Joseph T. Coyle, M.D. - McLean Hospital, Harvard University
- Peter W. Kalivas, Ph.D. - Medical University of South Carolina
- Husseini K. Manji, M.D., F.R.C.P.C. - Johnson & Johnson PRD, Visiting Professor, Duke University
- Eric J. Nestler, M.D., Ph.D. - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Bryan L. Roth, M.D., Ph.D. - University of North Carolina School of Medicine