Alkermes Pathways Research Awards: Seven Years of Impact

At Alkermes, we work with urgency each day to make advancements in the field of neuroscience. We are driven by our foundational belief that the unmet needs facing people living with complex psychiatric and neurological disorders deserve careful study and additional research. Beyond the great science my R&D colleagues pursue in our labs every day, for the past seven years, we have been proud to support the Alkermes Pathways Research Awards®, a competitive program which offers early-career researchers in the field of neuroscience individual grants of up to $100,000.

Since its creation in 2018, Alkermes has awarded more than $2 million to 27 early-career investigators, and the impact of these grants has been immense. Five investigators have received NIH & NIMH Research Project Grants based in part on data from Pathways-funded research, and numerous journal publications and scientific posters have been published. Most recently, Xiaoting Wu, Ph.D., a 2022-2023 grant recipient, published an article in Nature’s April 2025 edition.

Following the conclusion of the 7^th annual Pathways cycle (2024-2025), our review committee selected two awardees, who shared their perspective on what this grant means for their research.

Mauricio dos Santos Pereira, Ph.D., a Postdoctoral Associate at the Broad Institute, was awarded a grant for his submission titled: “Impact of the high-risk gene for bipolar disorder, KDM5B, on epigenetic modifications and microglia dysfunction.” Dr. dos Santos Pereira said, “The Pathways Award has been a decisive moment in my journey as a scientist — it validated the significance of my research and gave me the freedom to explore bold questions about how genetic mutations shape neuroimmune interactions in psychiatric disorders. With this support, I’m now achieving scientific advances that would have otherwise been out of reach, applying cutting edge tools to uncover mechanisms that govern brain function in both health and disease.”

Jinye Dai, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was awarded a grant for her submission titled: “Investigating Glutamate Delta-type Receptors in the Synaptic Pathology of Schizophrenia.” Dr. Dai reflected on the award, “The Pathways program offers essential support to advance my early scientific career and provides an opportunity for me to develop and make meaningful contributions to the schizophasia field.”

On behalf of all my colleagues at Alkermes, we sincerely congratulate Drs. dos Santos Pereira and Dai on their achievements and look forward to their research progressing. We look forward to opening the 8^th annual Pathways Research Awards program for submissions in the second half of 2025. Visit the link below to learn more.

Learn about Pathways