Monitoring neuronal networks at risk for schizophrenia

Schizophrenia today is understood as a neurodevelopmental disease and its symptomatic progression is linked to the critical period in brain development during adolescence. We believe that functional maturation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is crucial to the disease process and its understanding could be key for discovering innovative therapeutic mechanisms. To probe cellular mechanisms and molecular targets for addressing early disease manifestations, we are looking for innovative approaches to monitor neuronal network function in schizophrenia risk models.

The following potential approaches to answer our question include, but are not limited to the following:

• New approaches to measure schizophrenia-linked cortical network deficits and response to pharmacological intervention in rodent models.
• Scalable technologies and approaches for reliable monitoring of neuronal activity and network function in acute tissue preparations.
• Solutions based on functional readouts, such as imaging and electrophysiology.
• Technologies built on genetically encoded functional reporters or derived mouse lines.

• Proposals that are not related to schizophrenia network pathology.
• Proposals with experimental approaches that are not applicable to monitor rodent PFC circuitry or that are not scalable.
• Proposals with focus on cellular model systems, e.g. dissociated primary neurons or iPSC-derived neurons, as well as fee for service offers.

Your proposals will be rapidly evaluated and we will get back to you within a period of six weeks after the submission deadline.

You can expect appropriate funding for the prospective collaboration period. Depending on the proposal, we may also provide the opportunity for a funded stay at Boehringer Ingelheim for technology exchange / training. This would be considered as part of a collaboration.

Transparency about your rights & obligations (including IP) will be addressed. You will be encouraged to publish following the collaboration agreement (to be negotiated in good faith).

If your project is selected, you have the opportunity to directly collaborate with the CNS Diseases Research team of Boehringer Ingelheim. It means also that you will be granted access to Boehringer Ingelheim's expertise in CNS drug discovery.

To maintain the highest degree possible in an open innovation environment, we plan to announce the winner(s) publically and feature them on opnMe.com and our social media channels. We would guide you through this process and as part of it we would kindly ask for your upfront consent, in case our scientific jury had selected your answer.

We are seeking research collaboration proposals that contain:

• A well-structured proposal outlining a new and compelling scientific idea,
• A novel, testable working hypothesis distinct from those previously published,
• Framing the questions and the innovation aspects which includes a well thought-through project plan with key decision points and budget requirements,
• Proven track record in the required field of expertise,
• Outlining the technical feasibility of the innovative proposed approach,
• A well-structured experimental plan that will be used to test the hypothesis, and potentially existing data,
• Ability to implement the outlined solution as part of a scientific collaboration project including access to a laboratory.

You should include in your proposal how you would measure neuronal connectivity and excitatory-inhibitory balance during the critical period of adolescence based on innovative, scalable and functional readout(s). Based on your demonstrated expertise, we want you to provide a high-level project plan supported by references. Please include also putative timelines and required budget.

Please use our answer submission template to provide a 2-3 page non-confidential proposal (available for download here).

If confidential data exists that would strengthen the proposal, please indicate that confidential information is available to share under a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA). If we find the non-confidential concept proposal sufficiently interesting, we will execute a CDA for confidential discussions.

We have been looking for answers for the following scientific challenge: How would you apply innovative and scalable readouts to monitor neuronal function and connectivity in the brain of developmental models of schizophrenia risk?

All incoming answers accompanied by a collaboration proposal will be evaluated by a scientific jury, and, upon selection, chosen proposals are pursued through a joint collaboration with the successful applicants. You can expect appropriate funding for the prospective collaboration period of up to three years for each selected proposal.

You are invited to submit collaboration proposals also for “expired” questions including this one.