INTRODUCTION

The Whitehall Foundation, through its program of grants and grants-in-aid, assists scholarly research in the life sciences. It is the Foundation's policy to assist those dynamic areas of basic biological research that are not heavily supported by Federal Agencies or other foundations with specialized missions. In order to respond to the changing environment, the Whitehall Foundation periodically reassesses the need for financial support by the various fields of biological research.

The Foundation emphasizes the support of young scientists at the beginning of their careers and productive senior scientists who wish to move into new fields of interest. Consideration is given, however, to applicants of all ages. The chief criteria for support are the quality and creativity of the research as well as the commitment of the Principal Investigator (a minimum time allocation of 20% is required). The principal investigator must hold no less than the position of assistant professor, or the equivalent, in order to participate in the application process. The applicant need not be in a tenure track position but must be an independent researcher and have Principal Investigator status at his/her institution, usually construed as having lab space independent of another Principal Investigator.

The Foundation does not award funds to investigators who have substantial extramural funding, even if it is for an unrelated purpose. While it is difficult to assign a specific dollar amount to this policy and each case is unique, the Foundation currently defines "substantial" as approximately $200,000 per year (including both direct and indirect expense but excluding the Principal Investigator's salary).

The Foundation is currently interested in basic research in neurobiology, defined as follows: Invertebrate and vertebrate (excluding clinical) neurobiology, specifically investigations of neural mechanisms involved in sensory, motor, and other complex functions of the whole organism as these relate to behavior. The overall goal should be to better understand behavioral output or brain mechanisms of behavior.

The Foundation does not support research focused primarily on disease(s) unless it will also provide insights into normal functioning.