Kavli and NSF Launch New Grants to Propel Neurobiology Research in Dynamic Ecosystems
The Kavli Foundation and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) have awarded a new round of funding through the Neurobiology in Changing Ecosystems (NiCE) initiative, supporting interdisciplinary research at the intersection of neuroscience, ecology, and biology. Each project will receive $1 million over three years to investigate how nervous systems adapt to rapidly changing, human-influenced environments.
Funded Projects Include:
University of Oregon: Studying how rising temperatures and chemical pollutants affect zebrafish neural circuits and reproductive behavior.
Johns Hopkins University: Investigating neural resilience in bats and mice to cope with anthropogenic noise.
University of Kentucky: Exploring how honey bees integrate cues like daylength and temperature to adjust pollination behaviors.
MIT: Using jellyfish larvae to study neural circuits driving habitat selection and ecosystem interactions.
The NiCE program, launched in 2023, challenges traditional lab-based neuroscience by embedding research in real-world ecological contexts. By linking molecular neuroscience to ecosystem dynamics, the initiative aims to reveal how organisms adapt to climate change, pollution, and other stressors; knowledge that could inform conservation strategies, public health, and biomimetic technologies.
This public-private partnership reflects a transformative vision: neuroscience as an ecological science, essential to understanding resilience in a changing world.