Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons

$85,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Peter Scheiffele, PhD, on the regulation of synaptic development by the neurexin-neuroligin complex. Second installment of a four-year, $235,000 grant.

Cornell University, Weill Medical College

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Bruce McCandliss, PhD, on the development of visual word recognition skills, a cognitive neuroscience approach to normal function, impairment and intervention. Final installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

Cornell University, Weill Medical College

$65,000

To conduct the 2005 summer institute on the biology of developmental disabilities.

Duke University

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Elizabeth Brannon, PhD, on the evolution and ontogeny of mathematical abilities. Third installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

Harvard Medical School

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Dietmar Schmucker, PhD, on the functional and molecular analysis of the DSCAM family of neuronal immunoglobulin receptors. Second installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Pawan Sinha, PhD, on characterizing and improving face-processing skills in autistic and visually deprived children. Third installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

The Rockefeller University

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Leslie Vosshall, PhD, on olfactory perception and the encoding of preference. Final installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

University of California, Davis

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Kimberley McAllister, PhD, on cellular mechanisms of mental retardation. Third installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

University of California, Davis

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Silvia Bunge, PhD, on neural underpinnings of deficient cognitive controls in developmental disorders. First installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

University of California, San Francisco

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Loren Frank, PhD, on the neural correlates of learning in the hippocampal-cortical circuit. Second installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

University of Minnesota Medical School

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Teresa Nick, PhD, on the role of neuronal excitability in vocal plasticity. First installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

Washington University in St. Louis

$75,000

To support research by John Merck Scholar Bradley L. Schlaggar, MD, PhD, on the normal and abnormal development of cognitive control using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Final installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

National Association for the Dually Diagnosed

$20,000

To provide travel assistance to parents and caregivers to attend the annual conference; and to provide general support.