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Developmental Disabilities

2003 Grants

In 2003, the Serena Merck Direct Service Memorial Award was given to Tom Weddle, who works for the Spokane School District 81, the Washington Department of Developmental Disabilities, and other school districts and agencies throughout eastern Washington and northern Idaho. He provides assessment information and training regarding the educational and behavioral needs of children and adults with autism.

John Merck Scholars Program in the Biology
of Developmental Disabilities in Children

Columbia University

$75,000
To support research by John Merck Scholar Rafael Yuste, MD, PhD, for cortical development focusing on the understanding of dendritic filopodia using two-photon microscopy. Third installment of a four-year, $300,000 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. Second installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

Cornell University, Weill Medical College

$50,000
To conduct a summer institute on the biology of developmental disabilties for 36 graduate students.

Duke University

$75,000
To support research by John Merck Scholar Elizabeth Brannon, PhD, on the evolution and ontogeny of mathematical abilities. First installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

Harvard Medical School

$75,000
To support research by John Merck Scholar Zhigang He, PhD, on repulsive mechanisms in axon pathfinding and regeneration. Third installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

$60,000
To support research by John Merck Scholar Anirvan Ghosh, PhD, on regulation of connectivity in the developing cortex. Final installment of a four-year, $240,000 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. First 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. Second 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. First installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

University of California, San Diego

$60,000
To support research by John Merck Scholar Joseph Gleeson, MD, on the genetic mechanisms of neuronal migration to the cerebral cortex. Final installment of a four-year, $240,000 grant.

University of California, San Francisco

$75,000
To support research by John Merck Scholar Samuel Pleasure, MD, PhD, on developmental signaling systems in development of the hippocampus. Third installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

University of Rochester

$60,000
To support research by John Merck Scholar Daphne Bavelier, PhD, on the assessment of plastic changes in visual functions after early auditory deprivation. Final installment of a four-year, $240,000 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. Second installment of a four-year, $300,000 grant.

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Family Support

National Association for the Dually Diagnosed

$15,000
To provide travel assistance so that parents and caregivers can attend the annual conference; and to provide general support.

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See 2010 Grants

See 2009 Grants

See 2008 Grants

See 2007 Grants

See 2006 Grants

See 2005 Grants

See 2004 Grants

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