Who funds depression research?

We count 202 funded depression projects, active between 2018 and 2034, from 5 funders. The most came from Wellcome (100 projects), EU · ERC (28 projects) and EU · MSCA (27 projects). The median award is $2.2M, across the 189 of 202 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

202

Funders

5

Median award

$2.2M

Open calls now

2

Top funders of depression research

Projects whose title or summary mentions depression. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open depression funding calls

2 open calls mention depression today.

• Mood and Psychosis Symptoms during the Menopause Transition (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedDeadline: January 7, 2028 ·
  Real odds: About 1 in 8 funded (13% · NIH R01-equivalent grants, all NIH institutes, FY2025)
• Mood and Psychosis Symptoms during the Menopause Transition (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedDeadline: January 7, 2028 ·
  Real odds: About 1 in 9 funded (11% · NIH R21 (exploratory/developmental), all NIH institutes, FY2025)

Real odds

• About 1 in 8 funded · 13% · NIH R01-equivalent grants, all NIH institutes, FY2025 · NIH Data Book, report 29
• About 1 in 9 funded · 11% · NIH R21 (exploratory/developmental), all NIH institutes, FY2025 · NIH Data Book, report 202

Published success rates for the programs behind the open calls above: the share of applications the funder funded, program-wide, not for this topic.

Forecast: announced, not open yet

1 forecast call on depression. Funders publish forecasts before a call opens; you can't apply to these yet, and dates can change.

• ForecastGLS Campus Suicide Prevention
  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services AdminisNot specifiedExpected to open December 15, 2026

Funded depression projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• Is the Individual the Clue in Prevention? Towards a New Personalised Understanding of Depression Prevention in Adolescents
  Wellcome · £2,735,504 · ends 2034
• Reimagining Prevention Science: LGBTQ+ Collective Action to Prevent Depression and Anxiety in Urban Vietnam
  Wellcome · £2,609,727 · ends 2034
• What should we target to treat depression? From receptors and circuits to remission.
  Wellcome · £2,071,597 · ends 2034
• CAREER: Integrating the chemistry and biological organization of neuroactive alkaloid biosynthesis
  NSF · BIO · $1,599,999 · ends 2031
• Advancing methods for pharmacological fMRI to improve discovery and development of treatments for mental health
  UKRI · MRC · £1,963,070 · ends 2031
• Angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockade as a novel mechanism of antidepressant action - a proof-of-mechanism study
  UKRI · MRC · £1,235,904 · ends 2030
• Developing and Validating a Multi-Omic, Psychosocial, and Environmental Model of Individual Differences in Pain and Placebo Responses
  NIH · NCCIH · $4,929,839 · ends 2030
• Structural Gendered Racism-Related Policies and Mental Health among Cisgender Women at Intersecting Axes of Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity: An Intersectional Mixed Methods Study
  NIH · NINR · $3,277,196 · ends 2030
• Mount Sinai ECHO site for Perinatal Environment and Development Studies
  NIH · Office of the Director · $5,651,458 · ends 2030
• NSF-SNSF: Genetic, molecular, and behavioral characterization of inbreeding in a massive wild house mouse pedigree, followed by controlled experimental validations
  NSF · BIO · $1,450,000 · ends 2030

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “depression or depressive”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.