MCPsych

MCPsych is Wellcome Leap’s $50 million program on anhedonic depression, designed to build an integrated model that links biology with measurable external signals across genes, molecules, cells, animal models, and humans. It sits in Wellcome Leap’s active portfolio and is already in execution, so the work is organized around selected teams rather than a standing open call. Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD directs the program. The program uses a cooperative-agreement model and does not publish an open solicitation at the time reflected in the source material. Its targets are concrete: double the share of patients who receive effective treatment on the first attempt from a 33% baseline, help half of currently non-responsive patients, and reach 85% survival at five-plus years for severe treatment-resistant depression. That gives the program a clear clinical endpoint rather than a general research theme. The strongest fit is a team that can connect mechanistic biology, external measurement, and translational psychiatry into one coherent plan. The work is meant for groups that can move across genes, molecules, cells, animal systems, and human studies without losing the patient outcome at the center. In practice, this is a closed, multi-institution effort aimed at hard problems rather than an open invitation for isolated projects.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.