[Grant Application] NeuraDAO

Project name
NeuraDAO

Description
Positive-feedback-loop funding ecosystem for neurotech research

Vision
Create a sustainable funding model so that researchers can focus on actually doing research.

Problem
Funding in academia is slow, bureaucratic and wasteful. On top of this, even though most grants come from taxpayers’ money, much of the research output is locked away (e.g. behind a paywall, with the artefacts produced being unreachable or simply irreproducible). Research at the intersection of neuroscience and technology (neurotech) is greatly affected by these issues.

Solution/Product
NeuraDAO’s mission is to create a transparent, positive-feedback loop to fund neurotech research. We want to drive effective decision making by recognising great contributions equipped with long-term alignment amongst participants.

  • The DAO will build up its treasury by minting and offering its Governance token, the AXON token.
  • The treasury funds will be used to sponsor research projects in exchange for the rights to the IP and data produced.
  • The proceedings from the respective licensing will return back to the DAO treasury, which then will be able to continue investing in other future projects
  • DAO participants will have the opportunity to receive distributions after successful projects are completed.

Additionally, we want to ensure that the world’s top experts continue long-term aligned and motivated. For that:

  • Voting power is only granted for staked token with a lockup (e.g. voting power = amount of AXON token staked * staking length)
  • There will be a token pool to reward promising projects and talent, with a long vesting period, based on potential contributions and milestones

Validation / Traction / Progress so far
We currently have a Discord server with more than 100 users.
In addition, we have created a Github Org and Gitbook for documentation.
The core team is currently validating the funding model with neurotech researchers as well as our tokenomics and governance frameworks with experts from other DAO and DeSci projects (e.g. VitaDAO, OpSci)

Team (alphabetically)

  • Amy Nick: PhD graduate in clinical Neuroscience, currently working as a patent attorney.
  • Ahnaaf Khan: research & development at Muse (portable EEG headset manufacturer)
  • Anush Mutyala: research & development at Divergence Neuro (mental health platform)
  • Inês Pereira: medical doctor, Neurology resident and PhD student in Computational Neuroscience
  • Nick Singh: former Technical Front End Leat at Sky

Grant Amount Requested
10K USD

What it will be used for?

  • Support the technical infrastructure (e.g. gas fees).
  • Work with legal experts

Attach any additional documents/resources about the project

How did you hear about MGD’s Funding program?
Through Aliya (Kernel Block 5 Steward)

Hi Nespereira,

The members of Meta Gamma Delta DAO want to thank you for your grant application submission! We apologize for the delay. We took a pause to restructure and are just getting up to speed and looking to award some grants by the close of 2022. The Grants Committee is interested in hearing an update and any further details you would like us know about your project by November 28, 2022. You may include links, a video up to 2 minutes long and/or written update. All submissions will be reviewed and responses will be made after November 30, 2022. Please feel free to respond or ask questions and a committee member will get back with you as soon as possible.
Thank you for your interest in Meta Gamma Delta Grants Program. We look forward to hearing more from you soon.

Hi Nespereia,

The members of Meta Gamma Delta DAO want to thank you for your recent grant application submission. The decision-making process was difficult as we had a variety of powerful groups and organizations interested in a limited amount of grant dollars.

Unfortunately, your application was not selected for funding at this time. However, we would really appreciate you keeping us posted on further development and growth and hope you apply again in the future. Membership to Meta Gamma Delta DAO is always open should you be interested and in general, we look forward to connecting in the metaverse!