NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Tulane University institute dedicated to brain science has received a pledge of $1 million to endow a research fund.

The pledge to Tulane’s Brain Institute was made by the Priddy Family Foundation to establish the Priddy Family Spark Research Endowed Fund. A Tulane news release says the fund will provide competitive awards to faculty for research support.

Criteria for awards will be based on a given project’s scientific and its potential to elevate the visibility of the Brain Institute and draw future support from competitive national funding agencies.

The Brain Institute was formed in 2016 to coordinate neuroscience endeavors at Tulane.

The Priddy Family Foundation was founded in 1963 by the parents of Tulane alumnus Robert Priddy, a businessman and former president of the foundation.