The Royal announced an anonymous $6 million donation Thursday, saying it will help support some of the world's brightest young mental health researchers.

The gift led to the launch of a program which gives successful applicants — who must be within the first five years of completing a PhD or doctor of medicine degree — financial and professional support to propel an original research project.

The program, called Emerging Researchers in Mental Health, is the first of its kind in Canadian mental health research, according to the Ottawa mental health centre.

"The donor believes that curiosity drives innovation, and that mental health needs more of it," said Nancy Stanton, acting president and CEO of The Royal's Foundation.

"By fuelling the careers of bright young minds willing to defy convention and explore new approaches, curiosity can lead to new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat mental illness."

Right now with mental illness, we are where we were with heart disease and diabetes more than 100 years ago. - Dr. Zul Merali

The Royal will support five projects exploring "out-of-the-box ideas" that hold the potential to transform current thinking.

The hospital's five main research priorities are depression, the brain-heart connection, stress and trauma, brain stimulation and multimodal brain imaging, but it will also consider research outside these areas.

"Right now with mental illness, we are where we were with heart disease and diabetes more than 100 years ago," said Dr. Zul Merali, president and CEO of The Royal's research department.

"We need curiosity-driven, innovative researchers — the best and brightest young minds — eager to advance the field of mental health research."

Each chosen applicant will receive up to $100,000 per year in salary as well as $100,000 per year in research support for up to five years, according to the program's website.