Notices of Funding Opportunities

Change of application types allowed for BRAIN Initiative: Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs TeamBCP, RFA-NS-19-002 (U19 Clinical Trial Required) and RFA-NS-19-003 (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Effective immediately, this Notice allows Type 2, renewal applications for the remaining receipt date on October 29, 2021 by 5:PM local time of the applicant organization. Acceptance of new Type 1 applications remains unchanged.

This webinar will take you through the process of putting together an application for the NIH Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award for RFA-NS-21-012. The webinar will go through each part of the application, including eligibility, specific aims and research strategy, sponsor and co-sponsor information, letters of reference and support, and other documents. Participation in the webinar, although encouraged, is optional and is not required for application submission.

This notice corrects the eligibility information for RFA-MH-21-180, "BRAIN Initiative: Reagent Resources for Brain Cell Type-Specific Access and Manipulation to Broaden Distribution of Enabling Technologies for Neuroscience (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" to clarify that NIH intramural candidates are eligible to apply.

NOITP for RFA-MH-21-236 This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) intends to support a group of Specialized Collaboratories that will adopt scalable technology platforms and streamlined sampling strategies and assay cascade to create comprehensive and highly granular brain cell atlases in human, non-human primates, and mouse, in coordination and collaboration with other BICAN projects. In particular, the Specialized Collaboratories are expected to complement the Comprehensive Centers in BICAN with distinct capabilities, competencies, and research aims. The overarching goal of the BICAN is to build reference brain cell atlases that will be widely used throughout the research community, providing a molecular and anatomical foundational framework for the study of brain function and disorders.

NOITP for RFA-MH-21-237 This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) intends to support a Coordinating Unit for Biostatistics, Informatics, and Engagement (CUBIE) that will be composed of four components to establish respectively (1) a common sequencing data processing pipeline, (2) a common imaging data processing pipeline, (3) a comprehensive brain cell knowledge base, and (4) an engaging and outreach component to coordinate the research within and beyond BICAN. The overall goals of CUBIE are to (i) enable the exploration of large-scale brain cell atlas data and knowledge, and inspire research in brain function and disorders; and (ii) ensure research rigor and data reproducibility by making the data to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, and the process transparent. An application is expected to propose only one of the above four respective components.

NOITP for RFA-MH-21-235 This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) intends to support a group of large-scale Comprehensive Centers that will adopt scalable technology platforms and streamlined sampling strategies and assay cascade to create comprehensive and highly granular brain cell atlases of human and non-human primates with an emphasis on human. The Centers are expected to characterize all brain cell types (neurons, glia, and other non-neuronal cells) at high-resolution. The overarching goal of the BICAN is to build reference brain cell atlases that will be widely used throughout the research community, providing a molecular and anatomical foundational framework for the study of brain function and disorders.

Reissue of RFA-NS-18-020: Understanding the dynamic activity of brain circuits is central to the NIH BRAIN Initiative. This FOA seeks applications for proof-of-concept testing and development of new technologies and novel approaches for recording and modulation (including various modalities for stimulation/activation, inhibition and manipulation) of cells (i.e., neuronal and non-neuronal) and networks to enable transformative understanding of dynamic signaling in the central nervous system (CNS). This FOA seeks exceptionally creative approaches to address major challenges associated with recording and modulating CNS activity, at or near cellular resolution, at multiple spatial and/or temporal scales, in any region and throughout the entire depth of the brain. It is expected that the proposed research may be high-risk, but if successful, could profoundly change the course of neuroscience research. Proposed technologies should be compatible with experiments in behaving animals, validated under in vivo experimental conditions, and capable of reducing major barriers to conducting neurobiological experiments and making new discoveries about the CNS. Technologies may engage diverse types of signaling beyond neuronal electrical activity such as optical, magnetic, acoustic and/or genetic recording/manipulation. Applications that seek to integrate multiple approaches are encouraged. If suitable, applications are expected to integrate appropriate domains of expertise, including biological, chemical and physical sciences, engineering, computational modeling and statistical analysis.

Reissue of RFA-NS-18-019: Understanding the dynamic activity of neural circuits is central to the NIH BRAIN Initiative. The invention, proof-of-concept investigation, and optimization of new technologies through iterative feedback from end users are key components of the BRAIN Initiative. This FOA seeks applications to optimize existing or emerging technologies through iterative testing with end users. The technologies and approaches should have potential to address major challenges associated with recording and modulation (including various modalities for stimulation/activation, inhibition and manipulation) of cells (i.e., neuronal and non-neuronal) and networks to enable transformative understanding of dynamic signaling in the central nervous system (CNS). These technologies and approaches should have previously demonstrated their transformative potential through initial proof-of-concept testing and are now ready for accelerated refinement. In conjunction, the manufacturing techniques should be scalable towards sustainable, broad dissemination and user-friendly incorporation into regular neuroscience research. Proposed technologies should be compatible with experiments in behaving animals, validated under in vivo experimental conditions, and capable of reducing major barriers to conducting neurobiological experiments and making new discoveries about the CNS. Technologies may engage diverse types of signaling beyond neuronal electrical activity such as optical, electrical, magnetic, acoustic or genetic recording/manipulation. Applications that seek to integrate multiple approaches are encouraged. If suitable, applications are expected to integrate appropriate domains of expertise, including biological, chemical and physical sciences, engineering, computational modeling and statistical analysis.

This notice informs applicants of a change to the Key Dates for RFA-NS-20-006 "BRAIN Initiative: Biology and Biophysics of Neural Stimulation and Recording Technologies (R01 Clinical Trials Optional)". Two of the receipt dates, the October 1, 2021 and June 1, 2022 receipt dates have been cancelled from this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit public input for NIH on investments for The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative in non-invasive human brain imaging technologies.