BRAIN Initiative: New Concepts and Early-Stage Research for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R21) (Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA EY 25 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA EY 25 001

The NIH BRAIN Initiative funding opportunity titled "New Concepts and Early-Stage Research for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R21) (Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" supports high-risk, high-reward projects aimed at radically improving how scientists can record from, or modulate, nervous system activity. The core scientific motivation is straightforward: the BRAIN Initiative is trying to understand how electrical and chemical signaling in neural circuits encodes information and ultimately produces sensation, cognition, emotion, and behavior. Existing tools fall short of that ambition. Non-invasive approaches often have low spatial or temporal resolution and may rely on indirect readouts like blood flow, while invasive approaches can capture the fundamental biophysical signals of individual neurons but typically only sample tens to hundreds of neurons at a time, which is tiny compared with the roughly 85 billion neurons estimated in the human brain. This FOA is designed to push beyond those limitations by nurturing ideas that are still early enough that they may not yet have substantial preliminary data.

What makes this announcement distinct from other BRAIN technology development solicitations is its emphasis on concepts that are even earlier than what is typically funded for proof-of-concept in living systems. Other BRAIN FOAs focus either on developing novel technology platforms or on optimizing and getting existing technologies to the point where in vivo testing and preliminary data collection are realistic. In contrast, this R21 mechanism is meant for unique, innovative, and largely untested ideas that may still be in the conceptual stage, where the main need is to establish feasibility, define the operating principles, and reduce key technical unknowns. In practical terms, the FOA encourages applicants to take a big swing on transformative recording or modulation approaches that could eventually scale to large circuit activity in humans or relevant animal models, but that are not yet ready for animal experiments.

The FOA explicitly welcomes non-traditional early-stage work products that can make or break a concept before expensive biological validation begins. That includes theoretical and computational efforts such as calculations, simulations, and mathematical or computational models that demonstrate whether a proposed signal source, sensor concept, or measurement modality could plausibly meet the demands of large-scale neural recording or manipulation. It also includes bench-top validation activities like building and testing prototypes, phantoms, in vitro systems, or other controlled models to verify foundational assumptions and performance limits. The overall expectation is that funded work will position successful concepts for follow-on opportunities that support testing in animal models, rather than jumping directly into in vivo experimentation under this specific call.

Administratively, this is a discretionary NIH grant opportunity using the R21 funding mechanism, and clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement. The funding opportunity number is RFA-EY-25-001, and the listed application due date is June 15, 2026. The award ceiling is $200,000. The activity area is health and related social services, and the announcement is associated with multiple NIH CFDA numbers (93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867), reflecting the cross-cutting, multi-institute nature of BRAIN Initiative technology development.

Eligibility is broad and intentionally inclusive to attract diverse technical and institutional perspectives. Eligible applicants include many types of U.S. governmental entities (state, county, city/township, special districts), independent school districts, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses, Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and other tribal organizations, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. The FOA also highlights additional eligible groups such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, AANAPISI institutions, faith-based or community-based organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, regional organizations, and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). In short, the program is structured to bring in engineers, physicists, chemists, neuroscientists, computational researchers, and hybrid teams from a wide range of organizations who can propose fundamentally new ways to sense or influence neural activity at scales and precisions that current technology cannot reach.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative: New Concepts and Early-Stage Research for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R21) (Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-06-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA EY 25 001

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