BRAIN Initiative: Reagent Resources for Brain Cell Type-Specific Access to Broaden Distribution of Enabling Technologies for Neuroscience (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Supporting minority-serving institutions and IDeA-eligible institutions in producing and distributing reagents for specific brain cell type manipulation as part of the BRAIN Initiative.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: February 14, 2025 (New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision) | February 2, 2026 (New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision) | June 15, 2027 (New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision)
Funding Amounts: ~$2.4M/year total for 2–4 awards; budgets not limited but must reflect actual project needs; max project period 5 years.
Summary: Supports resource-limited and IDeA-eligible institutions to scale up production and distribution of brain cell type-specific access/manipulation reagents for broad use in neuroscience.
Key Information: Limited to RLIs and IDeA-eligible institutions; clinical trials not allowed; strong emphasis on collaboration with BRAIN Armamentarium projects.
Description
This NIH BRAIN Initiative opportunity funds the establishment of facilities at resource-limited institutions (RLIs) and Institutional Development Award (IDeA)-eligible institutions to produce and distribute reagents that enable brain cell type-specific access and manipulation. These reagents—such as viral vectors, nucleic acid constructs, and nanoparticles—are essential for probing neural circuits with high precision in experimental animals and ex vivo human tissue. The program aims to broaden the distribution of these enabling technologies, especially to under-resourced institutions, and to foster close collaboration with the BRAIN Initiative Armamentarium project and the wider neuroscience community.
Awardees will:
- Partner with Armamentarium reagent design and development projects to receive and further optimize validated reagent designs.
- Scale up production of these reagents at their institution, ensuring quality control and safety.
- Disseminate reagents to neuroscience researchers, maintaining accessible, up-to-date catalogues and responsive user interfaces.
This is a cooperative agreement (U24), meaning NIH program staff will have substantial involvement post-award.
