BRAIN Initiative: New Technologies and Novel Approaches for Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Develop innovative technologies to record and modulate brain activity for a deeper understanding of the nervous system in behaving animals, aiming to transform neuroscientific research.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: June 2, 2025 | January 20, 2026 | June 16, 2026
Funding Amounts: Estimated $10M/year for 15–20 awards; budgets not limited but must reflect project needs; max duration 3 years.
Summary: Supports proof-of-concept development and validation of new technologies for recording and modulating neural activity in the central nervous system.
Key Information: Clinical trials are not allowed; preliminary feasibility data not required; high-risk, high-impact proposals encouraged.
Description
This funding opportunity supports early-stage, high-risk projects aimed at developing and validating innovative technologies and novel approaches for recording and modulating neural cells and circuits in the central nervous system (CNS). The goal is to address major technological challenges and enable transformative advances in neuroscience research. Projects may involve the creation of new instrumentation, devices, software, or molecular constructs for sensing or manipulating neural activity, using modalities such as optical, electrical, magnetic, or acoustic methods. The technologies must be validated with in vivo experiments in behaving animals and should demonstrate potential to reduce barriers to neurobiological experimentation, such as cost or accessibility.
Proposals are expected to focus on technology development and validation—advancing biological knowledge should not be the primary aim. The initiative encourages integration of multidisciplinary expertise (e.g., biology, chemistry, engineering, computational modeling) and supports approaches that could profoundly impact the field if successful. A companion opportunity (RFA-NS-25-017) supports later-stage optimization of instrumentation and devices.
