The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is offering a funding opportunity titled "Cellular and Molecular Biology of Complex Brain Disorders (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" aimed at advancing research on high-confidence risk factors associated with complex brain disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This grant encourages exploratory research focused on understanding the intracellular, transcellular, and circuit-level mechanisms of neural function, rather than modeling the disorders themselves. Eligible applicants, including various academic institutions and community organizations, can apply for up to $275,000 over a two-year period, with applications due by September 7, 2026. For further inquiries, interested parties can contact NIH Grants Information at grantsinfo@nih.gov or visit the additional information link at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-025.html.

PAR-24-025-Full-Announcement.html

PAR-24-025.html

The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), focuses on research into the cellular and molecular biology of complex brain disorders. The R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant encourages investigations into high-confidence risk factors associated with disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, emphasizing intracellular and circuit-level contributions rather than disorder modeling. Eligible applicants, which include academic institutions and nonprofits, may apply for up to $275,000 over two years without the intent to conduct clinical trials. Applications must adhere to stringent guidelines regarding data management and sharing, requiring detailed resource sharing plans. Key dates for submission range from September 16, 2023, with various deadlines through 2026. The NOFO aims to foster innovative research approaches and the development of new tools that could lead to significant advances in understanding complex brain disorders, ultimately bridging the gap between biological mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets.

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-025.html

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages research on the biology of high confidence risk factors associated with complex brain disorders, with a focus on the intracellular, transcellular and circuit substrates of neural function. For the purposes of this FOA, the term complex can refer to a multifactorial contribution to risk (e.g., polygenic and/or environmental) and/or highly distributed functional features of the brain disorder. Studies may be either hypothesis-generating (unbiased discovery) or hypothesis-testing in design and may utilize in vivo, in situ, or in vitro experimental paradigms, e.g., model organisms or human cell-based assays. While behavioral paradigms and outcome measures can be incorporated into the research design to facilitate the characterization of intracellular, transcellular and circuit mechanisms, these are neither required nor expected. Studies should not attempt to model disorders but instead should aim to elucidate the neurobiological impact of individual or combined risk factor(s), such as the affected molecular and cellular components and their relationships within defined biological process(es). This can include the fundamental biology of these factors, components and processes. The resulting paradigms, component pathways and biological processes should be disseminated with sufficient detail to enrich common and/or federated data resources (e.g., those contributing to the Gene Ontology, Synaptic Gene Ontology, FAIR Data Informatics) in order to bridge the gap between disease risk factors, biological mechanism and therapeutic target identification. The present announcement seeks R21 applications for high risk or early stage exploratory research.

See Section VII. Agency Contacts within the full opportunity announcement for all other inquires.

NIH Grants Information&lt;br/&gt;grantsinfo@nih.gov

Buyer

Eligible Applicants

Funding Category

Funding Instrument

Opportunity Category

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

Original Source

Additional Information