The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) titled "Cellular and Molecular Biology of Complex Brain Disorders (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)," aimed at advancing research on high-confidence risk factors associated with complex brain disorders. This grant encourages studies that focus on the intracellular, transcellular, and circuit substrates of neural function, allowing for both hypothesis-generating and hypothesis-testing research designs, while discouraging attempts to model the disorders themselves. The initiative is crucial for enhancing understanding of the biological processes impacted by these disorders, ultimately facilitating therapeutic target identification and enriching data resources. Applications are due by September 7, 2026, with no budget cap, and interested parties can reach out to NIH Grants Information at grantsinfo@nih.gov for further inquiries.

PAR-25-038-Full-Announcement.html

PAR-25-038.html

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) under the funding opportunity number PAR-25-038, aimed at advancing research related to the cellular and molecular biology of complex brain disorders. This research focuses on high-confidence risk factors associated with such disorders, emphasizing intracellular, transcellular, and circuit-level substrates of neural function. The grant supports both hypothesis-generating and hypothesis-testing studies, utilizing various experimental paradigms, while discouraging attempts to model the disorders themselves. 

Key dates for application submission begin on January 5, 2025, with subsequent review and award cycles throughout the year. Applicants must comply with various eligibility requirements and are encouraged to utilize novel technologies and existing data resources. The maximum project period is limited to five years, with no application budget cap, as long as it reflects realistic project costs. The proposal aims to foster a deeper understanding of the biological processes affected by complex brain disorders, thereby facilitating therapeutic target identification and data resource enrichment. This initiative reflects a thorough commitment to addressing significant gaps in neuroscience research and mental health.

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-038.html

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) 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 NOFO, 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 NOFO (R01 activity code) can be used for applications to further develop lines of inquiry where feasibility or proof-of-concept has been established. Applicants proposing exploratory research at the early and conceptual stages of project development should apply to the companion R21 NOFO PAR-24-025

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

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

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