BRAIN Initiative: Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Supports mechanistic, transformative human neuroscience research using invasive intracranial recording or stimulation during surgery, for eligible U.S. applicants participating in a NIH-coordinated consortium.
⚑ Clinical Trial Not Allowed · Foreign organizations and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are ineligible to apply · No foreign subawards/subcontracts allowed · NIH consortium/working group participation and data standardization/dissemination expected
This is a basic neuroscience/biomedical mechanistic brain-recording program, centered on invasive human neural measurements and neural circuitry, which is far outside IPPRA’s survey, policy, risk perception, warning, and education-evaluation lines. The team’s expertise in public opinion, communication, and social-behavioral research could not plausibly anchor a PI-led application here.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-10-01
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 80 strong | technical depth: substantial; funds basic research |
| IPPRA | 48 partial | outside portfolio topics; social/behavioral work is minor; funds basic research; biomedical core — IPPRA health lane is communication/crisis/policy (capped); clinical-trial/biomedical core — IPPRA angle is policy/community (capped) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 15 none | deep-tech content; no commercialization signal |
Description
This funding opportunity supports transformative, mechanistic research aimed at understanding how the human brain functions. Applications should seek to reveal how the dynamic activity of individual neurons and ensembles of neurons within spatially organized brain networks gives rise to internal experiences, such as sensations, perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and memories, as well as to observable motor and social behaviors.
To achieve fundamental mechanistic insights into human brain function, proposed studies are expected to leverage opportunities made possible by invasive surgical procedures in humans, such as intracranial recording or stimulation. These investigations may be enhanced by incorporating complementary experimental models or systems that provide access to knowledge, techniques, or resources not otherwise available in human neuroscience research. Such integration is encouraged to strengthen the mechanistic understanding of human brain function and to connect discoveries across species and biological scales. This program builds on cutting-edge advances enabled by the BRAIN Initiative and the broader neuroscience community.
Projects supported through this opportunity are expected to produce transformative outcomes by the end of the funding period. Approaches should be rigorous, mechanistic, and innovative by (1) maximizing opportunities to conduct innovative in vivo human neuroscience research made available by direct access to the human brain from invasive surgical procedures, (2) employing approaches guided by specified theoretical constructs and/or quantitative, mechanistic models.
Funded investigators will join a consortium working group, coordinated by the NIH, to identify consensus standards of practice, including neuroethical considerations, to collect and provide data for ancillary studies, and to aggregate and standardize data for dissemination among the wider scientific community.
Eligibility
Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/International CollaborationsNon-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.NIH will no longer issue awards (i.e., new, renewal, or non-competing continuation) to domestic or foreign entities that involve foreign subawards/subcontracts. All NIH-funded research involving foreign subawards/subcontracts must be submitted in response to a NOFO that is specifically designated for funded international collaborations. See NIH Grants Policy Statement 16.8 Collaborative International Research Awards.Applications involving foreign subawards/subcontracts submitted in response to this NOFO will be deemed noncompliant and will not be considered for funding. This policy applies to all monetary international collaborations resulting in foreign subawards/subcontracts, however, it does not preclude unfunded international collaborations or foreign components, funding for foreign consultants, or procurement of unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: National Institutes of Health <BRAINResOppHu@ninds.nih.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · National Institutes of Health conventions SEE AN NIH EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — National Institutes of Health's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.