Data / Federal grants / RFA-NS-28-010

BRAIN Initiative: Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

National Institutes of Health (Department of Health and Human Services) is accepting applications until February 8, 2029. It lists 5 awards expected, $8 million in total.

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Key facts

Opportunity number

RFA-NS-28-010

Status

Posted, open

Posted

September 30, 2026

Closes

February 8, 2029

Expected awards

5

Total funding

$8,000,000

Cost sharing

Not required

Funding instrument

Cooperative Agreement

Category

Health

Assistance listing

93.173 Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders; 93.213 Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health; 93.242 Mental Health Research Grants; 93.273 Alcohol Research Programs; 93.279 Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs; 93.286 Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health; 93.372 21st Century Cures Act - Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies; 93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders; 93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research; 93.866 Aging Research; 93.867 Vision Research

Contact

National Institutes of Health · [email protected] · 301-402-2541

Who can apply

• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Private institutions of higher education
• City or township governments
• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
• County governments
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Special district governments
• Small businesses
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Independent school districts
• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• State governments
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• For profit organizations other than small businesses

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 consult

What the agency says

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.

The notice on Grants.gov

Other open grants from the Department of Health and Human Services

All grants open to Public colleges and universities · All grants open to Tribal governments · All grants open to Private colleges and universities · Everything closing in February 2029

Read from the Grants.gov API, last updated 2026-10-23. The agency's notice on Grants.gov is the official record; check it before you apply.