New Approaches for Measuring Brain Changes Across Longer Timespans (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
National Institutes of Health · Opportunity PAR-25-272
Who can apply
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Independent school districts
- Public and State institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Public housing authorities
- Native American tribal organizations (other)
- Nonprofits with 501(c)(3), other than higher education
- Nonprofits without 501(c)(3)
- Private institutions of higher education
- For-profit organizations other than small businesses
- Small businesses
- Others
Other Eligible Applicants include the following: Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs); Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government; Faith-based or Community-based Organizations; Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized); Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations); Regional Organizations; Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) ; U.S. Territory or Possession.
About this opportunity
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to encourage multidisciplinary investigators to submit applications developing exploratory, highly novel new approaches, or innovative applications of existing approaches to measure brain activity, connectivity, genomics, or other aspects across the age spectrum of neurodevelopment. The overarching goal is to extend our understanding of brain development and aging, including studies of the neurodevelopmental origins of later health and disease, by improving repeated measures across longer epochs of the lifespan to better predict outcomes at later ages. . Research can include healthy human participants of any age, specific clinical groups such those with cognitive, motor, or affective regulation challenges, and/or animal research on these domains of function. The studies can focus on longitudinal neuroanatomical or functional changes at any level, including genetics/genomics, single cells, connectomics, neural population activity patterns, and others. This funding opportunity is intended to encourage technological and conceptual innovation through this high risk, high reward funding mechanism to develop highly innovative ideas that either lack preliminary data or need additional preliminary data
Award history — this exact opportunity
NIH RePORTER lists 2 funded awards under PAR-25-272 across 2 organizations.
Total award obligations, not per-year amounts.
Recent awardees include: NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES.
Source: NIH RePORTER, matched on the exact opportunity number. NIH publishes success rates by institute and activity code — source.
Portfolio context — this listing covers more than this opportunity
This opportunity is funded under Assistance Listing 93.396 (“Cancer Biology Research”), a broad federal program that made about 354 new awards per year over the last five fiscal years (median award $1.1M). Those figures describe that whole portfolio — not this specific solicitation, so we don't show them as if they were this opportunity's track record.
Applicant counts per solicitation are not published by any federal agency — no one can honestly sell you that number. NIH publishes success rates by institute and activity code — source.
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| Opportunity | Agency | Deadline | Award ceiling | Eligible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRAIN Initiative: Next-Generation Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional) | National Institutes of Health | September 28, 2026 19d left | — | Nonprofits |
| BRAIN Initiative: Clinical Studies to Advance Next-Generation Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System (UH3 Clinical Trial Optional) | National Institutes of Health | September 28, 2026 19d left | — | Nonprofits |
| Competing Revisions to Existing NIH Single Project Research Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Clinical Trial Optional) | National Institutes of Health | November 24, 2026 | — | Nonprofits |
| Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Required) | National Institutes of Health | January 7, 2027 | $375k |