Open (posted) · Cooperative Agreement
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
Key facts
Copied from the official Grants.gov record. Last verified October 29, 2026.
- Program name
- BRAIN Initiative: Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- Issuing agency
- National Institutes of Health (Department of Health and Human Services)
- Opportunity number
- RFA-NS-28-010
- Funding type
- Cooperative Agreement
- Funding purpose
- Health
- Status
- Open (posted)
- Application deadline
- Closes February 8, 2029
- Published award range
- Not published by the agency
- Estimated total program funding
- $8,000,000
- Expected number of awards
- 5
- Cost sharing or match required
- No
- Eligible applicants (official categories)
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Independent school districts
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- Small businesses
- Others (see Additional Information on Eligibility)
- Relevant to
- Businesses and NonprofitsHow we determined this: Grants.gov eligibility includes small businesses or for-profit organizations. Grants.gov eligibility includes nonprofit organizations.
- Geographic restrictions
- None stated in structured data (federal opportunities are often nationwide). Check the eligibility details and full announcement for any limits.
- Assistance Listing (CFDA)
- 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.372, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867
- Official source
- View on Grants.gov ↗
- Application URL
- www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/360402 ↗Apply through Grants.gov (Workspace) using the application package on the official listing, unless the full announcement names a different submission system.
- Source identifier
- Grants.gov opportunity ID 360402 · Funding opportunity number RFA-NS-28-010
- Posted
- September 30, 2026 · Source last updated September 30, 2026
- Last verified
- October 29, 2026 (against Grants.gov)
- Data completeness
- 92% of key fields published by the sourceNot published: published funding range.
- Record confidence
- highVerified against the official source; key fields present; no open issues.
Eligibility details (from the agency)
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.
Description (from the official listing)
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…
Read the full 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.
Agency contact
The Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative
BRAINResOppHu@ninds.nih.gov
BRAINResOppHu@ninds.nih.gov