BRAIN Initiative Human Research Opportunities

The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is part of a Presidential focus aimed at revolutionizing our understanding of the human brain. By accelerating the development and application of innovative technologies, researchers will be able to produce a revolutionary new dynamic picture of the brain that, for the first time, shows how individual cells and complex neural circuits interact in both time and space.

New funding opportunities for this initiative include:

BRAIN Public-Private Partnership Program: Industry Partnerships to Facilitate Early Access to Neuromodulation and Recording Devices for Human Clinical Studies

Pre-Applications Due: 11/18/2015; Full Applications Due: 4/26/2016

• Partnerships between clinical investigators and manufacturers of the latest-generation implantable devices for human clinical research
• Template Collaborative Research Agreements to streamline agreements between academic institutions and manufacturers
• Pre-applications (PAR-15-345) for partnering with commercial manufacturers are optional
• Full Proposals for Phased Translational-to-Clinical (RFA-NS-16-009) or Direct-to-Clinical (RFA-NS-16-010) Research

Research Opportunities using Invasive Recording/Stimulation in Humans (RFA-NS-16-008)

Applications Due: 12/15/2015

• Human research studies aimed at understanding brain function and disorders
• Take advantage of surgical settings using implantable stimulation and recording devices

Foundations of Non-Invasive Functional Human Brain Imaging and Recording - Bridging Scales and Modalities (RFA-MH-16-750)

Applications Due: 1/6/2016

• Studies to understand the biological basis and information content of contemporary non-invasive functional brain imaging techniques such as fMRI
• Bridge the gap between human neuroimaging signals and the underlying neural circuit events

Non-Invasive Modulation in the Human Brain In Planning – Stay Tuned!