BRAIN Initiative: Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - TeamBCP (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA NS 22 040

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 22 040

The BRAIN Initiative: Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs (TeamBCP) funding opportunity (RFA-NS-22-040) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement (U19) designed to support large, tightly integrated research programs that explain how brain circuits dynamically produce behavior. The core idea is that understanding circuit function requires coordinated, interdisciplinary team science rather than loosely connected projects, and the FOA is structured to encourage genuinely synergistic programs where the combined effort is more than the sum of the parts. Awards are intended to run for five years, with the possibility of one competing renewal, and the work must stay within the bounds of "Clinical Trial Not Allowed."

Scientifically, the FOA targets central nervous system circuits and asks teams to connect neural dynamics to behavior in a rigorous, testable way. Projects should address broad principles of circuit function while grounding those principles in specific neural systems that support domains such as sensation and perception, emotion and motivation, cognition and decision-making, motor control, communication, and homeostasis. A major emphasis is on studying circuit activity as it unfolds over time, not just static connectivity, and on relating those dynamic patterns directly to measurable behaviors or perceptions.

A defining requirement is theory- or model-driven experimental design. Applicants are expected to start from explicit theoretical constructs and use them to guide what is measured, what is manipulated, and what outcomes would confirm or falsify the underlying ideas. Deliverables should include predictive models, meaning the program should produce models that can forecast circuit responses or behavioral outcomes under specified conditions, rather than only describing data after the fact. Quantitative, mechanistic modeling is encouraged when appropriate, reinforcing that the program is expected to generate explanatory frameworks that can be tested and iterated.

Methodologically, the FOA prioritizes studies that systematically control stimuli and/or behavior while actively recording and/or manipulating neural activity patterns, then measuring the resulting changes in behavior and/or perception. In practice, this points toward closed-loop or carefully structured experimental paradigms, advanced recording technologies, causal perturbation approaches, and analysis pipelines capable of linking high-dimensional neural time series to task variables and behavioral outputs. The focus is not simply on collecting large datasets, but on using well-controlled manipulations and measurements to infer circuit mechanisms.

The opportunity is deliberately broad with respect to model systems. Teams may use invertebrates, vertebrates, and potentially humans, and may justify using multiple species if that strengthens the program's ability to test general principles. The key expectation is that the chosen models match the scientific question and that the rationale for each model system is clear, particularly when translating circuit principles across species.

Because this is a U19 team program, the FOA expects multi-component teams that cross disciplinary boundaries. Competitive applications will typically include neurobiologists alongside experts in areas such as statistics, physics, mathematics, engineering, computer science, and data science. The goal is to combine expertise in experimental neuroscience, instrumentation and technology development (where relevant), rigorous quantitative analysis, and modeling into a cohesive program with shared aims and integrated milestones.

A notable programmatic requirement is data and analysis management. Applicants must propose a framework for managing data and analysis methods that will be developed and used within the U19 project, and they must be prepared to exchange that framework with other BRAIN U19 awardees for refinement and further development. This signals that NIH expects a degree of standardization, interoperability, and community-oriented tool and workflow sharing across funded teams, not just within a single award.

There are also important boundaries around human research. If a team proposes to include human subjects with invasive neural recording, they are directed to apply under a companion FOA (referenced as RFA-NS-XX-XXX in the text provided) rather than this announcement. In other words, this specific FOA is not the correct mechanism for invasive human neural recording studies, and applicants should ensure their proposed human work, if any, fits the permitted scope.

On eligibility, the FOA supports a wide range of applicant organizations, including state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized and other tribal governments and organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. It also explicitly notes additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, HBCUs, tribally controlled colleges and universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, although foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, which typically means a U.S. applicant may include certain international elements if they meet NIH policy requirements.

Administratively, the sponsor is NIH, the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement (meaning NIH will have substantial involvement compared with a standard grant), and the original closing date listed is 2024-09-13. The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA numbers, reflecting participation across NIH institutes and centers aligned with the BRAIN Initiative. Overall, this FOA is best suited for applicants who can assemble a deeply collaborative, quantitatively rigorous team to produce testable, predictive circuit-level explanations of behavior, supported by modern recording and perturbation methods and strong data-sharing and analysis infrastructure.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative: Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs - TeamBCP (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-05-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-13. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: 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.

Apply for RFA NS 22 040

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