Brain Initiative New Concepts and Early Stage Research for Large Scale Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R21) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is the NIH BRAIN Initiative funding announcement titled "BRAIN Initiative New Concepts and Early Stage Research for Large Scale Recording and Modulation in the Nervous System (R21)" with FOA number RFA-EY-15-001. It uses the NIH R21 mechanism and is designed to spark very early, high-risk ideas for next-generation neurotechnology.

What is the main goal of RFA-EY-15-001?

The core goal is to push beyond the limitations of current tools for measuring and influencing brain activity. The long-term vision is to enable technologies that help explain how electrical and chemical signaling in neural circuits produces sensation, thought, emotion, and behavior.

What problem or gap is the FOA trying to address?

The announcement highlights a major technology gap: noninvasive methods often have low spatial and/or temporal resolution and may rely on indirect proxies such as blood flow, while invasive methods can capture single-neuron signals but usually scale only to tens or hundreds of neurons. That scale is tiny compared to the roughly 85 billion neurons in the human brain. The FOA aims to catalyze approaches that could ultimately record from or modulate neural activity at much larger scales in humans or in behaving animals.

How is this FOA different from earlier BRAIN Initiative technology efforts?

This R21 call is explicitly earlier-stage. Prior efforts focused on developing novel technologies or optimizing approaches that were already mature enough for in vivo proof-of-concept and preliminary animal data. In contrast, this FOA supports newer, less-tested concepts that may not yet have the experimental foundation required for animal studies.

What stage of research is expected under this R21?

The emphasis is on establishing feasibility at the theoretical and benchtop level, rather than demonstrating a working system in living brain tissue. The expectation is that the project will reduce key technical uncertainties and position the concept for later-stage opportunities that would support in vivo testing.

Does the project need to include animal studies or in vivo proof-of-concept?

Not necessarily. The FOA is aimed at concepts that may be too early for animal studies, and it focuses on feasibility through theory, modeling, and controlled laboratory demonstrations before moving into in vivo work.

What types of work or activities does the FOA support?

Supported activities include rigorous calculations, simulations, and computational or mathematical modeling to show an approach is plausible in principle. It also supports early prototyping and validation before animal models, such as building and testing phantoms (bench models that mimic relevant tissue properties), creating prototypes, performing in vitro experiments, and other controlled lab demonstrations that test core assumptions behind a new measurement or modulation strategy.

What kinds of performance claims might applicants need to justify?

Based on the FOA description, applicants may use modeling or benchtop validation to argue that a proposed signal source, sensor concept, or stimulation modality could realistically achieve the needed sensitivity, resolution, depth, coverage, or specificity for large-scale recording or modulation.

Are both recording and modulation technologies within scope?

Yes. The opportunity targets large-scale recording and/or modulation in the nervous system, with the broader goal of enabling better measurement and influence of neural activity.

Are noninvasive approaches allowed? What about invasive approaches?

Both are allowed. The FOA is open to invasive and noninvasive approaches, as long as the end vision includes compatibility with experiments in humans or behaving animals and a credible path toward overcoming current barriers in scale, precision, or practicality.

What does "large-scale" mean in the context of this FOA?

The FOA frames "large-scale" as moving far beyond the typical limits of current approaches, where invasive methods often scale to only tens or hundreds of neurons and noninvasive approaches trade off spatial and temporal resolution. The intent is to stimulate concepts that could eventually enable much broader recording or modulation coverage than current tools permit.

What would a strong application look like under this FOA?

An ideal application would propose a bold but technically reasoned path to substantially scale neural recording and/or modulation, then use the R21 period to show the idea is physically and biologically plausible. The project would focus on de-risking the concept through solid theory, modeling, and early prototype or phantom/in vitro evidence so that later in vivo testing becomes realistic and well-justified.

Is this FOA intended for high-risk ideas?

Yes. The FOA is aimed at very early, high-risk concepts for next-generation neurotechnology, specifically encouraging ideas that are newer and less tested than those supported by prior BRAIN Initiative technology solicitations.

Does the FOA encourage multidisciplinary teams?

Yes. The FOA strongly encourages applications from a broad range of disciplines and explicitly welcomes contributors who are not traditionally part of neuroscience research.

Who are some examples of encouraged contributors outside traditional neuroscience?

The announcement explicitly welcomes physicists, engineers, theoreticians, and other scientists who can bring fresh ideas, methods, or platforms to neurotechnology challenges.

What is the grant mechanism and is this a discretionary grant?

This is an NIH discretionary grant using the R21 mechanism.

Is there any cost sharing or matching requirement?

No. The FOA specifies there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.

How many awards were anticipated and what was the estimated total funding?

The announcement anticipated about 15 awards, with an estimated total funding level of $6,000,000.

What is the award ceiling?

The award ceiling listed in the provided information is $200,000.

What are the key dates for this opportunity?

The posting date was January 30, 2015. The original and current closing date was April 16, 2015. The archive date was May 17, 2015.

What is the funding activity category and CFDA number?

The funding activity category is health, and the CFDA listing provided is 93.867 (Vision Research).

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types across academia, nonprofits, and for-profits (including small businesses), as well as multiple levels of government. The FOA also includes a range of special institution categories such as minority-serving institutions, tribal organizations, and non-U.S. entities.

Does the FOA allow applications from non-U.S. entities?

Yes. The eligibility description explicitly includes non-U.S. entities among the broad set of eligible applicants.

Does this FOA prioritize work that is immediately deployable in humans?

The FOA is focused on early-stage feasibility rather than near-term deployment. However, it requires that the end vision be compatible with experiments in humans or behaving animals and that there be a credible path toward overcoming current barriers in scale, precision, or practicality.

What is the intended outcome at the end of the R21 period?

The intended outcome is to reduce key technical uncertainties and de-risk the concept through theory, modeling, and early prototype/validation evidence, positioning the project for later-stage funding opportunities that would support in vivo testing.