Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 15 022
Apply for PAR 15 022
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Brain Somatic Mosaicism and its Role in Psychiatric Disorders (Collaborative U01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242 Mental Health Research Grants.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 21, 2015 and posted on Oct 22, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 21, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Private institutions of higher education State governments Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) For profit organizations other than small businesses City or township governments Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Small businesses Special district governments Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities Independent school districts County governments Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
- 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 Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply.Non domestic (non U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
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Opportunity Summary:
The NIH funding opportunity PAR-15-022, titled "Brain Somatic Mosaicism and its Role in Psychiatric Disorders (Collaborative U01)," supports cooperative agreement (U01) projects aimed at understanding how somatic genomic changes that arise during development or throughout life in brain cells may contribute to neuropsychiatric illness. The central scientific focus is to identify and characterize the full spectrum of somatic variation present in human brain tissue and then evaluate how those brain-specific variants relate to disease mechanisms in one or more psychiatric disorders. In practice, this means applicants are expected to study somatic mosaicism directly in human brain samples and connect molecular findings to pathophysiology rather than treating somatic variation as a purely descriptive genomics exercise.
The FOA emphasizes multidisciplinary, synergistic team science and is specifically designed for situations where two or more collaborating sites are essential to complete the work. Projects are expected to examine somatic variation across different brain regions, recognizing that mosaic variants can vary by region, cell type, and developmental lineage. Applicants are encouraged to use state-of-the-art methods such as advanced genomic technologies, computational approaches for variant detection and interpretation, and single-cell or similarly high-resolution strategies that can detect low-frequency variants that would be missed in bulk tissue. The overall intent is to move beyond traditional germline genetics and address a key gap in psychiatric research: whether post-zygotic, brain-restricted genomic alterations help explain disease risk, heterogeneity, or biology.
Because this is a cooperative agreement, the NIH anticipates active involvement in coordination and oversight, and awardees are expected to function as part of a larger, organized effort. Funded projects under this FOA, along with a companion FOA (PAR-14-173), operate under a Brain Somatic Mosaicism (BSM) Network Steering Committee. That network structure is meant to speed progress by aligning research strategies, harmonizing analytical methods, encouraging consistent data practices, and facilitating sharing of samples and results. In other words, the program is built not only to fund individual research aims, but also to create a coordinated ecosystem where participating groups can compare findings, reduce duplication, and develop shared standards for this technically challenging area.
A defining administrative requirement of the collaborative U01 mechanism here is that linked applications must share an identical Research Strategy across sites, except for a brief section that spells out what each site uniquely contributes. Each participating application in the linked set must name its own Program Director/Principal Investigator, and the collaboration must include a clear, workable plan for cross-site coordination. That plan is expected to cover quality control, data and sample sharing with other network members as appropriate, database management, statistical analysis, and reporting. The FOA is therefore oriented toward teams that can demonstrate both scientific innovation and operational readiness, especially around harmonized pipelines and rigorous multi-site governance.
From an eligibility standpoint, the opportunity is broad and includes many types of domestic U.S. organizations such as public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status), state and local governments, tribal governments and tribal organizations, special districts, public housing authorities, independent school districts, and for-profit organizations other than small businesses, as well as small businesses themselves. The FOA also explicitly allows participation from non-U.S. entities, including foreign organizations and foreign institutions, and it permits foreign components of U.S. organizations under NIH policy. It additionally calls out eligibility for a range of mission-relevant institution types such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, TCCUs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and faith-based or community-based organizations, among others. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement listed.
Administratively, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and falls under the health funding activity category, with CFDA 93.242 (Mental Health Research Grants). It was posted on October 22, 2014, and the archived record lists key dates including an original closing date of February 24, 2017, with an archive date of September 21, 2015 (reflecting the lifecycle of the announcement in the grants system). The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health, and the full announcement was hosted through the NIH grants guide under PAR-15-022. For access or linking issues, NIH’s Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster contact is provided in the notice.
At a high level, the purpose of PAR-15-022 is to catalyze a coordinated research push to determine how common brain somatic mosaicism is, what forms it takes across regions and cell populations, how best to measure it with modern genomic and computational tools, and whether these brain-specific genomic perturbations help explain the origins or biology of psychiatric disorders. The FOA is structured to fund not just discovery, but also the shared infrastructure and collaboration practices needed to make findings comparable and useful across the field.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - NIH PAR-15-022
What is PAR-15-022?
PAR-15-022 is an NIH funding opportunity announcement titled "Brain Somatic Mosaicism and its Role in Psychiatric Disorders (Collaborative U01)." It supports cooperative agreement (U01) research projects focused on understanding how somatic genomic changes in brain cells may contribute to psychiatric disorders.
What type of funding mechanism is used?
This opportunity uses the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism. In a cooperative agreement, NIH anticipates having active involvement in coordination and oversight in addition to providing funding.
What is the main scientific goal of this FOA?
The central goal is to identify and characterize the full spectrum of somatic variation present in human brain tissue and evaluate how those brain-specific variants relate to disease mechanisms in one or more psychiatric disorders.
What does "brain somatic mosaicism" mean in the context of this program?
In this FOA, brain somatic mosaicism refers to somatic genomic changes (post-zygotic variants) that arise during development or throughout life in brain cells. These changes may be restricted to the brain and may vary across brain regions, cell types, and developmental lineages.
Does the FOA prioritize studies in human samples or model systems?
The FOA expects applicants to study somatic mosaicism directly in human brain samples and to connect molecular findings to pathophysiology. The intent is not to treat somatic variation as a purely descriptive genomics exercise.
What kinds of psychiatric conditions are in scope?
The FOA is focused on neuropsychiatric illness and psychiatric disorders. It supports projects that relate brain-specific somatic variants to disease mechanisms in one or more psychiatric disorders (specific disorders are not enumerated in the provided summary).
What makes this a "collaborative" U01 opportunity?
This FOA is designed for team science situations where two or more collaborating sites are essential to complete the work. Funded groups are expected to operate as part of a larger organized effort rather than as isolated projects.
Are multiple sites required?
The FOA is specifically designed for situations where two or more collaborating sites are essential. It emphasizes multidisciplinary, synergistic team science and cross-site coordination.
What are the expectations for studying different brain regions and cell types?
Projects are expected to examine somatic variation across different brain regions, recognizing that mosaic variants can vary by region, cell type, and developmental lineage.
What methods and technologies are encouraged?
Applicants are encouraged to use state-of-the-art methods such as advanced genomic technologies, computational approaches for variant detection and interpretation, and single-cell or similarly high-resolution strategies capable of detecting low-frequency variants that may be missed in bulk tissue.
Is the program focused on germline genetics?
No. A key intent is to move beyond traditional germline genetics and address whether post-zygotic, brain-restricted genomic alterations help explain psychiatric disease risk, heterogeneity, or underlying biology.
What is the Brain Somatic Mosaicism (BSM) Network?
Funded projects under PAR-15-022, along with a companion FOA (PAR-14-173), operate under a Brain Somatic Mosaicism (BSM) Network Steering Committee. This network structure is intended to accelerate progress through coordination and shared practices.
What role does the BSM Network Steering Committee play?
The Steering Committee structure is meant to align research strategies, harmonize analytical methods, encourage consistent data practices, and facilitate sharing of samples and results so that findings can be compared and standards can be developed in this technically challenging area.
What does NIH "active involvement" mean for awardees?
Because this is a cooperative agreement, NIH anticipates active involvement in coordination and oversight. Awardees are expected to function as part of a coordinated networked effort rather than operating entirely independently.
What is a defining administrative requirement for linked collaborative applications?
Linked applications must share an identical Research Strategy across sites, except for a brief section describing what each site uniquely contributes.
Can each collaborating site have its own PI?
Yes. Each participating application in the linked set must name its own Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI).
What should the cross-site coordination plan include?
The FOA expects a clear, workable cross-site coordination plan that addresses quality control, data and sample sharing with other network members as appropriate, database management, statistical analysis, and reporting.
Is harmonization across sites important?
Yes. The FOA emphasizes harmonized analytical methods and consistent data practices to make results comparable across participating groups and to reduce duplication of effort.
What types of organizations are eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic U.S. organizations such as public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), state and local governments, tribal governments and tribal organizations, special districts, public housing authorities, independent school districts, and for-profit organizations (including small businesses and for-profits other than small businesses).
Are foreign organizations allowed to participate?
Yes. The FOA explicitly allows participation from non-U.S. entities, including foreign organizations and foreign institutions, and it permits foreign components of U.S. organizations under NIH policy.
Are minority-serving and community-based institutions eligible?
Yes. The FOA explicitly calls out eligibility for mission-relevant institution types including HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, TCCUs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and faith-based or community-based organizations, among others.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No cost sharing or matching requirement is listed in the provided information.
What is the CFDA number and funding category?
The opportunity is listed under CFDA 93.242 (Mental Health Research Grants) and falls under the health funding activity category. It is categorized as discretionary funding.
Who is the sponsoring agency?
The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The full announcement is hosted through the NIH grants guide under PAR-15-022.
When was this opportunity posted, and what are the key dates mentioned?
The opportunity was posted on October 22, 2014. The archived record lists an original closing date of February 24, 2017, and an archive date of September 21, 2015 (reflecting the lifecycle of the announcement in the grants system).
What is the companion FOA mentioned alongside PAR-15-022?
The companion FOA referenced in the provided information is PAR-14-173, which is linked through the shared BSM Network Steering Committee structure.
What is the overall purpose of PAR-15-022 at a high level?
The purpose is to catalyze a coordinated research push to determine how common brain somatic mosaicism is, what forms it takes across regions and cell populations, how best to measure it using modern genomic and computational tools, and whether brain-specific genomic perturbations help explain the origins or biology of psychiatric disorders.
Is this program intended to fund shared infrastructure and collaboration practices?
Yes. The FOA is structured to support not only scientific discovery but also the shared infrastructure and collaborative practices needed to make findings comparable and useful across the field.
Where can applicants go for help with access or linking issues related to the announcement?
For access or linking issues, the notice provides a contact for NIH's Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster.
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