Leveraging a Recovery Act Resource to Accelerate Research on Neurodevelopment (R01) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The grant opportunity "Leveraging a Recovery Act Resource to Accelerate Research on Neurodevelopment (R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-MH-15-400) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant designed to push more scientists to use a major neurodevelopment data resource that was originally funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The central purpose is to speed up discovery by making sure this existing, publicly valuable dataset is widely used to test new ideas about how development unfolds in the brain and how risk for mental illness emerges over time. Rather than funding brand-new data collection as the primary focus, the program is positioned around leveraging a high-value, already-funded resource to answer important developmental neuroscience and psychiatric questions faster and with broader participation from the research community.

Scientifically, the FOA targets research that can generate and evaluate hypotheses about complex, multi-directional relationships across several domains that change as children and adolescents develop. The key domains named in the announcement include genetics, brain maturation, neurocognitive functioning, and psychiatric symptoms. The emphasis on "complex interrelationships" and "multi directional influences" signals that NIH is looking for integrative developmental models, not just simple one-way explanations. Projects are expected to examine how factors like genetic variation and brain development may influence cognition and behavior, how emerging psychiatric symptoms may in turn affect developmental trajectories, and how these processes interact across time. In practical terms, strong applications would likely use longitudinal and multivariate approaches, explore developmental timing and sensitive periods, and test mechanistic pathways or predictive models that connect biology, brain systems, cognition, and symptoms.

A major strategic goal of this initiative is dissemination and broad uptake of the Recovery Act-supported dataset, treating it as a community resource that can drive many independent lines of inquiry. NIH is explicitly trying to widen the pool of investigators and disciplines working with this data, which can help prevent the resource from being used only by the original or closely related research groups. The FOA also puts clear weight on collaborative science, encouraging teams that bring together diverse expertise such as neuroimaging, genomics, developmental psychology, psychiatry, statistics, data science, and computational modeling. Alongside collaboration, the announcement highlights interest in expanding the diversity of research questions and analytic approaches, meaning applicants are encouraged to be creative and to propose novel or underused methods as long as they are rigorous and appropriate for the dataset.

Methodological advancement is another priority. The FOA explicitly mentions integration across data modalities and levels of analysis, including imaging, genomics, and behavior. This indicates that competitive projects may involve harmonizing measures across modalities, developing or applying methods that connect genetic data to brain structure or function, linking imaging markers to cognitive tasks and symptom measures, or building multi-level models that can handle high-dimensional data. Proposals that improve the field's ability to integrate and interpret these layered data types, while still answering concrete neurodevelopmental questions, align closely with what the opportunity describes as secondary goals.

The FOA also encourages the inclusion of early stage investigators within collaborations. That language generally reflects an interest in workforce development and in building durable capacity in the community to analyze complex neurodevelopmental datasets. While the program is not exclusively reserved for new investigators, applicants who intentionally structure collaborations that provide meaningful leadership or analytic roles for early career researchers may fit well with the spirit of the announcement.

From an administrative and funding standpoint, this is an R01 grant mechanism under the NIH with a discretionary funding category and a health-focused activity code (CFDA 93.242, Mental Health Research Grants). The opportunity was posted March 24, 2014, with an original and current closing date of September 3, 2014, and an archive date of October 4, 2014, indicating it is no longer open but remains useful as a reference for the program's aims and structure. The estimated total funding listed is $1,500,000, and the award ceiling is $350,000. The FOA specifies that there is no cost sharing or matching requirement, which means applicants were not expected to contribute non-federal funds as a condition of the award.

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of domestic and international organizations. Eligible applicants listed include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, independent school districts, and multiple levels of government (state, county, city/township, special district). The eligibility list also explicitly includes tribal governments and tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and a variety of minority-serving institutions such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, and tribally controlled colleges and universities. Faith-based and community-based organizations are also included. Importantly, the FOA allows non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) to apply, allows non-domestic components of U.S. organizations, and permits foreign components as defined in NIH policy, reflecting an intent to maximize scientific participation and analytic innovation regardless of geography, as long as applicants meet NIH requirements.

Overall, this funding opportunity is best understood as a targeted effort to capitalize on a major federal investment made during the Recovery Act period by turning a rich neurodevelopment dataset into an engine for broader, faster progress in understanding developmental trajectories and mental illness risk. It pushes the field toward integrative, multi-modal, developmentally informed science; it encourages methodological and analytic innovation for combining genomics, imaging, behavioral, and clinical symptom data; and it aims to build wider, more collaborative research networks that include early stage investigators and diverse institutions. For the full historical announcement and detailed requirements, NIH provided the link: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MH-15-400.html, with NIH OER Webmaster contacts for access or technical linking issues (FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV).

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: National Institutes of Health

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Health

Next opportunity: Notice of Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant Applications for Indian and Native American Employment and Training Programs

Previous opportunity: INDU Campground Interns Request for Information

USGrants.org Applicant Portal:

Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.

Apply for RFA MH 15 400

 

[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?

Applicants also applied for:

Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (RFA MH 15 400) also looked into and applied for these:

 

Grant application guides and resources

It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!

Apply for Grants

 

 

Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers

Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.

If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.

Subscribe to Leads

 

Request more information:

Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "RFA MH 15 400", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:

Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.