NEI Audacious Goal Initiative Addressing Technical Needs and Opportunities for Imaging the Visual System (U01) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The funding opportunity titled "NEI Audacious Goal Initiative Addressing Technical Needs and Opportunities for Imaging the Visual System (U01)" is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Eye Institute (NEI) cooperative agreement program designed to push forward a specific long-term vision: restoring vision by regenerating neurons and the neural connections involved in the eye and the broader visual system. It sits within the NEI Audacious Goal Initiative (AGI), a strategic planning effort that singled out one central "audacious goal" focused on repairing or replacing the neural components that are lost or damaged in major blinding conditions. In practical terms, the initiative is aimed at two major biological and clinical problems: the loss of photoreceptor cells, which can occur due to inherited retinal degeneration, age-related processes, trauma, or other diseases, and the degeneration or injury of retinal ganglion cells, which is a hallmark of glaucoma and optic neuropathies. The announcement frames this as not only a disease problem but a technical challenge, emphasizing the need for imaging approaches that can measure, track, and ultimately guide progress toward regeneration and reconnection of these neurons.

A key point in the opportunity is that it is not just about incremental improvements to existing tools. The emphasis is on addressing technical needs and opening up new opportunities specifically for imaging the visual system in ways that meaningfully support the audacious goal. Imaging is essential here because regeneration and reconnection are processes that need to be observed, quantified, and validated over time. For example, researchers need methods that can visualize cell survival, structural restoration, connectivity changes, and functional recovery in the retina, optic nerve, and central visual pathways. Even though the short summary does not list specific technology areas, the intent is clear: enable and accelerate work on nerve regeneration by improving the ability to see what is happening in living systems, ideally with measurements that are sensitive, reliable, and relevant to disease and treatment development. This can include imaging approaches that help establish whether a treatment is working, how it is working, and which patients or models respond best.

The opportunity also aligns with two broader programmatic priorities identified through the AGI planning process. The first is developing new treatments for eye disease using molecular approaches, which points toward biologically targeted interventions such as gene-based therapies, biologics, small molecules, or other molecular strategies intended to protect, restore, or regenerate retinal neurons and their connections. The second is understanding how aging intersects with the biological mechanisms of eye disease. This matters because many blinding disorders are age-associated and because the capacity for neural repair often changes with age. Imaging tools that can capture age-related changes, distinguish normal aging from disease processes, or assess how aging affects therapeutic response would directly support that priority.

From an administrative and funding standpoint, this is a discretionary grant made under a cooperative agreement mechanism (U01). A cooperative agreement generally means there is expected to be substantial scientific or programmatic involvement from NIH staff compared to a standard investigator-initiated grant. In other words, the government is not just providing funds and stepping away; it typically collaborates more actively to keep the work aligned with program goals, milestones, and coordination needs. The activity category is health, and the CFDA listing is 93.867 (Vision Research). The award ceiling listed is $700,000, and the announcement specifies that there is no cost sharing or matching requirement, so applicants are not required to contribute non-federal funds as a condition of award.

The eligibility for this opportunity is broad and includes a wide range of organization types. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations), state, county, city/township, and special district governments, independent school districts, tribal governments and tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and both small businesses and for-profit organizations (including those other than small businesses). The eligibility section also explicitly includes a number of institution categories such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, and AANAPISIs, as well as faith-based or community-based organizations. Importantly, non-U.S. entities are eligible to apply, foreign institutions and foreign organizations are allowed, and foreign components of U.S. organizations are permitted consistent with NIH policy. This broad eligibility suggests NEI was looking to attract expertise wherever it exists, including industry and international teams, which is consistent with a technology- and tool-development driven imaging effort.

Key dates in the listing show that the opportunity was posted and created on April 23, 2014, with an original and current closing date of August 14, 2014, and an archive date of September 14, 2014. These dates indicate the announcement is no longer active, but the summary remains useful for understanding the kind of imaging-focused capabilities NEI sought to support under the Audacious Goal Initiative at that time. The administering agency is NIH, and the announcement provides a link to the full solicitation in the NIH Grants Guide (RFA-EY-14-001), which would contain the detailed scope, application requirements, review criteria, expected deliverables, and any special cooperative agreement terms. For technical issues accessing the announcement, the contact point listed is the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) Webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.

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