Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 14 120
Apply for PAR 14 120
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic or Translational Mental Health Research (P50)" 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 Feb 26, 2014 and posted on Feb 26, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 25, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) For profit organizations other than small businesses Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Small businesses Special district governments Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education City or township governments Private institutions of higher education State governments Independent school districts County governments Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities.
- 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) Regional Organizations Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply. Non domestic (non U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic or Translational Mental Health Research (P50) funding opportunity (PAR-14-120) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) center grant designed to support large, highly integrated research teams tackling major, high-risk questions in mental health research. The core idea is to fund projects that demand an unusual level of coordination and scientific synergy across disciplines and levels of analysis, meaning the work should be something that realistically cannot be pulled off through more standard, single-project grant mechanisms. These Conte Centers are meant to push the field forward in a substantial way by bringing together complementary expertise, tools, and experimental strategies into a single, unified research program rather than a loose collection of related projects.
The FOA emphasizes basic and translational neuroscience approaches that connect brain and behavior in ways that can ultimately transform how the field understands mental disorders. It specifically highlights three major scientific aims that a proposed Conte Center could address. First, it supports research that advances foundational brain and behavior science that will ultimately lay the groundwork for understanding mental disorders. Second, it encourages efforts that integrate and translate basic and clinical neuroscience research, particularly around severe mental illnesses, so that discoveries in fundamental biology and systems neuroscience are meaningfully linked to clinical phenomena and patient-relevant outcomes. Third, it targets research on neurobehavioral developmental mechanisms and trajectories of psychopathology that begin in childhood and adolescence, focusing on how early-life developmental processes can set the stage for later mental health outcomes. Across these goals, the FOA signals strong interest in integrative, novel, and creative experimental approaches, especially those that connect findings across multiple methods, model systems, or scales (for example, linking molecular or circuit-level mechanisms to cognitive, behavioral, and clinical levels).
A defining feature of the Conte Centers program is its expectation of extraordinary integration. Applications are expected to describe not just strong individual projects, but also a compelling rationale for why assembling them into a single center produces a multiplier effect: shared conceptual frameworks, shared resources and infrastructure, coordinated experimental design, cross-project data integration, and a collective capacity to answer questions that individual labs or simpler collaborations could not answer alone. In practice, this often implies a center structure with tightly interlocked projects and cores that enable common methods, harmonized measurement, and rapid iteration across basic and translational components. The FOA also explicitly notes a workforce development dimension: Conte Centers are intended to create interdisciplinary research experiences for trainees, giving students, postdocs, and other early-career researchers a structured environment to learn cross-cutting approaches that span basic and clinical/translational mental health science.
From an administrative and eligibility standpoint, this is a discretionary grant using the P50 mechanism within the NIH mental health research grants program (CFDA 93.242). The award ceiling listed is $2,000,000, and there is no cost sharing or matching requirement. A wide range of applicant organization types are eligible, including public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), and various units of government (state, county, city/township, special district, and certain housing authorities). The eligibility language also extends to several designated institution types and community-based entities, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and eligible federal agencies. Non-U.S. (foreign) institutions and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, though foreign components (as defined in NIH policy) are allowed.
Key dates in the source record indicate the opportunity was posted and created on February 26, 2014, with an original and current closing date of May 25, 2016, and an archive date of June 25, 2016, meaning it is no longer an active open solicitation in this specific archived form. The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health. The full announcement is referenced via the NIH Grants Guide link provided in the source data, and the contact listed for technical access or linking issues is the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) Webmaster (FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV).
FAQs: Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic or Translational Mental Health Research (P50) (PAR-14-120)
What is this funding opportunity?
This opportunity is the Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic or Translational Mental Health Research (P50) funding opportunity (PAR-14-120), an NIH center grant intended to support large, highly integrated research teams addressing major, high-risk questions in mental health research.
What is the purpose of the Conte Centers program?
The program is designed to push the mental health research field forward by supporting unified, center-based research programs that bring together complementary expertise, tools, and strategies. The expectation is that the integrated center structure creates scientific synergy that would not be achievable through standard single-project grants.
What kind of research does the FOA emphasize?
The FOA emphasizes basic and translational neuroscience approaches that connect brain and behavior and can ultimately transform how mental disorders are understood.
What are the main scientific aims highlighted for proposed Conte Centers?
The FOA highlights three major scientific directions a Conte Center could address: (1) advancing foundational brain and behavior science that lays groundwork for understanding mental disorders; (2) integrating and translating basic and clinical neuroscience research, particularly around severe mental illnesses, linking fundamental discoveries to clinical phenomena and patient-relevant outcomes; and (3) investigating neurobehavioral developmental mechanisms and trajectories of psychopathology beginning in childhood and adolescence, including how early developmental processes shape later mental health outcomes.
Does the opportunity focus on basic research, translational research, or both?
It supports both basic and translational research, with a strong emphasis on connecting basic neuroscience findings to behavioral, cognitive, and clinical levels of analysis.
What does "extraordinary integration" mean in the context of a Conte Center?
Extraordinary integration means the application should go beyond strong individual projects and explain why combining them into a single center produces a multiplier effect. Examples described in the FOA include shared conceptual frameworks, shared resources and infrastructure, coordinated experimental design, cross-project data integration, and the ability to answer questions that separate labs or simpler collaborations could not answer.
How should projects within the center relate to each other?
The center is expected to be a unified research program rather than a loose collection of related projects. In practice, this implies tightly interlocked projects and cores that enable common methods, harmonized measurement, and rapid iteration across basic and translational components.
What types of experimental approaches are encouraged?
The FOA signals strong interest in integrative, novel, and creative experimental approaches, especially those that connect findings across multiple methods, model systems, or scales, such as linking molecular or circuit-level mechanisms to cognitive, behavioral, and clinical levels.
Is workforce development or training part of the program?
Yes. The FOA explicitly includes a workforce development dimension. Conte Centers are intended to create interdisciplinary research experiences for trainees, including students, postdocs, and other early-career researchers, in an environment spanning basic and clinical/translational mental health science.
What grant mechanism is used for this opportunity?
This is a discretionary grant using the NIH P50 center grant mechanism within the NIH mental health research grants program.
What is the CFDA number associated with this program?
The CFDA number listed is 93.242.
What is the award ceiling?
The listed award ceiling is $2,000,000.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
Who can apply for this opportunity?
A wide range of organization types are eligible, including public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), and various units of government (state, county, city/township, special district, and certain housing authorities).
Are specific institution types and community-based entities eligible?
Yes. The eligibility language includes designated institution types and community-based entities such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and eligible federal agencies.
Are non-U.S. (foreign) institutions eligible to apply?
No. Non-U.S. (foreign) institutions and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply.
Are foreign components allowed in any form?
Yes. Foreign components (as defined in NIH policy) are allowed, even though foreign institutions and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply.
Which agency sponsors this opportunity?
The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
What are the key dates for this opportunity?
The source record indicates the opportunity was posted and created on February 26, 2014. The original and current closing date listed is May 25, 2016, and the archive date is June 25, 2016.
Is this opportunity currently open?
No. Based on the listed closing date (May 25, 2016) and archive date (June 25, 2016), this specific opportunity in its archived form is no longer an active open solicitation.
Where is the full announcement referenced?
The full announcement is referenced via the NIH Grants Guide link provided in the source data.
Who is the contact for technical access or linking issues?
The contact listed for technical access or linking issues is the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) Webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.
What makes this opportunity different from standard single-project grant mechanisms?
The FOA is intended for research that realistically cannot be accomplished through standard single-project grants because it requires an unusual level of coordination, shared infrastructure, harmonized methods and measurements, and cross-project integration to address major, high-risk mental health research questions.
Does the FOA indicate any particular focus on severe mental illness?
Yes. One of the highlighted scientific directions is integrating and translating basic and clinical neuroscience research, particularly around severe mental illnesses, in a way that links neuroscience discoveries to clinical phenomena and patient-relevant outcomes.
Does the FOA include a developmental psychopathology emphasis?
Yes. One of the highlighted aims focuses on neurobehavioral developmental mechanisms and trajectories of psychopathology beginning in childhood and adolescence, including how early-life development can influence later mental health outcomes.
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