BRAIN Initiative: Development of Next Generation Human Brain Imaging Tools and Technologies (U01) (Clinical Trials Not Allowed) | RFA EB 17 004

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA EB 17 004

The BRAIN Initiative: Development of Next Generation Human Brain Imaging Tools and Technologies (U01) (Clinical Trials Not Allowed) funding opportunity (RFA-EB-17-004) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement designed to push noninvasive human brain imaging beyond the current state of the art. The central goal is not incremental improvement, but full-scale development of entirely new or clearly next generation imaging tools and methods that can produce genuinely transformative gains in how the human brain is measured and understood. This announcement is positioned as a later-stage development mechanism: it targets projects that are already sufficiently mature to move into intensive engineering, integration, and validation work, with the explicit expectation that they will deliver functional, working tools on a timeline aligned with the BRAIN 2025 Scientific Vision.

A key emphasis is readiness for full development. In other words, the FOA is not primarily meant for early brainstorming, basic feasibility demonstrations, or speculative concepts without a credible pathway to deployment. It is meant for teams that have a breakthrough concept in hand and need the resources, structure, and coordinated NIH involvement that comes with a U01 cooperative agreement to turn that concept into an imaging tool or method that can realistically be used by researchers. The focus on noninvasive human brain imaging signals an interest in technologies applicable to human participants without surgical implantation, and the “Clinical Trials Not Allowed” designation clarifies that the funded work should not be structured as a clinical trial, even if it involves human data collection for tool development or evaluation.

This FOA also fits into a longer NIH BRAIN funding trajectory. It is described as the second stage of a tool and technology development effort that began with earlier related opportunities (RFA-MH-14-217 and RFA-MH-15-200). That context matters because it implies a pipeline: earlier rounds supported creation and proof-of-concept, while this opportunity supports the heavier lift of building robust, scalable, and usable systems. Applicants are generally expected to propose concrete development milestones, credible engineering plans, and clear strategies for demonstrating performance, reliability, and practical utility in research settings. Because the mechanism is a cooperative agreement, awardees should also expect substantial scientific and programmatic involvement from NIH staff compared with a standard grant, often including coordination, milestone-driven management, and collaboration expectations typical of large tool-building efforts.

Eligibility is broad and intentionally inclusive. Beyond standard applicants like public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), and various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts, and independent school districts), the FOA explicitly highlights a wide range of other eligible applicants. These include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with tribal governments and tribal organizations, faith-based or community-based organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. (foreign) entities and regional organizations. This breadth reflects the BRAIN Initiative’s interest in drawing from diverse technical strengths and institutional perspectives to accelerate innovation.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity falls under the NIH and is categorized as discretionary funding using the Cooperative Agreement instrument (U01). It is listed under multiple CFDA numbers (93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867), indicating alignment across several NIH institutes and program areas that contribute to BRAIN-related neurotechnology development. The original posting date is October 4, 2017, with an original closing date of December 11, 2018. While the record does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided data, the overall design and U01 structure strongly suggest that NIH anticipated supporting a limited set of high-impact, well-managed development programs rather than a large number of small exploratory projects.

In practical terms, this FOA is for applicants who can credibly argue that their imaging approach could change what can be measured in the living human brain, how it can be measured, or the quality, scale, or interpretability of those measurements, and who can also show a realistic plan to deliver a usable tool within the BRAIN Initiative timeframe. The spirit of the announcement is to move bold neuroimaging ideas out of the lab-prototype stage and into working technologies that can be adopted by the broader neuroscience community to enable new kinds of human brain discovery.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative: Development of Next Generation Human Brain Imaging Tools and Technologies (U01) (Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-10-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-12-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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