Initiative: Exploratory Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (R61 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Can you apply?
This grant is for exploratory research using invasive neural recording and stimulation in human brains. Eligible applicants include established and newly formed multidisciplinary research teams led by institutions with human subjects research capabilities. U.S. institutions, including academic medical centers, research hospitals, and universities, may apply. Foreign organizations cannot apply, but foreign collaborators may participate. Projects must focus on understanding neural mechanisms underlying sensations, perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and memories through direct human brain investigation during surgical procedures.
This grant is for exploratory research using invasive neural recording and stimulation in human brains. Eligible applicants include established and newly formed multidisciplinary research teams led by institutions with human subjects research capabilities. U.S. institutions, including academic medical centers, research hospitals, and universities, may apply. Foreign organizations cannot apply, but foreign collaborators may participate. Projects must focus on understanding neural mechanisms underlying sensations, perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and memories through direct human brain investigation during surgical procedures.
Program description
Invasive surgical procedures in humans offer the unique opportunity to intracranially record and stimulate neuronal activity within precisely localized brain structures, enabling high-impact human neuroscience investigations. This NOFO seeks exploratory research projects, from newly formed or established multi-disciplinary teams, to understand how dynamic activity of single cells and ensembles of neurons in spatially organized networks gives rise to the internal states we experience as sensations, perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and memories, and to observable motor and social behaviors. The research should be proposed as exploratory research and planning activities to establish feasibility and early-stage development that, if successful, would support, enable, and/or lay the groundwork for a potential, subsequent research project grant applications using invasive neural recording and stimulation technologies in the human brain. Projects should maximize opportunities to conduct innovative in vivo human neuroscience research made available by direct access to the brain from invasive surgical procedures. Projects should employ approaches guided by specified theoretical constructs and by quantitative, mechanistic models where appropriate.
Recipients will join a consortium working group, coordinated by the NIH, to identify consensus standards of practice, including neuroethical considerations, to collect and provide data for ancillary studies, and to aggregate and standardize data for dissemination among the wider scientific community.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
- 501(c)(3) Public Charity
- City / Municipal Government
- County Government
- Hospital
- Nonprofits
- Private University
- Public Authority
- Public K-12 School
- Public University
- Small Business (SBA-defined)
- Special District
- State Government
- Tribal Nation
- Tribal Organization
Details
This grant is for exploratory research using invasive neural recording and stimulation in human brains. Eligible applicants include established and newly formed multidisciplinary research teams led by institutions with human subjects research capabilities. U.S. institutions, including academic medical centers, research hospitals, and universities, may apply. Foreign organizations cannot apply, but foreign collaborators may participate. Projects must focus on understanding neural mechanisms underlying sensations, perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and memories through direct human brain investigation during surgical procedures.
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- SF-424 (R&R)
- Project Narrative (specific page limit per NOFO)
- Detailed Budget and Justification
- Biographical Sketches (key personnel)
- Letters of Institutional Support
- Institutional Certifications and Assurances
- IRB Approval or Pending Approval documentation
Program contact
- 👤 National Institutes of Health
- 📧 BRAINeROH@ninds.nih.gov
- 📞 301-402-2541
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.242 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$75,056,208
-
$74,756,329
-
$72,845,834
-
$64,705,159
-
$63,991,707
-
$54,214,022
-
$38,895,082
-
$38,475,557
-
$34,635,977
-
$34,475,710
Top States by Funding
- CA 15 awards $408.1M
- MA 9 awards $230.3M
- NY 6 awards $184.2M
- WA 4 awards $174.9M
- CT 3 awards $138.9M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.242). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $1,722,300,004 | |
| 2025 | $1,726,864,191 | |
| 2026 est. | $99,221,272 |
FAQ
What types of institutions are eligible?
U.S. institutions with capacity for human subjects research and invasive surgical procedures are eligible. This includes academic medical centers, research hospitals, and universities.
Can international researchers or organizations apply?
Foreign organizations cannot apply. U.S.-based institutions must lead. Foreign collaborators may participate as part of a U.S. team.
What kind of research is fundable?
Exploratory projects using invasive neural recording and stimulation to study brain mechanisms. Clinical trials are not allowed under this mechanism.
What happens after funding?
Recipients join an NIH consortium to develop standards, share data, and contribute to aggregated databases for the research community.
What is the funding timeline?
Deadline is February 11, 2027. Award amounts are typically up to $700,000 for exploratory research projects.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Clearly explain how invasive procedures in your specific setting enable unique scientific access. Detail surgical context and patient population.
- Propose theoretical frameworks and quantitative mechanistic models. Exploratory funding favors projects grounded in explicit scientific theory.
- Emphasize consortium participation readiness. Show commitment to data sharing, standardization, and collaboration with NIH coordinating group.
- Demonstrate multidisciplinary team capacity. Include neurosurgeons, neuroscientists, bioethicists, and relevant clinical expertise.
- Address neuroethical considerations upfront. Explain informed consent, safety monitoring, and patient protections explicitly.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposing clinical outcome validation instead of exploratory mechanism studies. Descriptive recordings without theoretical framework or quantitative models. Underestimating consortium and data-sharing commitments.
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