New Approaches for Measuring Brain Changes Across Longer Timespans (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 24 161

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 24 161

New Approaches for Measuring Brain Changes Across Longer Timespans (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) is an NIH grant opportunity designed to spark high-risk, high-reward projects that can transform how researchers measure brain change across long stretches of time. The central aim is to develop exploratory, highly novel methods or creative reapplications of existing methods that make it easier to capture brain activity, brain connectivity, genomics, and related biological or functional signals repeatedly across the lifespan. By improving how the same individuals (or animals) can be assessed across longer epochs of development and aging, the program is trying to strengthen researchers ability to link early-life brain features to later-life outcomes, including the neurodevelopmental origins of health and disease.

The scientific scope is intentionally broad and multidisciplinary. Projects can focus on healthy human participants at any age, targeted clinical populations (for example, individuals with cognitive, motor, or affective regulation challenges), and/or animal models relevant to these functional domains. The opportunity supports studies of longitudinal neuroanatomical or functional change at many levels of biology and measurement, ranging from genetics and genomics to single-cell approaches, connectomics, and neural population activity patterns. In practical terms, the emphasis is on measuring change over time in ways that are more robust, comparable across ages, and useful for prediction, especially when the time between measurements is long and when developmental stage or aging processes can make signals difficult to interpret consistently.

Because this is an R21 mechanism, it is meant for exploratory work where the key value is innovation rather than a fully proven approach. Applicants are encouraged to propose ideas that may not yet have extensive preliminary data, or that require additional early-stage data to establish feasibility and refine the concept. The intent is to lower the barrier for bold methodological or conceptual leaps, including new tools, new analytic strategies, new integration of multimodal data, or novel study designs that improve repeated measurement and interpretation of brain-related signals over long timescales. The notice indicates that clinical trials are optional, meaning projects may include a clinical trial if appropriate, but they do not have to.

Eligibility is expansive and includes many types of organizations and institutions. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other entities. The opportunity also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, HBCUs, tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions. Overall, NIH is signaling that teams can be built from a wide range of sectors and that collaborative, cross-cutting expertise is strongly aligned with the goals of the program.

Key administrative details provided include the funding opportunity number PAR-24-161, the agency (National Institutes of Health), and that it is a discretionary grant. The original closing date listed is 2027-05-07. The CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 93.396, 93.865, and 93.866. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, which is common for some NIH announcements where final counts and budgets depend on annual appropriations and program priorities.

In essence, this opportunity is about building the next generation of tools and approaches for tracking brain development and aging in a way that holds up over long periods, supports repeated measurement, and ultimately improves the ability to predict later outcomes from earlier brain data. It welcomes unconventional, early-stage ideas and encourages applicants to take methodological and conceptual risks that could open new paths for understanding how the brain changes from infancy through older adulthood.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "New Approaches for Measuring Brain Changes Across Longer Timespans (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.396, 93.865, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-05-07.
• 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.

Apply for PAR 24 161

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