NINDS Exploratory Neuroscience Research Grant (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PA 18 358

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 358

The NINDS Exploratory Neuroscience Research Grant (R21 Clinical Trial Optional), funding opportunity number PA 18 358, is a discretionary NIH grant program run by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). It is designed specifically for early-stage, high-risk, high-reward neuroscience projects that fit within the NINDS mission. The focus is on exploratory and innovative ideas where the main goal is often to test feasibility, generate initial proof-of-concept data, or open up a new line of investigation rather than to deliver a fully mature, large-scale research program. Because these projects are intentionally aimed at the conceptual and early development stages, they can involve significant uncertainty, but they are expected to have the potential to lead to major advances in understanding the nervous system or to create broadly useful research tools and approaches.

A key feature of this opportunity is its emphasis on breakthroughs and enabling advances for the neuroscience community. The types of outcomes NINDS highlights include novel techniques, agents, methodologies, or models, along with new directions that could substantially reshape how an important neuroscience problem is studied. In practice, that can mean anything from piloting a new experimental approach, developing or validating a new measurement method, creating or refining a disease model, exploring a new therapeutic or neuromodulation concept, or testing an unconventional hypothesis that would be difficult to fund through more conservative mechanisms. The “Clinical Trial Optional” designation indicates that applicants may propose studies that include clinical trials if appropriate, but a clinical trial is not required; proposals can be either clinical-trial or non-clinical-trial depending on the aims.

The award uses the NIH R21 mechanism, which is commonly associated with exploratory research and limited budgets compared with larger R-series grants. In the source information provided, the listed award ceiling is $200,000. The program sits under the Health funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.853. The opportunity was created on 2017-11-15, and the original closing date shown is 2021-05-07, which suggests that the specific posting referenced here had a defined submission window or due date cycle tied to that period.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that typically participate in NIH funding. Eligible applicants listed 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; non-federally recognized tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions in those nonprofit categories as stated); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and “other” entities. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI); Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized; eligible federal agencies; faith-based or community-based organizations; regional organizations; non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations); and U.S. territories or possessions. Taken together, that language signals an intent to allow participation across a wide range of institutional types, including minority-serving institutions, tribal and territorial entities, community-based groups, and international organizations where appropriate.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as NINDS’s vehicle for backing early, potentially transformative neuroscience ideas that need initial support to prove feasibility. It is meant to help investigators and organizations take well-justified scientific risks, establish foundational evidence, and develop new tools or approaches that can later be scaled or expanded through larger studies and follow-on funding if the early results are promising.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NINDS Exploratory Neuroscience Research Grant (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): 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-07. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• 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 PA 18 358

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