21st Century Cures Act - Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (93.372)
21st Century Cures Act - Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (Assistance Listing 93.372) is run by the National Institutes of Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Services. It awarded $468 million in 395 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $1.2 million per award on average. 11 funding opportunities are open or forecast now.
The typical award was $711,000. Half of the 395 awards fell between $231,620 and $1.8 million, and they ranged from $1,000 to $7.5 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$468 million
- Grant awards395
- Typical award$711,000
- Awarded in FY 2025$85.0 million
- Size rank385 of 1824
- Type of assistanceProject grants (cooperative agreements)
Key findings
- Annual funding rose from $35.5 million in fiscal 2021 to $85.0 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 385th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 60% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 34 states and territories.
What the program funds
To provide extramural research support for the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies®?(BRAIN) Initiative’s aim of revolutionizing our understanding of the brain and its function in unprecedented detail. The NIH BRAIN Initiative’s focus is foundational development of new technologies and tools to map, monitor, and modulate brain circuits in model systems and humans – toward the ultimate goal of treating and curing human brain disorders. BRAIN Initiative research adheres to open, ethical, and inclusive science – and requires diverse expertise across all domains. BRAIN-supported research areas include comprehensive cataloguing, mapping, accessing and characterization of brain cell types ; probing neural circuits that interact and produce behavior, cognition, and emotion; developing and employing new ?technologies to monitor function and connectivity of synapses, circuits, and whole brains; partnering with human research participants, including ?utilizing neurotechnologies in first-in-human clinical studies, to study the human brain in the context of brain injury and brain disorders; and establishing data-sharing platforms and computational models that help decode brain processes and functions. Within these scientific focus areas, the Initiative supports research project grants, cooperative agreements, workforce development awards and Small Business Innovation Research awards. Research supported by the Initiative has a strong commitment to broad dissemination of newly developed technologies, and to considering neuroethical issues related to studying the human brain and the neuroscience advances that follow from this research. New frontiers for BRAIN research will adhere to, and build on, what has been learned to date and adapt to the rapidly changing scientific landscape and neuroscience ecosystem.
Open opportunities
- BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Specialized Projects for Scalable Technologies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- BRAIN Initiative: Theories, Models and Methods for Analysis of Complex Data from the Brain (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- BRAIN Initiative: Integrative Team-Research BRAIN Circuits Program - iBCP (RM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- Lasker Clinical Research Scholar's Program (Si2/R00 Clinical Trial Optional)
- BRAIN Initiative: Research Resource Grants for Technology Integration and Dissemination (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)
- BRAIN Initiative: Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- NIH Collaborative International Research Project (Parent PF5 Clinical Trial Optional)
- BRAIN Initiative: Brain-Behavior Quantification and Synchronization – Transformative Research on Behavior at the Organismal Level
- BRAIN Initiative: Clinical Studies to Advance Next-Generation Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System
- Limited Competition: BRAIN Initiative: Promoting Health for All Through BRAIN Technology Partnerships
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
Interstate, Intrastate, State (includes District of Columbia, public institutions of higher education and hospitals), Local (includes State-designated Indian Tribes, excludes institutions of higher education and hospitals, Sponsored organization, Public nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Other public institution/organization, U.S. Territories and possessions, U.S. Territories and possessions (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Individual/Family, Minority group, Specialized group (e.g. health professionals, students, veterans), Small business (less than 500 employees), Profit organization, Private nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Other private institutions/organizations, State Research Grants: Any public, private, nonprofit, or for-profit institution is eligible to apply. For-profit institutions are not eligible for Institutional National Research Service Awards but are eligible for Individual NRSAs. All proposals are reviewed for scientific merit, for evaluation of the qualifications of the investigators, for adequacy of the research environment, and for significance of the problem. Approved proposals compete for available funds. All Career Development Program awardees, with the exception of awardees of the Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00), must be citizens or have been admitted to the United States for permanent residence.
What the money can and cannot pay for
Health/Medical, Higher Education (includes Research), Science and Technology, Training Research grants and cooperative agreements may be used to provide salaries, equipment, supplies, travel and other expenses for research. The grantee institution is obliged to expend grant funds prudently for the purposes stated in the application and award document. Cooperative Agreements support single or a group of related research activities with greater involvement of federal staff. National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) are made directly to individuals for research training in specified biomedical shortage areas, or to institutions, to enable them to make NRSAs to individuals selected by them. Each individual who receives a NRSA may be obligated upon termination of the award to comply with service and payback provisions. SBIR and STTR grants are awarded in two stages: Phase I grants are awarded to establish the technical merit and feasibility of a proposed research and development effort; only Phase I awardees are eligible to receive Phase II support.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
Research grants: $104,571 to $17,683,580; $1,199,887. SBIR/STTR: Phase 1 not to exceed $150,000; Phase II not to exceed $1,000,000; however with appropriate justification, budget caps for Phase I and Phase II are $225,000 and $1,500,00 respectively.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, 21st Century Cures Act - Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (93.372) awarded$468 million across 395 grant awards, an average of $1.2 million per award.
Who usually wins
Colleges and universities received 78% of the money, nonprofits 13% and small businesses 3.1%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges and universities | 310 | $365 million | 78% |
| Nonprofits | 41 | $59.8 million | 13% |
| Other | 15 | $19.3 million | 4.1% |
| Small businesses | 24 | $14.5 million | 3.1% |
| Businesses | 3 | $7.3 million | 1.6% |
| State and local governments | 1 | $1.2 million | 0.3% |
| Individuals | 1 | $101,477 | less than 0.1% |
By state
26 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| California | 93 | $114 million |
| Massachusetts | 42 | $70.9 million |
| New York | 52 | $59.7 million |
| Texas | 28 | $44.8 million |
| Washington | 22 | $33.0 million |
| Pennsylvania | 23 | $30.1 million |
| Minnesota | 11 | $16.6 million |
| Maryland | 15 | $16.1 million |
| Illinois | 10 | $13.6 million |
| North Carolina | 12 | $10.7 million |
| Oregon | 8 | $6.5 million |
| Georgia | 7 | $6.0 million |
| Michigan | 8 | $5.7 million |
| Utah | 7 | $5.1 million |
| New Jersey | 8 | $3.4 million |
| Indiana | 2 | $3.3 million |
| Connecticut | 5 | $3.2 million |
| Florida | 3 | $3.1 million |
| Missouri | 9 | $3.0 million |
| Rhode Island | 2 | $2.2 million |
| Colorado | 7 | $2.2 million |
| Nebraska | 1 | $1.9 million |
| Virginia | 2 | $1.9 million |
| Ohio | 4 | $1.8 million |
| Kansas | 1 | $1.1 million |
| Arkansas | 1 | $1.1 million |
| Tennessee | 1 | $836,522 |
| Montana | 1 | $700,440 |
| Arizona | 2 | $676,575 |
| New Mexico | 1 | $600,000 |
| Iowa | 1 | $499,266 |
| Kentucky | 1 | $193,226 |
| Wisconsin | 1 | $72,195 |
| Vermont | 1 | $56,024 |