RFA-NS-27-002-Full-Announcement.html

Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information

Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE (NINDS)

National Eye Institute (NEI)

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers. The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Funding Opportunity Title

BRAIN Initiative: Integrative Team-Research BRAIN Circuits Program - iBCP (RM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Activity Code

RM1 Research Project with Complex Structure

Announcement Type

Reissue of

RFA-NS-22-028

Related Notices

Check for any recent Notices of NIH Policy Changes that may impact application requirements.

Funding Opportunity Number (FON)

RFA-NS-27-002

Companion Funding Opportunity

None

Number of Applications

See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Assistance Listing Number(s)

93.372, 93.853, 93.286, 93.173, 93.279, 93.865, 93.242, 93.213, 93.866, 93.273, 93.867

Funding Opportunity Purpose

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports transdisciplinary research teams seeking to develop mechanistic, biologically grounded explanations of how neural circuits and their cellular building blocks give rise to central nervous system (CNS) function. Teams must integrate expertise spanning molecular and cellular through systems neuroscience, with strong collaboration between experimental and computational investigators, to bridge cells, circuits, and behavior in a unified framework that yields mechanistic insight.

Applications must explicitly connect three core elements: (1) characterization of circuit components (e.g., cell types and/or connectivity); (2) measurement of dynamic circuit activity, incorporating in vivo CNS recordings at cellular and sub-second temporal resolution; and (3) analyses of a tractable behavior or functional output.

To address this significant challenge in neuroscience, proposed studies are expected to leverage innovative conceptual or theoretical frameworks, predictive models, and/or cutting-edge approaches that unify these three levels of analysis and bridge experimental and computational components.

Recipients are expected to participate in BRAIN consortia activities to identify standards of practice towards multi-level integration.

Funding Opportunity Goal(s)

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.

Key Dates

Posted Date

August 31, 2026

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

September 07, 2026

October 07, 2026

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

July 2027

June 23, 2027

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

April 2028

June 23, 2028

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

April 2029

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

No late applications will be accepted for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Expiration Date

June 24, 2028

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the How to Apply - Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the How to Apply - Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Overview Information Key Dates Part 2. Full Text of Announcement Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III. Eligibility Information Section IV. Application and Submission Information Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII. Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description

BACKGROUND

The BRAIN Initiative Since 2014, the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative has aimed to accelerate the development and application of innovative neurotechnologies, enabling researchers to produce a new dynamic picture of the brain that reveals how individual cells and complex neural circuits interact in both time and space. It is expected that these advances will ultimately lead to new ways to treat and prevent brain disorders.

As one of several federal agencies involved in the BRAIN Initiative, NIH's contributions to the BRAIN Initiative were initially guided by "BRAIN 2025: A Scientific Vision," a strategic plan that detailed seven high-priority research areas and was updated and enhanced in 2019 to: "The BRAIN Initiative 2.0: From Cells to Circuits, Toward Cures" and "The BRAIN Initiative and Neuroethics: Enabling and Enhancing Neuroscience Advances for Society." This and other BRAIN Initiative Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) are based on this vision and issued with input from Advisory Councils of the 10 NIH Institutes and Centers supporting the BRAIN Initiative, as assisted by the NIH BRAIN Multi-Council Working Group and Neuroethics Working Group.

The NIH BRAIN Initiative recognizes innovative ideas require creativity, scientific expertise, and experience along with scientific collaboration. There are many benefits that flow from a scientific workforce with team participation including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, and enhancing public trust.

The BRAIN Initiative requires a high level of coordination and sharing between investigators. It is expected that BRAIN Initiative recipients will cooperate and coordinate their activities after awards are made by participating in Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) meetings, BRAIN consortia activities, and the BRAIN Initiative Biennial Conference. The data sharing expectations for BRAIN Initiative awards can be found at BRAIN Data Knowledge Resources.

The Integrated BRAIN Circuits Program (iBCP): An Overview The iBCP aims to understand how the nervous system gives rise to mental experience and behavior. A multi-level understanding of central nervous system (CNS) function is essential for identifying critical circuits involved in health and disease, and for advancing our ability to monitor and modulate neural circuits for both basic and translational applications.

Despite rapid advances in molecular, cellular, systems, and computational neuroscience, achieving a comprehensive understanding of brain function remains hindered by persistent methodological, conceptual, and disciplinary barriers within and between different levels of analysis. Technically, for example, fully mapping and interpreting the activity patterns of heterogeneous cell types with sub-millisecond temporal resolution in behaving animals remains a challenge. Conceptually, insights into how cellular heterogeneity and connectivity relate to dynamic neural processes and computations that underpin behavior remain limited. Moreover, scientific progress often occurs in disciplinary silos, hampering integration across levels of analysis.

The BRAIN Initiative fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration, yet transdisciplinary integration that enables, for example, a comprehensive linking of cellular components to circuit function and behavior, remains a major hurdle. While molecular and cellular neuroscience offers detailed "parts lists" and targeted manipulation tools, the role of cellular heterogeneity in complex neural computations is not well understood. Conversely, systems neuroscience provides powerful methods for analyzing population-level dynamics but often lacks the cell-type specificity necessary for mechanistic insight.

The iBCP directly addresses this challenge by emphasizing the need for dynamic circuits- and systems-level investigations that incorporate emerging knowledge and data on circuit components, including cell types and connectivity. As this is a significant challenge in neuroscience, the BRAIN Initiative now seeks to support development of innovative conceptual and theoretical frameworks, and cutting-edge approaches, both experimental and computational, to understand brain function holistically, from its circuit components to behavior output.

Deliverables from this effort are expected to advance our ability to investigate and understand how the CNS encodes, processes, and transmits information across spatial (cell to brain region) and temporal (milliseconds to behavioral timescales) dimensions. These will also lead to mechanistic, biologically grounded explanations of CNS function, ultimately revealing how cellular-level interventions produce circuit- and behavior-level effects and offering new targets and insights for treating dysfunction.

Program Expectations Teams of 3–6 PDs/PIs are expected to combine distinct areas of expertise ranging from molecular and cellular to circuits to systems neuroscience, with strong interactions between experimentalists and computational neuroscientists, to pursue a single Specific Aim of developing mechanistic explanations of how neural circuits give rise to behavior and/or defined CNS functions.

A mechanistic insight is defined as an explanation of how defined circuit components and their dynamic activity and/or interactions causally generate CNS function, yielding predictive and testable hypotheses. To achieve this, applications are expected to explicitly integrate the following three levels of analysis (see Section IV for details on how each of these levels is defined):

The approach is expected to be driven by innovative conceptual or theoretical frameworks, predictive models, and/or cutting-edge methodologies that unify these three levels of analysis, bridge experimental and computational components, and use BRAIN-developed tools or resources where appropriate. The scale, complexity, and impact of this effort should reflect the transformative nature of the BRAIN Initiative. A successful program will deliver both mechanistic insights and broadly useful solutions to the challenges of bridging these levels of analysis.

This NOFO welcomes the use of a wide range of species, from invertebrate to human studies, including comparative approaches and the use of new approach methodologies (NAMS), with the requirement that these are chosen based on their power to address the specific question at hand and to reveal generalizable and fundamental principles.

Cross-species approaches to investigate generalizability are welcome. At least one species under study is expected to fully integrate all three levels of analysis (circuit components, dynamic circuit activity, and behavior). Other species may be included even if technical limitations prevent accessing all three levels.

Recipients are expected to actively participate in BRAIN Initiative consortium activities aimed at developing, harmonizing, and disseminating standards of practice that facilitate rigorous multi-level integration across cellular, circuit, and behavioral analyses.

Representative (not exhaustive) examples of integrative neuroscience research responsive to this NOFO:

Topics:

Approaches:

Consultation with relevant Program Staff:

Potential applicants should consult with the NOFO contact about responsiveness to the NOFO priorities, single research aim, team composition, and anticipated scope very early in the planning stage and a minimum of 8 weeks prior to the application due date. Staff will not assess technical or scientific merit; this will be determined during peer review using the criteria in this NOFO.

Applications that exhibit any of the following characteristics will be considered non-responsive and withdrawn from consideration:

Primarily focuses on disease mechanisms, therapeutics, or treatments. Although disease-related perturbations may be employed to probe causality, such approaches are allowed only for elucidating fundamental mechanisms of CNS function. This NOFO does not support studies that are explicitly disease-focused; such proposals should be directed to the appropriate NIH IC.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument

Grant: A financial assistance mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Application Types Allowed

New

The OER Glossary and the How to Apply - Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this NOFO.

Clinical Trial?

Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials. Note: Applications may propose activities involving human subjects that are not deemed clinical trials.

Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

NIH BRAIN Initiative intends to commit up to $8M per fiscal year to fund up to 5 awards.

Award Budget

Application budgets need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. It is anticipated that most awards will not exceed $1M direct costs per fiscal year.

Award Project Period

The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is 5 years

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this NOFO.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible Organizations

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

For-Profit Organizations

Local Governments

Federal Governments

Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

U.S. Territory or Possession

Other

Independent School Districts

Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities

Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

Faith-based or Community-based Organizations

Regional Organizations

Foreign Organizations/Foreign Collaborations

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

NIH will no longer issue awards (i.e., new, renewal, or non-competing continuation) to domestic or foreign entities that involve foreign subawards/subcontracts. All NIH-funded research involving foreign subawards/subcontracts must be submitted in response to a NOFO that is specifically designated for funded international collaborations. See NIH Grants Policy Statement 16.8 Collaborative International Research Awards.

Applications involving foreign subawards/subcontracts submitted in response to this NOFO will be deemed noncompliant and will not be considered for funding. This policy applies to all monetary international collaborations resulting in foreign subawards/subcontracts, however, it does not preclude unfunded international collaborations or foreign components, funding for foreign consultants, or procurement of unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors.

Required Registrations

Applicant Organizations Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. Failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications for additional information System for Award Management (SAM) – Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code. Foreign organizations must obtain a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)- A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s)) All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

All PD(s)/PI(s) must be registered with ORCID. The personal profile associated with the PD(s)/PI(s) eRA Commons account must be linked to a valid ORCID ID. For more information on linking an ORCID ID to an eRA Commons personal profile see the ORCID topic in our eRA Commons online help.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the How to Apply - Application Guide.

The application is required to be submitted as a multiple PD/PI application, with 3–6 PDs/PIs who have complementary expertise. Visit the multiple PD/PI Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, and the Grant Policy Statement on Multiple Principal Investigators. Minimum allowed efforts by the PDs/PIs are described in the R&R Budget instructions in Part 2. Section IV.2.

2. Cost Sharing This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. This means that the NIH will not accept:

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed in this notice of funding opportunity to do otherwise (in this NOFO, in a policy notice, or other notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to the requirements in the How to Apply - Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Page Limitations All page limitations described in the How to Apply – Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

For this specific NOFO, the Research Strategy section is limited to 15 pages.

Instructions for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply – Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

SF424(R&R) Cover All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

R&R Budget

R&R Subaward Budget

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

PHS 398 Research Plan All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy Applications that fail to include the three components listed below and do not follow the page limits will be considered incomplete and non-compliant, respectively, and will be withdrawn.

1. Scientific Plan (12-pages max) Program Structure: This program should focus on a single aim composed of interdependent and tightly interconnected components. Provide a visual schematic summarizing the program's organization and illustrating how its key components interact and are fully integrated.

Significance: Describe the scientific problem and key anticipated deliverables, which must include: (1) a mechanistic, biologically grounded explanation of CNS function, and (2) broadly useful solutions to challenges in bridging levels of analysis. Mechanistic insights explain how defined circuit components and their dynamic activity and/or interactions causally generate neural circuit function and behavior, with predictive and testable implications.

Innovation: Describe how the project's scale, complexity, and impact align with the transformative nature of the BRAIN Initiative and warrant a team-based approach. Highlight key conceptual, theoretical, experimental, and/or computational innovations that enable multi-level integration.

Approach:

Circuit components. Teams must define and justify what the appropriate "building blocks" of the circuits under study. Relevant "cell types" can be operationally defined through appropriate modalities, capturing their heterogeneity through molecular, physiological, anatomical, functional, and/or connectivity data at a scale sufficient to inform circuit function.

2. Benchmarks for Success and Timeline (1-page max) This section is critical for assessing feasibility of the integrative strategy, degree of scientific and team integration, and likelihood of achieving mechanistic insight across levels of analysis within the award period. It will serve as a framework for NIH BRAIN Initiative oversight and progress monitoring.

A. Provide a project timeline in a visual format (e.g., Gantt chart, milestone map, or other infographic) that includes:

If using an External Advisory Committee, describe its operations and role in providing advice and perspectives. Avoid identifying or contacting potential members prior to review.

Applicants should plan for an annual check-in with NIH BRAIN staff, either virtual or in person. Teams should also plan on joining active BRAIN consortia or leading a new one focused on discussing challenges and effective practices for multi-level integration.

B. Outputs: Summarize anticipated key deliverables with specific examples and success metrics, organized into these categories, as applicable: Discovery, Dissemination, Impact on team members and the next generation of neuroscientists, Health Multi-Level Integration and Team Management Plan (2-pages max) Overall, this section should summarize how the project will integrate the three required levels of analysis, the included disciplines (e.g., molecular/cellular to systems neuroscience, experimental, theoretical, and computational), and key personnel across different scientific backgrounds and career stages, at the level of both scientific strategy and team structure. Under the following sub-headings, describe the unifying activities and defined shared goals, outcomes, or benchmarks that will serve as conceptual, technical, and organizational bridging mechanisms. This section may cross-reference relevant components of the Research Strategy.

A. Scientific Integration Summarize the conceptual and/or theoretical frameworks that unify the three required levels of analysis (circuit components, circuit dynamics, and behavior). Describe how these frameworks will connect different disciplines, labs, and key personnel. Detailed descriptions should be provided in the "Scientific Plan" section of the Research Strategy.

B. Technical Integration

C. Team Management Plan Applicants are encouraged to consult resources to aid in developing effective team-based programs (see e.g., the NCI Collaboration and Team Science Field Guide and literature on the Science of Team Science), and/or participate in team-science related training.

Team Structure: While the Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan addresses PI leadership, this section should describe the overall team management structure, inclusive of all key personnel. Refer to the MPI Leadership Plan as needed and avoid duplicating information. Address team composition, resources, policies, and specific roles and responsibilities of all key personnel and organizations in fulfilling the scientific and integration goals of this project. Describe how major decisions will be made or conflicts resolved. The structure must ensure balanced participation, avoiding undue authority by any single individual in setting priorities, allocating resources, or recognizing contributions. Strong leadership is expected, but decision-making should reflect collective expertise and project goals.

Team Integration: Because transdisciplinary integration requires intentional effort, applicants must describe roles and activities that accelerate the transition from parallel disciplines to an integrated team, including:

Credit attribution: Describe how scientific contributions will be documented and fairly attributed, with particular attention to transparency and fairness for early-career researchers.

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

Other Plan(s):

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Appendix: Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

No publications or other material, with the exception of blank questionnaires or blank surveys, may be included in the Appendix.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the How to Apply - Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered "Yes" to the question "Are Human Subjects Involved?" on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start). All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

PHS Assignment Request Form

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) See Part 2. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov

4. Submission Dates and Times Part I. contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH's electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the How to Apply – Application Guide.

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372) This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. Funding Restrictions All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 7.9.1 Selected Items of Cost.

7. Other Submission Requirements and Information Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the How to Apply - Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit How to Apply – Application Guide. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile form. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this NOFO for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the unique entity identifier provided on the…