BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) Scalable Technologies and Tools for Brain Cell Census (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA MH 19 148

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 19 148

This opportunity, titled "BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) Scalable Technologies and Tools for Brain Cell Census (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-MH-19-148), is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant program that supports research aimed at speeding up and strengthening the technologies and tools used to identify, classify, and map brain cell types and the circuits they form. The central goal is to push brain cell census work beyond current constraints by encouraging platforms, workflows, and resources that can operate at scale, so researchers can conduct faster and more comprehensive surveys of brain cellular diversity across space and time. Because it is an R01 mechanism, projects are expected to be substantial, well-justified, and capable of delivering impactful advances or resources for the broader neuroscience community. Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed under this announcement.

A major emphasis of the announcement is removing bottlenecks in the existing brain cell census pipeline. In practical terms, NIH is looking for improvements that make it easier to generate high-quality cell census datasets, whether the bottleneck is tissue handling, molecular profiling throughput, spatial mapping, anatomical registration, circuit tracing, data processing, or another limiting step that slows progress or reduces data quality. Proposals are expected to focus on scalable approaches, meaning the methods should be suited to large studies rather than one-off demonstrations, and should be engineered with robustness and reproducibility in mind so they can be adopted widely and not just used in a single lab.

Another strong priority is tighter integration of experimental and computational components. The FOA encourages projects that combine lab-based methods (for example, sampling strategies, tissue processing, labeling, imaging, sequencing, or electrophysiology workflows) with computational approaches (such as pipelines for data processing, cell-type classification, multimodal integration, spatial registration, and visualization). The intent is to reduce barriers to hypothesis-driven research by making cell census generation and analysis more accessible, more standardized, and more directly usable by neuroscientists who want to ask biological questions rather than spend years building infrastructure.

The announcement also signals that technology development alone is not the end point; applicants are expected to demonstrate real utility. To do that, projects should generate a substantial amount of spatiotemporal cell census data and/or community resources using the improved platforms. "Spatiotemporal" reflects the interest in not only what cell types exist, but where they are located in brain structures, how they connect in circuits, and how these features may vary across developmental stages, brain regions, or other relevant dimensions. The data and resources produced are meant to help validate the approach at meaningful scale and to accelerate downstream science by others.

In addition, the FOA explicitly calls for comparative and benchmarking studies. NIH is seeking efforts that use appropriate criteria to evaluate and compare biospecimen quality, tool or technology performance, and the effectiveness of computational approaches. This suggests an expectation for rigorous metrics, reference standards where feasible, and clear evaluation frameworks so the field can identify which methods work best for specific use cases. Benchmarking can include head-to-head comparisons, cross-site reproducibility checks, or systematic assessments of sensitivity, accuracy, throughput, cost, and failure modes, provided the criteria are well-justified and informative for the broader community.

All funded projects are expected to align with the broader goals of the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN). That alignment includes generating substantial cell census data either directly through the proposed work or through collaboration with BICCN efforts, and contributing in ways that improve the overall ecosystem of tools, data, and standards that the network depends on. In other words, this is not just about producing a single dataset or a single tool, but about strengthening the overall capacity of the field to map and understand brain cell types and circuits in a systematic, scalable way.

From an administrative standpoint, the program is issued by NIH as a grant (Funding Instrument: Grant) within activity areas that span education, health, and social services-related categories in federal classification systems, and it lists multiple CFDA numbers associated with NIH programs (93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867). The original closing date shown in the source data is 2020-01-24, and the FOA record creation date is 2018-09-21. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided text, which typically means applicants should rely on the full FOA details and NIH budget guidance for expectations about scale and scope.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic U.S. applicants such as 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; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized governments; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (outside higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant categories including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations), as well as Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized ones.

Taken together, the opportunity is aimed at accelerating brain cell census progress by funding scalable, high-impact technology and resource development that is validated through real data production, strengthened through tight experimental-computational integration, and made credible through careful benchmarking. The end product NIH is trying to drive is a faster, more standardized, and more powerful set of platforms and datasets that help the BICCN and the broader neuroscience community more completely define brain cell types and the circuits they form.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) Scalable Technologies and Tools for Brain Cell Census (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-09-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-01-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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.

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