NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research: Tools and Technologies to Explore Nervous System Biomolecular Condensates (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DA 22 008

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 22 008

The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research funding opportunity, "Tools and Technologies to Explore Nervous System Biomolecular Condensates (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-DA-22-008), is a discretionary NIH grant aimed at accelerating early-stage, high-impact tool and technology development for neuroscience. The central goal is to create and refine innovative methods that let researchers monitor, measure, or manipulate biomolecular condensates (BMCs) in vivo, meaning in living systems, rather than only in simplified cell culture or test-tube settings. By emphasizing tools that other investigators can realistically adopt, the program is geared toward building broadly usable capabilities for the neuroscience community, not just answering a single narrow biological question.

Scientifically, the opportunity is focused on understanding BMCs in the nervous system and how these condensates contribute to normal nervous system function as well as disease. Biomolecular condensates are membrane-less assemblies of proteins and nucleic acids that organize cellular chemistry through processes such as phase separation. In the brain and broader nervous system, these structures are increasingly implicated in controlling gene regulation, RNA metabolism, synaptic function, stress responses, and other core neuronal and glial processes. Because disrupted condensate behavior has been linked to neurological and neurodegenerative conditions, the NIH is positioning this tool-development effort as foundational work that can clarify mechanisms of nervous system health and disease and potentially open the door to new therapeutic strategies that target condensate formation, composition, dynamics, or function.

The grant uses the NIH R21 mechanism, which is typically meant for exploratory and developmental research that may carry more technical risk but promises high payoff if successful. Consistent with that aim, the opportunity encourages proposals that push beyond standard approaches and deliver enabling technologies. Examples of the kinds of outputs that fit this intent include new molecular probes, reporters, sensors, imaging strategies, genetic or chemical perturbation systems, or computational/analytic pipelines that can quantify condensate properties in living neural tissue. A key emphasis is practical utility: tools should be designed so that the broader research community can take them up to address open questions in basic neuroscience, rather than remaining bespoke methods limited to a single lab.

As stated in the title, clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement. That means the supported work should remain in the domain of basic and preclinical research and tool development rather than testing interventions in human participants. Applicants should therefore frame their aims around technology creation and validation in appropriate experimental systems, with a focus on demonstrating feasibility and usefulness for neuroscience research rather than clinical efficacy.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding instrument is a grant, and the overall activity category is listed under broad public service areas that include health. The award ceiling is $200,000, indicating the maximum award amount under this opportunity. The original closing date is listed as September 15, 2021, and the opportunity was created on January 25, 2021, which matters for anyone checking whether the announcement is still active or looking for successor announcements with similar scope.

Eligibility is broad and includes many common applicant types across government, academia, nonprofit, and industry. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private 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 with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other unspecified entities that meet NIH requirements. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible groups such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs); eligible federal agencies; faith-based or community-based organizations; Hispanic-serving institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized; non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations); regional organizations; Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); and U.S. territories or possessions. In practice, this wide eligibility supports a diverse applicant pool and encourages tool-building efforts that can come from many sectors, including interdisciplinary teams that combine neuroscience with engineering, chemistry, physics, computation, or advanced imaging.

The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health, operating under the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, a collaborative framework that coordinates neuroscience-related efforts across multiple NIH institutes and centers. The CFDA (assistance listing) numbers associated with the opportunity span multiple NIH program areas, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of the Blueprint and the broad relevance of the technologies being sought.

In short, this grant opportunity is about building the next generation of in vivo-capable tools to study and control nervous system biomolecular condensates, with the expectation that these tools will unlock mechanistic insights in basic neuroscience and create a platform for future therapeutic innovation, while staying strictly outside the scope of human clinical trials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research: Tools and Technologies to Explore Nervous System Biomolecular Condensates (R21 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): 93.113, 93.121, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-01-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-09-15. (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.

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