From Genomic Association to Causation: A Convergent Neuroscience Approach for Integrating Levels of Analysis to Delineate Brain Function in Neuropsychiatry (Collaborative U01) | PAR 17 176

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the title and identifier of this NIH funding opportunity?

The opportunity is titled "From Genomic Association to Causation: A Convergent Neuroscience Approach for Integrating Levels of Analysis to Delineate Brain Function in Neuropsychiatry (Collaborative U01)" with FOA number PAR-17-176.

What is the main purpose of this FOA?

The FOA supports collaborative research that goes beyond identifying genetic associations and works toward explaining how those associations relate to brain function and, ultimately, neuropsychiatric symptoms and behavior.

What does NIH mean by "Convergent Neuroscience" in this program?

In this FOA, Convergent Neuroscience (CN) refers to tightly integrated, team-based science that links neighboring (contiguous) biological and behavioral levels of analysis in ways that support causal conclusions or, when causality is not yet possible, strong probabilistic explanations.

What kinds of scientific questions is this opportunity trying to answer?

The FOA is focused on building explanatory models of psychopathology by demonstrating how processes at one level of analysis (such as genes or molecular pathways) contribute to measurable properties at another level (such as cellular activity, circuit dynamics, systems-level function, cognition, affect, or other behaviors).

Is genetics required to be part of the project?

Yes. A key preference is for projects that keep genetics as a major emphasis, reflecting the program goal of translating genomic findings into mechanisms relevant to neuropsychiatry.

How many "levels of analysis" does NIH prefer projects to connect?

The FOA expresses a preference for projects that connect at least three levels of analysis.

What does it mean to connect "contiguous" or "neighboring" levels of analysis?

It means building a coherent chain of explanation where each level directly links to the next (for example, genetic variation to molecular signaling, to cell-type physiology, to circuit properties, to behavior), rather than jumping between distant levels without intermediate mechanistic links.

What is the expected research approach under this FOA?

The FOA expects teams to develop or expand conceptual frameworks and formalize them into computational explanatory models that explicitly map relationships across levels of analysis. These models should then be tested and validated using experimental approaches designed to probe the proposed links and clarify biological mechanisms behind complex behavioral outcomes relevant to psychopathology.

Are purely theoretical or purely computational projects expected to be sufficient?

No. The FOA indicates that computational explanatory models should not remain purely theoretical; they are expected to be tested and validated using experimental approaches that examine the proposed cross-level links.

What areas of behavior or symptoms are relevant to this FOA?

The FOA targets neuropsychiatric symptoms and behavior and specifically notes relevance to psychopathology, including both cognitive and affective domains.

What type of team does NIH expect applicants to assemble?

The FOA treats interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary team formation as a core requirement. Applicants are expected to assemble highly synergistic teams that include neuroscience expertise and also draw from orthogonal fields that can bring new methods and theoretical perspectives.

Which "orthogonal" disciplines are explicitly mentioned as desirable for team composition?

The FOA gives examples including data science, computational modeling, physics, engineering, mathematics, and environmental sciences.

Does NIH want these disciplines to work separately or in a fully integrated way?

NIH is looking for teams that are not working in parallel silos. The FOA emphasizes jointly developing new concepts, tools, and integrative approaches that connect one level of analysis to the next in a coherent chain.

What kinds of outputs are expected beyond scientific findings?

Competitive applications are expected to include a robust plan for sharing data, methods, models, and other resources produced by the team, so outputs can accelerate research beyond the funded group. The FOA signals value for infrastructure-like contributions such as well-documented datasets, reusable computational models, and broadly applicable methods.

Why is resource sharing emphasized in this FOA?

The FOA aims to advance the broader field of Convergent Neuroscience, not only individual projects. Sharing is emphasized to help create shared resources and a common framework that other researchers can build on.

What is the funding mechanism for this opportunity?

This FOA uses a Cooperative Agreement mechanism (U01).

What does it mean that this is a Cooperative Agreement (U01) rather than a standard research grant?

The FOA notes that a Cooperative Agreement (U01) typically implies a more active partnership with NIH compared to a standard research grant.

What is the activity category and CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The activity category is Health, and the CFDA number listed is 93.242.

What is the award ceiling for this FOA?

The award ceiling is noted as $2,500,000, indicating an upper bound on the total amount per award under the announcement as provided in the source information.

What are the key dates mentioned for this opportunity?

The listing indicates a creation date of 2017-02-27 and an original closing date of 2020-01-07.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations, including multiple levels of government, schools, higher education institutions (public and private), tribal entities, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses.

Are state and local government entities eligible?

Yes. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and special district governments.

Are educational institutions eligible?

Yes. Eligible applicants include independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and private institutions of higher education.

Are tribal governments and tribal organizations eligible?

Yes. Eligibility includes federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations. The FOA also highlights certain tribal governments other than federally recognized ones as eligible.

Are nonprofits eligible, including those without 501(c)(3) status?

Yes. Nonprofits are eligible whether or not they have 501(c)(3) status.

Are for-profit entities and small businesses eligible?

Yes. Both for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses are listed as eligible applicants.

Are minority-serving institutions and mission-driven organizations specifically included?

Yes. The FOA explicitly highlights additional eligible categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, HBCUs, and TCCUs, as well as faith-based or community-based organizations.

Are federal agencies eligible to apply?

Yes. The FOA lists eligible federal agencies as an eligible applicant category.

Are non-U.S. (foreign) entities eligible?

Yes. The FOA explicitly includes non-U.S. (foreign) entities as eligible applicants.

Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?

Yes. The FOA includes U.S. territories or possessions as eligible applicants.

What overall type of project is NIH trying to fund through this announcement?

NIH is seeking experimentally grounded, computationally explicit, multi-level explanations that connect genetic findings to brain mechanisms and clinically relevant behavior in neuropsychiatry, produced by diverse and deeply integrated teams and accompanied by strong plans to share data, models, methods, and other resources.