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Simpler Grants

No. PAR-25-059 · National Institutes of Health

Open

Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts (IGNITE): Assay Development and Neurotherapeutic Agent Identification (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Dealbreakers No cost share required Audit: not stated Reimbursement-only: not stated
Award range
Up to $750,000
Expected awards
Not specified
Application deadline
Oct 20, 2027
Posted
Oct 22, 2024
Last verified
6 days ago

At a glance

AI summary

This program funds phased research to develop and validate screening assays and then use them to identify potential therapeutic agents for neurological or neuromuscular disorders. It supports R61 activities such as assay setup, optimization, validation, and pilot screening, and R33 activities such as high-throughput screening and preparation of focused hits, but it does not support assay optimization for therapeutic agents, medicinal chemistry optimization, disease mechanism studies, in vivo proof-of-concept efficacy studies, or clinical trials. Eligible applicants include a wide range of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations, including nonprofits, universities, governments, for-profits, small businesses, and foreign organizations, and foreign components of U.S. organizations are allowed. Direct costs cannot exceed $499,000 in any one year and $750,000 over the three-year project period, with no cost sharing required. Applications must separate the R61 and R33 phases and include quantitative go/no-go milestones; the number of awards is contingent on funding and meritorious applications.

AI-generated summary — verify against the announcement

What it funds

  • Health
  • Research & Discovery
  • Technology & Product Development
  • Researchers & Scholars
  • Biomedical & Disease Research
Official description from grants.gov

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages research grant applications to develop in vitro and/or ex vivo assays and conduct iterative screening efforts to identify and characterize potential therapeutic agents for neurological or neuromuscular disorders. This FOA is part of a suite of Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts (IGNITE) to advance projects to the point where they can meet the entry criteria for the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network (BPN) or other translational programs.

Who can apply

  • City or township governments
  • County governments
  • For-profit organizations other than small businesses
  • Independent school districts
  • Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
  • Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized)
  • Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
  • Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
  • Others
  • Private institutions of higher education
  • Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
  • Public housing authorities / Indian housing authorities
  • Small businesses
  • Special district governments
  • State governments
Geographic restriction None found in the announcement — likely nationwide

Program history

USASpending.gov

Assistance listing 93.853 · Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders

Real awards this federal program has made — the whole assistance listing (93.853), not just this notice.

Fiscal year Awards Median award Middle half
FY 2026 (so far) 654 $405,461 $120,825 – $587,738
FY 2025 923 $491,085 $157,949 – $1,077,840
FY 2024 1,031
FY 2023 1,194
FY 2022 1,228
FY 2021 1,132

For comparison, this notice advertises Up to $750,000.

Dollar figures are based on the 1,000 most recent awards we store, not all 6,162 — award counts are complete.

Who wins it Higher education (4,669), Nonprofit (990), Business (259) of 6,162 awards — categories can overlap.
Top states CA (153) · NY (99) · MA (93) · PA (74) · TX (39)
Largest recent awards
  1. THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY $5,747,701 · FY 2025
  2. YALE UNIV $4,888,497 · FY 2025
  3. MAYO CLINIC $3,746,535 · FY 2026
  4. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE $3,153,019 · FY 2025
  5. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES $3,109,857 · FY 2025

Source: USASpending.gov · refreshed Aug 23, 2026