Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales Data Coordinating Center (BRAIN CONNECTS DCC) (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Summary/Description

This Notice of Intent to Publish is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects for the following Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which is expected to be published in October 2023, with an anticipated�application receipt date in December 2023. The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies� (BRAIN) Initiative intends to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications for one or more Data Coordinating Centers (DCCs) to support BRAIN CONNECTS, a networked consortium of Comprehensive Centers and Specialized Projects funded under RFA-NS-22-047, RFA-NS-22-048, and�RFA-NS-22-049.�The goals of BRAIN CONNECTS awards are to develop the research capacity and technical capabilities for comprehensive brain-wide connectivity mapping in mouse, human, and non-human primate (NHP).�BRAIN CONNECTS projects will collect and process unprecedented volumes of anatomical data by scaling up cutting-edge acquisition modalities and analysis methods, to demonstrate the feasibility and potential impact of production, analysis, dissemination, and interpretation of connectivity maps from entire brains. The resulting feasibility data from these awards are expected to inform NIH decisions on program continuation in a potential subsequent five-year funding period for production of brain-wide wiring diagrams. Through the intended NOFO, NIH expects to fund one or more BRAIN CONNECTS DCCs, which will collaborate with the data generating projects to (1) coordinate activities of the BRAIN CONNECTS Network, (2) develop and harmonize common data processing pipelines, (3) integrate and disseminate data analytic tools and capabilities, (4) establish a unified knowledge base for connectivity data of diverse modalities, and (5) organize and implement outreach and engagement to the wider research community and the general public.� Awards will be integrated into the BRAIN CONNECTS Network as a coordinated effort aimed at developing the ability to generate whole-brain wiring diagrams across multiple scales and species.