Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 19 240
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), issued this discretionary grant opportunity titled "Computationally-Defined Behaviors in Psychiatry (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-MH-19-240; CFDA 93.242). The program supports early-stage, exploratory research under the R21 mechanism, aimed at building and testing computational approaches that can define and measure behavior with high precision. The central idea is to move beyond broad symptom checklists and instead create parametrically detailed behavioral assays, meaning tasks or measurements that produce quantitative parameters (for example, learning rates, uncertainty estimates, reward sensitivity, decision thresholds, or other model-derived variables) that can describe mental-health relevant functioning in a more mechanistic way.
Projects are expected to focus on human behavior and to test computational models in healthy participants. In other words, the emphasis is on developing and validating the behavioral tasks and computational frameworks themselves, establishing that they reliably capture interpretable parameters in humans before moving into patient populations. While clinical trials are described as optional, the core scope highlighted in the description is not treatment testing in patients, but the development of computationally grounded behavioral measures and model-based readouts that can form the foundation for future clinical and translational work.
A key priority for NIMH in this announcement is "back-translation," meaning the behavioral measures, computational models, and derived parameters should have a realistic path to being implemented in animal paradigms later on. This matters because NIMH is explicitly connecting these computational behavioral assays to preclinical therapeutics development, where animal studies are often used to evaluate mechanisms and screen potential interventions. Proposals that can justify how their human behavioral task and model parameters could be adapted to comparable animal tasks, or how the underlying computational constructs align across species, are particularly responsive to the goals stated. At the same time, NIMH also notes interest in approaches that can be extended to clinical populations in the future, even if the initial work is done in healthy subjects. That extension could include demonstrating feasibility for use in psychiatric cohorts later, identifying which parameters might be sensitive to dysfunction, or outlining how the assay could be used to stratify patients, predict risk, or track change once moved into clinical research.
The eligible applicant pool is broad and includes many types of U.S. governmental entities (state, county, city or township governments; special district governments), education systems (independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education), tribal entities (federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations), housing authorities, and a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including small businesses, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, and for-profit organizations other than small businesses). The announcement also highlights additional eligible categories such as 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, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. (foreign) entities and regional organizations, reflecting an intent to encourage diverse institutional participation.
In terms of basic award information contained in the source data, the grant instrument type is a standard NIH grant, with an award ceiling listed as $200,000. The opportunity was created on 2018-08-09, and the original closing date shown is 2020-11-20. Overall, the FOA is aimed at catalyzing innovative, computationally rigorous behavioral science that can produce well-defined parameters tied to mental-health relevant domains, establish these measures in humans first, and lay a credible translational bridge to animal models and later clinical applications.Apply for RFA MH 19 240
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Computationally-Defined Behaviors in Psychiatry (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2018-08-09.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-11-20. (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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FAQs: Computationally-Defined Behaviors in Psychiatry (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
What is the title of this NIH/NIMH grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "Computationally-Defined Behaviors in Psychiatry (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)."
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA number)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-MH-19-240.
What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number listed for this opportunity is 93.242.
Which NIH institute is sponsoring this funding opportunity?
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), issued this discretionary grant opportunity.
What type of NIH grant mechanism is being used?
This opportunity uses the R21 mechanism, which is intended for early-stage, exploratory research.
What is the overall goal of the program?
The program supports building and testing computational approaches that can define and measure behavior with high precision, with the aim of moving beyond broad symptom checklists toward mechanistic, quantitative behavioral readouts.
What does "computationally-defined behaviors" mean in the context of this FOA?
It refers to behavior measured through tasks or assessments paired with computational models that yield interpretable quantitative parameters. These parameters are intended to describe mental-health relevant functioning in a more mechanistic way.
What kinds of outputs are expected from the behavioral tasks and models?
The FOA emphasizes parametrically detailed behavioral assays that produce quantitative parameters. Examples mentioned include learning rates, uncertainty estimates, reward sensitivity, decision thresholds, and other model-derived variables.
What is meant by "parametrically detailed behavioral assays"?
These are tasks or measurements designed to generate quantitative parameters from computational models, rather than relying on broad checklist-style symptom measures.
Does the FOA focus on human or animal research?
The expected focus is on human behavior, specifically developing and validating tasks and computational frameworks in humans first.
Are studies expected to be conducted in healthy participants or patient populations?
The emphasis described is on testing computational models in healthy participants to establish reliable, interpretable parameters before moving into patient populations.
Is the purpose of this FOA to test treatments in psychiatric patients?
No. While clinical trials are described as optional, the central scope highlighted is the development and validation of computationally grounded behavioral measures and model-based readouts, not treatment testing in patient populations.
What does "Clinical Trial Optional" imply here?
It indicates that a clinical trial is not required. The description emphasizes foundational work on behavioral tasks and computational models, with potential future clinical and translational use.
What is "back-translation" and why is it a priority?
"Back-translation" is described as designing behavioral measures, computational models, and derived parameters so they have a realistic path to later implementation in animal paradigms. NIMH highlights this to connect human computational assays to preclinical therapeutics development where animal studies are commonly used.
How should applicants address the back-translation expectation?
Proposals are described as particularly responsive if they can justify how a human behavioral task and its model parameters could be adapted to comparable animal tasks, or how the computational constructs align across species.
Is there interest in eventual clinical application even if the initial work is in healthy subjects?
Yes. NIMH notes interest in approaches that can be extended to clinical populations in the future, even if the initial research is conducted in healthy participants.
What kinds of future clinical extensions are mentioned?
The description mentions future directions such as demonstrating feasibility for use in psychiatric cohorts, identifying parameters that might be sensitive to dysfunction, or outlining how the assay could be used to stratify patients, predict risk, or track change when moved into clinical research.
Who is eligible to apply?
The eligible applicant pool is broad and includes U.S. governmental entities (such as state, county, city or township governments; special district governments), education systems (including independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education), tribal entities (federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations), housing authorities, and a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including small businesses, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, and for-profit organizations other than small businesses).
Are institutions serving specific populations explicitly listed as eligible?
Yes. The announcement highlights eligibility for categories such as 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), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).
Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?
Yes. Faith-based or community-based organizations are explicitly mentioned among eligible categories.
Are U.S. territories or possessions included in eligibility?
Yes. U.S. territories or possessions are listed among eligible categories.
Are non-U.S. (foreign) entities eligible to apply?
Yes. The eligibility list includes non-U.S. (foreign) entities and regional organizations.
What is the grant instrument type?
The instrument type is a standard NIH grant.
What is the award ceiling listed for this opportunity?
The award ceiling listed in the provided information is $200,000.
When was this funding opportunity created?
The opportunity was created on 2018-08-09.
What is the original closing date shown?
The original closing date shown is 2020-11-20.
What kinds of research approaches are most aligned with the FOA description?
Approaches that develop and validate computational behavioral tasks in humans, produce reliable and interpretable model-derived parameters, and provide a credible plan for back-translation to animal paradigms are most aligned with the goals described.
What is the central shift in measurement philosophy promoted by this FOA?
The shift is away from broad symptom checklists and toward quantitative, computationally grounded behavioral assays that yield mechanistic parameters tied to mental-health relevant domains.
How does this FOA connect to therapeutics development?
The FOA emphasizes back-translation so that human computational behavioral assays can connect to animal paradigms used in preclinical therapeutics development, where mechanisms can be evaluated and potential interventions can be screened.
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