Bioethics Research and Innovation Funding Opportunities

Bioethics Research and Innovation Funding Opportunities is sponsored by Various (Aggregated by The Grant Portal). This recurring funding opportunity supports projects that address important ethical issues related to healthcare, public health, biomedical research, and emerging technologies.

Strengthening Biomedical Research, Promoting Trust, and Improving Health through Bioethics Research | Grants & Funding U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Strengthening Biomedical Research, Promoting Trust, and Improving Health through Bioethics Research When beginning your next investigator-initiated application, consider the following NIH highlighted topic.

The area of science described below is of interest to the listed NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs). This is not a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). Apply through an appropriate NIH Parent Funding Announcement or another broad NIH opportunity available on Grants.

gov . Learn how to interpret and use Highlighted Topics . Expiration Date: January 12, 2028 NIH supports the consideration of ethical aspects of biomedical research in tandem with the research process to improve the health of people and increase scientific rigor and research impact.

Integrating bioethics principles across the wide array of health-related biomedical and behavioral research that NIH supports – from fundamental science through clinical research and dissemination and implementation of findings – is critical to promote participant autonomy, sustain community engagement, and build trust in science.

Research informed by bioethics considerations also strengthens science so that research generates evidence-based products that communities will adopt more readily. Therefore, integrating support for bioethics research and engagement into biomedical research is key to NIH’s mission.

This topic aims to advance bioethics research projects that are actionable, build trust, and enable better integration of bioethical principles into biomedical and behavioral research.

Specific research areas of interest include: Access and use of AI models and algorithms Maximizing AI generalizability Strategies for AI transparency and data privacy Integrating digital health research Approaches for effective community engagement Co-developing research priorities with communities Building and sustaining research trustworthiness Recruitment in research and access to clinical trials Strategies and structures for facilitating transparency and autonomy Community approaches for consenting to population-level public health research Novel forms of consent, including for research use of electronic health records, wearables, linked data, and public health data Return of Research Results Approaches for returning aggregate and individual research results Strategies for effectively communicating research findings for health decision-making Considerations for populations with unique needs or decision-making Other Cross-cutting Issues Biosafety and biosecurity Emerging and novel technologies Office of Science Policy (OSP) OSP is interested in the areas listed above.

This office does not award grants. Applications must be relevant to the objectives of at least one of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers listed in this topic. IC may dedicate funds available to support applications in this Topic area depending upon the availability of funds, the number of meritorious applications, and competing ICO priorities.

Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Ethical and social implications of broad access to emerging neurotechnologies in research and clinical settings and subsequent long-term obligations to patient populations Research community (e.g., participant, family members/caregivers, clinician, researcher) attitudes and decision-making about monitoring brain function for predictive/diagnostic purposes and using invasive neural techniques for treating brain disorders Ethical considerations associated with data collected using novel brain monitoring technologies Ethical, legal, and social implications of using artificial intelligence approaches with evolving brain technologies and human neural data, and ethical design and use of AI in neurotechnology IC may dedicate funds available to support applications in this Topic area depending upon the availability of funds, the number of meritorious applications, and competing ICO priorities.

BRAIN Initiative Neuroethics National Cancer Institute (NCI) IC may dedicate funds available to support applications in this Topic area depending upon the availability of funds, the number of meritorious applications, and competing ICO priorities. IC may give special consideration to support meritorious applications in this topic area.

Emilie Charlisse Caga-anan National Eye Institute (NEI) The National Eye Institute (NEI) is interested in bioethics issues relevant to vision research and addressing needs of people who are blind or have low vision.

General areas include but are not limited to considering ethical challenges related to: Ocular disease screening and prevention (e.g., genetic testing) Advancing diagnostics and emerging treatments for brain- and ocular-based visual disorders Digital health, biomedical imaging, and real-world data collections Integration of new technologies for clinical care National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Strengthening and promoting public trust and engagement with biomedical research requires consideration of the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of advances in genetics and genomics.

NHGRI is interested in applications addressing ELSI across: genomic research design and implementation, norms, values, and beliefs about genomics, and organizations and systems engaged in genomics National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is interested in research on bioethics issues relevant to its Strategic Vision , and its focus on heart, lung, blood, and sleep conditions.

Topics of interest are: Bioethical aspects of gene editing, e.g. ethical issues of generating chimeric animals for human organ transplantation, difference between genetic therapy and genetic enhancement, patenting gene editing technologies, and accessibility Bioethical issues related to addressing shortage of organs for heart and lung transplantation. Please refer to our workshop summary .

Issues related to clinical trials, including adaptive clinical trial designs, usual care arms Ethics of cardiopulmonary support, including end-of-life care and device withdrawal Privacy and confidentiality of large datasets data and AI Bioethical issues related to implementation science research, working with understudied or vulnerable populations Kathleen N.

Fenton, MD, MS National Institute on Aging (NIA) Research on access and sharing practices of aging-related data that balance privacy protections with scientific discovery. Research on ethical frameworks that enhance autonomy and protect the rights of older adults in research studies. Studies of best practices for engaging older adults and caregivers in the research process to build trust and improve participation.

Investigations into ethical design and use of artificial intelligence, digital health tools, and other emerging technologies in aging populations. Research on informed consent approaches tailored to older adults, including those with cognitive, sensory, or functional limitations. Studies on methods for returning actionable research results to older adults and their communities to support informed decision-making.

Ethical issues related to measurement and use of cognitive health, brain-age, and/or biological age scores. Research on availability and uptake of proven and unproven longevity interventions. Stacy Carrington-Lawrence, Ph.

D.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Some examples of interest to NIAAA: • Impact of stigma on recruitment and retention of clinical trial participants with alcohol misuse, AUD, and co-occurring disorders, including individuals from underserved, high-risk, and hard to reach populations • Pharmacotherapy research involving pregnant women and adolescents • Efforts to prevent treatment disparities • Health provider attitudes towards patients with AUD in need of liver transplantation National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) NIAID research mission includes infectious diseases, organ transplantation, immunologic diseases and countermeasures, clinical trial design, implementation science, and projects related to public health surveillance and care delivery.

Conceptual and empirical work in bioethics may be considered, utilizing quantitative and/or qualitative data collection.

Of particular interest are autonomy and informed consent involving adolescents, young adults, or pregnant women; community engagement and attitudes concerning disease prevention, treatment, and public health strategies; engagement of key populations, dissemination of results, and mitigating participation barriers; community acceptance of controlled human infection trials, study designs for safety and efficacy, best practices for strategy development and uptake, and genome editing related to genetic disorders; and management of sensitive data, data breach risks or reidentification, and data sharing attitudes National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is interested in bioethics research relevant to its mission to support the development and application of innovative biomedical technologies.

NIBIB’s interests include, but are not limited to: Ethical frameworks/considerations associated with the biomedical technology development continuum from initial design, implementation and testing stages through applications in human health.

Ethics research into the social impact and implications of new and emerging biotechnologies and methodologies, such as AI/ML, data science, Point-of-Care (POC) technologies, robotic devices, nanotechnologies, bioelectronics, synthetic biology, and living materials Ethical issues associated with the use of biomedical imaging and bioinformatics technologies, including risks of re-identifiability from publicly available imaging data and issues related to patient accessibility.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) The National Institute on Drug Abuse is interested in bioethical issues relevant to research involving all individuals, particularly those who have, or are at risk of developing, substance use (SU) disorders.

Areas of interest in the context of bioethics include: Implications for return of results Implications for data and biosample collection & sharing, including potential for deductive disclosure and consequences of publishing results for vulnerable populations Responsible use of data related to SU and informing data analysis Developing personalized interventions informed by people with lived experience Approaches to reduce stigma around SU and health disparities around treatment Understanding interactions between SU, HIV, and other comorbidities Leveraging data science and analytics to understand real-world complexity Implications of research involving pregnant women, children, adolescents, and young adults, including issues of autonomy and informed consent National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) NIDCD encourages bioethics research relevant to its mission and priorities in the areas of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language including, but not limited to, ethical considerations related to: Using genetic, phenotypic, and biological data — alongside clinical, environmental, behavioral, social, and lifestyle factors — to advance understanding of deafness, communication, and other sensory disorders Restoring function in deafness, communication disorders, and other mission-related sensory disorders in children and adults Developing, deploying, and sustaining new technologies, such as clinical tools, neural prostheses, assistive devices, medications, and behavioral therapies Leveraging artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) for novel capabilities in medical devices and explainable insights based on the analysis of large data sets.

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) IC may give special consideration to support meritorious applications in this topic area.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NINDS is interested in research on neuroethical issues relevant to its mission, including but not limited to topics on the ethical implications of: Aspects of neuroscience research with human participants, e.g., differing views on trial design, informed consent, or therapeutic misconception Issues related to human donors of biological materials (e.g., research with brain organoids or ex vivo human brain tissue) Practices of collecting and sharing human brain data Development and use of neuroimaging, neuromodulation, and neural recording technologies, including in populations with limited consent capacity Predictive/diagnostic research related to brain disorders Designing and evaluating approaches that aid decision-making and education about use of digital health technologies and/or real-world data Promoting ethical engagement, recruitment, and return of results for highly impacted populations in research Ensuring accessibility and generalizability of neurological AI tools.

IC may dedicate funds available to support applications in this Topic area depending upon the availability of funds, the number of meritorious applications, and competing ICO priorities. National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Office of AIDS Research (OAR) This office does not award grants. Applications must be relevant to the objectives of at least one of the participating Institutes or Centers listed in this topic.

Office of AIDS Research (OAR) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) OBSSR is interested in behavioral and social science aspects of bioethics research projects that are actionable, build trust, and enable better integration of bioethical principles into biomedical and behavioral research.

As OBSSR does not award or manage grants, applications must be relevant to the objectives of at least one of the NIH Institutes or Centers listed in this topic. Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) ODSS seeks projects stimulating research to identify, analyze, and understand ethical issues and their implications in data science related to the F. A.

I. R. and C.

A. R. E.

principles, data ecosystems, access, sharing, development and/or implementation of data security and privacy in human subject’s research regarding research ethics and data integrity, e.g.: understanding ethical issues in broad knowledge domains to ensure ethical, meaningful, interpretable, and scalable utility of data from individuals and communities in individual, community, and population-level health and/or biomedical discovery enabling the expansion to enhance the scientific workforce for responsible data utility, access, and sharing exploring and implementing thoughtful strategies for use of novel or new technologies in biomedical research, etc. This office does not award grants.

Applications must be relevant to the objectives of at least one of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers listed in this topic. IC may dedicate funds available to support applications in this Topic area depending upon the availability of funds, the number of meritorious applications, and competing ICO priorities. IC may give special consideration to support meritorious applications in this topic area.

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