BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Specialized Projects for Scalable Technologies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Specialized Projects for Scalable Technologies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) - BRAIN Initiative. This funding announcement seeks transformative, cutting-edge, and innovative research that embraces new technologies, ideas, and approaches to understand brain circuit function and contributions to behavior.

Expired RFA-NS-22-049: BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Specialized Projects for Scalable Technologies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) This notice has expired. Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices. Department of Health and Human Services Part 1.

Overview Information Participating Organization(s) National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Components of Participating Organizations National Institute of Neurological Disorders and National Eye Institute ( NEI ) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism ( NIAAA ) National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering ( NIBIB ) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( NICHD ) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders ( NIDCD ) National Institute on Drug Abuse ( NIDA ) National Institute of Mental Health ( NIMH ) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health ( NCCIH ) Funding Opportunity Title BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Specialized Projects for Scalable Technologies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) U01 Research Project Cooperative Agreements August 21, 2024 - Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Specialized Projects for Scalable Technologies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).

See Announcement NOT-NS-24-130 December 22, 2023 - Notice of Change to Allow Post-Submission Materials for RFA-NS-24-028 and RFA-NS-22-049. See Announcement NOT-NS-24-046 November 2, 2023 - BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales Data Coordinating Center (BRAIN CONNECTS DCC) (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).

See Announcement RFA-NS-24-028 August 29, 2023 - 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).

See Notice NOT-NS-24-009 NOT-OD-23-012 Reminder: FORMS-H Grant Application Forms and Instructions Must be Used for Due Dates On or After January 25, 2023 - New Grant Application Instructions Now Available NOT-OD-22-190 - Adjustments to NIH and AHRQ Grant Application Due Dates Between September 22 and September 30, 2022 June 01, 2022 - Notice of Informational Webinar for BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS) Funding Opportunity Announcements.

See Notice NOT-NS-22-100 NOT-NS-22-047 - Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS): Specialized Projects for Scalable Technologies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number Companion Funding Opportunity Research Project with Complex Structure Cooperative Agreement Research Project with Complex Structure Cooperative Agreement See Section III.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility . Assistance Listing Number(s) 93.

853, 93. 242, 93. 279, 93.

865, 93. 866, 93. 286, 93.

173, 93. 213, 93. 867, 93.

273 Funding Opportunity Purpose This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) supports Specialized Projects to develop current or emerging technologies to generate comprehensive atlases of brain connectivity, with an emphasis on human, non-human primate (NHP), and mouse. Projects using other species are also permitted, if their use is well justified and the goal is test and validate approaches that can be generalized across species.

Applications may address any aspect(s) of data collection, reconstruction, analysis, integration, dissemination, and interpretation of brain connectivity and associated data pipelines, to enable faster, more precise, and more cost-effective generation and interpretation of brain-wide wiring diagrams.

Proposals are encouraged to develop distinct capabilities and competencies that may be expected to complement Comprehensive Centers solicited by the companion FOAs, with aims of further developing and optimizing current technologies, or proposing entirely new, disruptive, and potentially risky approaches.

Funded projects will be integrated into the BRAIN CONNECTS Network, consisting of other Specialized Projects from this FOA, and Comprehensive Centers from its companion announcements, as a coordinated effort aimed at developing the capabilities to generate wiring diagrams that can span entire brains across multiple scales.

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date) Letter of Intent Due Date(s) 30 days prior to the application due date Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide , except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced.

Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV . When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Part 1. Overview Information Part 2. Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III. Eligibility Information Section IV.

Application and Submission Information Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII.

Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information Part 2. Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description Since 2014, the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative has aimed to accelerate the development and application of innovative neurotechnologies, enabling researchers to produce a new dynamic picture of the brain that reveals how individual cells and complex neural circuits interact in both time and space.

It is expected that these advances will ultimately lead to new ways to treat and prevent brain disorders. The NIH BRAIN Initiative recognizes that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogeneous teams.

There are many benefits that flow from a diverse scientific workforce, including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved populations participate in, and benefit from research, and enhancing public trust.

To support the best science, the NIH BRAIN Initiative encourages inclusivity in research. Examples of structures that promote diverse perspectives include but are not limited to: Transdisciplinary research projects and collaborations among neuroscientists and researchers from fields such as computational biology, physics, engineering, mathematics, computer and data sciences, as well as bioethics.

Engagement from different types of institutions and organizations (e.g., research-intensive, undergraduate-focused, minority-serving, community-based). Individual applications and partnerships that enhance geographic and regional heterogeneity. Investigators and teams composed of researchers at different career stages.

Participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including groups traditionally underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce (see NOT-OD-20-031 ), such as underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, those with disabilities, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and women. Project-based opportunities to enhance the research environment to benefit early- and mid-career investigators.

The NIH also encourages businesses to participate in the BRAIN Initiative. It is possible for companies to submit applications directly to BRAIN Initiative program announcements or to collaborate with academic researchers in joint submissions. Small businesses should consider applying to one of the BRAIN Initiative small business FOAs .

The BRAIN Initiative requires a high level of coordination and sharing between investigators. It is expected that BRAIN Initiative awardees will cooperate and coordinate their activities after awards are made by participating in Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) meetings and in other activities such as the annual PI meeting. The data sharing expectations for BRAIN Initiative awards can be found at NOT-MH-19-010 .

This FOA and its companions have been developed in response to one of the transformative projects suggested bythe Advisory Committee to the NIH Director BRAIN Initiative Working Group 2. 0 , which called for a complete nanometer-level reconstruction of an entire mouse brain as a potential revolutionary project for the second phase of the BRAIN Initiative. The BRAIN 2.

0 WG Report indicated that such an endeavor will provide a roadmap for the organizing structures of the human brain, revealing worlds of circuitry that are currently unattainable. Acknowledging that a synapse-level connectome of the human brain is presently out of reach, the report suggested that human and non-human primate (NHP) brains should be pursued at the level of axonal projections.

To further refine this concept, NIH partnered in Spring 2021 with the Department of Energy Office of Science to co-host the Brain Connectivity Workshop Series , five workshops and a town hall that brought together members of the scientific community and other stakeholders to explore the significance, the state-of-art, and the challenges and opportunities associated with producing and analyzing whole brain wiring diagrams at the level of synapses ( connectomes ) and long-range axonal projections ( projectomes ) to drive scientific discovery.

The BRAIN Initiative Connectivity across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS) Network This FOA is one of three companion FOAs initiating the BRAIN CONNECTS Network, a coordinated effort aimed at developing the research capacity and technical capabilities to generate wiring diagrams that can span entire brains across multiple scales. The initiating FOAs represent the first phase of an anticipated 10-year program.

The overarching objective of the first five years is to develop these capabilities through innovation and iterative engineering of technologies including tissue processing and sample handling, data acquisition, data analysis, dissemination, and application to fundamental questions of nervous system function.

The FOAs will support multiple approaches for imaging and reconstructing brain connectivity, which are expected to be complementary to one another, with different technologies suited for different types of research questions and use-cases.

Through these initiating FOAs, the program will support: A portfolio of complementary approaches for data acquisition and reconstruction of brain connectivity, with metrics for comparing and choosing approaches Teams with diverse perspectives from a variety of disciplines including but not limited to neuroscience, engineering, computational and molecular biology, chemistry and physics, mathematics, computer and data sciences, and bioethics Engineering and innovation efforts aimed at scale-up to map entire brains with high throughput and precise fidelity Demonstration of lossless acquisition and accurate reconstruction, validated with ground truth data, across large distances required for whole-brain mapping Proof-of-concept datasets, representing large and unprecedented sub-volumes within the brain or spinal cord, aimed at understanding the wiring principles of specific circuits and their implications for neural function New approaches and toolsets for mining and integrating into the neuroscience knowledge base, including morphological, functional, and molecular data New infrastructure for the research community to discover cell types, circuit motifs, wiring principles and circuit elements, and to develop new computational and conceptual models based on these rich new sources of data The Network will be supported by the following three FOAs.

A fourth FOA supporting a Data Coordinating Center will be released after awards from the first FOAs are made.

RFA-NS-22-047 - Comprehensive Centers for Human and Non-Human Primate Brain RFA-NS-22-048 - Comprehensive Centers for Mouse Brain RFA-NS-22-049 - Specialized Projects for Scalable Technologies Comprehensive Centers will use the UM1 activity code, which supports cooperative agreements involving large-scale research activities with interdependent components.

For human and NHP, Centers will demonstrate region-to-region connectivity at the level of axonal projections. For mouse, Centers will demonstrate local and long-range cell-to-cell connectivity at the level of synaptic connections.

Although the focus of Comprehensive Centers must be on human, NHP, or mouse, applications may propose limited testing and optimization using additional species for testbed technology development, if strong scientific and cost justification is provided.

Centers will establish full production pipelines, from sample collection through data integration, analysis, and dissemination, applied to sub-volumes that are sufficiently large to prove feasibility of whole-brain mapping, chosen to test specific hypotheses relating circuit structure to function.

They will incorporate toolsets and infrastructure for integrating additional data of the same and different modalities, and for enabling the neuroscience community to interact with and mine the data for new research questions. Specialized Projects will use the U01 activity code for cooperative agreements to support development of current or emerging technologies for scalable mapping of brain connectivity.

Efforts are expected to complement the Comprehensive Centers with distinct capabilities and competencies, applied to any aspect(s) of the pipeline, from tissue processing to imaging, alignment, segmentation and annotation, error correction, analysis, integration into the larger neuroscience data environment, and dissemination to the research community.

Although the focus of the BRAIN CONNECTS Network is on human, NHP, and mouse brain, Specialized Projects may use other species for validation if well justified. In all cases, the expectation is that technologies and approaches will be sufficiently scalable to enable brain-wide connectivity mapping in a subsequent five-year follow-on period, if not earlier.

Throughout the funding period, all CONNECTS Network awardees will work cooperatively to further common goals and identify collaborative opportunities, as described in Section VI. 2, below. The CONNECTS Network will develop shared data standards, consensus policies for data and resource sharing, and metrics for comparison between approaches and for assessing feasibility and cost of scaling to entire brains.

Objectives and Requirements for this FOA This FOA supports Specialized Projects to develop current or emerging technologies to generate comprehensive atlases of brain connectivity.

Applications may address any aspect(s) of data collection, analysis, and dissemination pipelines, from tissue processing to data acquisition, alignment, segmentation and annotation, error correction, analysis, integration into the larger neuroscience data environment, and dissemination to the research community.

The proposed development should enable faster, more precise, and more cost-effective generation and interpretation of brain-wide wiring diagrams. If a new dataset will be generated or analyzed to validate the approach, the significance of the data and/or resulting analysis for understanding neural circuit structure and function must be well justified.

Data from species other than mouse, NHP, or human are allowed, if their use is well-justified and the goal is to test and validate approaches that can be generalized across species.

Proposals are encouraged to develop distinct capabilities and competencies that may be expected to complement Comprehensive Centers solicited by the companion FOAs, with aims of further developing and optimizing current technologies or proposing entirely new, disruptive, and potentially risky approaches.

Funded projects will be integrated into the BRAIN CONNECTS Network, consisting of other Specialized Projects from this FOA and Comprehensive Centers from the companion announcements, as a coordinated effort aimed at developing the capabilities to generate wiring diagrams that can span entire brains across multiple scales.

Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) This FOA requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) as described in NOT-MH-21-310, submitted as Other Project Information as an attachment (see Section IV). Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the FOA instructions carefully and view the available PEDP guidance material .

The PEDP will be assessed as part of the scientific and technical peer review evaluation, as well as considered among programmatic matters with respect to funding decisions.

Applications Not Responsive to this FOA Proposed research that is not responsive to this FOA and will not be reviewed includes the following: Projects not aimed at developing or improving technologies that can serve as components of scalable pipelines for brainwide connectivity. Projects using approaches that will not be applicable to mammalian brain.

Technologies not expected to support mapping of region-to-region connectivity at the level of axonal projections in human or NHP, or local and long-range cell-to-cell connectivity at the level of synaptic connections in mouse. Applications lacking a PEDP submitted as Other Project Information as an attachment.

Applicants considering related technologies that may not meet requirements for this or companion FOAs should consider other BRAIN Initiative FOAs, and in particular the following: RFA-MH-21-175 , BRAIN Initiative: Development and Validation of Novel Tools to Probe Cell-Specific and Circuit-Specific Processes in the Brain (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) RFA-MH-22-115 , BRAIN Initiative: Development of Novel Tools to Probe Cell-Specific and Circuit-Specific Processes in Human and Non-Human Primate Brain (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional) Prior Consultation with Scientific/Research Staff See Section VIII.

Other Information for award authorities and regulations. Section II. Award Information Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement.

Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities. See Section VI. 2 for additional information about the substantial involvement for this FOA.

Application Types Allowed The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this FOA. Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials.

Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial? Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards The NIH BRAIN Initiative intends to commit an estimated total of $30M in FY2023 for this and companion funding announcements to fund approximately 15 awards. Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.

The maximum project period is 3 years. NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA. Section III.

Eligibility Information Higher Education Institutions Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education Private Institutions of Higher Education The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education: Hispanic-serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education) Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education) For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses) City or Township Governments Special District Governments Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized) Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized) Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government, including the NIH Intramural Program U.S. Territory or Possession Independent School Districts Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Faith-based or Community-based Organizations Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement , are allowed. Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award.

All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.

System for Award Management (SAM) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.

NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)- A UEI is issued as part of the SAM. gov registration process.

SAM registrations prior to fall 2021 were updated to include a UEI. For applications due on or after January 25, 2022, the UEI must be provided on the application forms (e.g., FORMS-G); the same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application. Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Organization registrations prior to April 2022 require applicants to obtain a DUNS prior to registering in SAM.

By April 2022, the federal government will stop using the DUNS number as an entity identifier and will transition to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued by SAM. Prior to April 2022, after obtaining a DUNS number, applicants can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations. The same DUNS number must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.

eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier (DUNS prior to April 2022; UEI after April 2022) is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants. gov registrations; all registrations must be in place by time of submission.

eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application. Grants. gov Applicants must have an active SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.

gov registration. Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s)) All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons.

If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator) Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support.

Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. See, Reminder: Notice of NIH's Encouragement of Applications Supporting Individuals from Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups as well as Individuals with Disabilities, NOT-OD-22-019 .

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. 3.

Additional Information on Eligibility Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct. The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per 2. 3.

7. 4 Submission of Resubmission Application . This means that the NIH will not accept: A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.

A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application. An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see 2. 3.

9. 4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications ). Section IV.

Application and Submission Information 1. Requesting an Application Package The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants. gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution.

Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants. gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this FOA. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced.

Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review. Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review. By the date listed in Part 1.

Overview Information , prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information: Descriptive title of proposed activity Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s) Names of other key personnel Participating institution(s) Number and title of this funding opportunity The letter of intent should be sent to: All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Instructions for Application Submission Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan will be attached in the Other Plan(s) attachment in FORMS-H and subsequent application forms packages.

For due dates on or before January 24, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan GDS) will continue to be attached in the Resource Sharing Plan attachment in FORMS-G application forms packages. The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA. All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. SF424(R&R) Other Project Information All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) In an "Other Attachment" entitled "Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives," all applicants must include a summary of strategies to advance the scientific and technical merit of the proposed project through expanded inclusivity.

The PEDP should provide a holistic and integrated view of how enhancing diverse perspectives is viewed and supported throughout the application and can incorporate elements with relevance to any review criteria (significance, investigator(s), innovation, approach, and environment) as appropriate. Where possible, applicant(s) should align their description with these required elements within the research strategy section.

The PEDP will vary depending on the scientific aims, expertise required, the environment and performance site(s), as well as how the project aims are structured. The PEDP may be no more than 1-page in length and should include a timeline and milestones for relevant components that will be considered as part of the review.

Examples of items that advance inclusivity in research and may be part of the PEDP can include, but are not limited to: Discussion of engagement with different types of institutions and organizations (e.g., research-intensive, undergraduate-focused, minority-serving, community-based). Description of any planned partnerships that may enhance geographic and regional diversity.

Plan to enhance recruiting of women and individuals from groups traditionally under-represented in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce. Proposed monitoring activities to identify and measure PEDP progress benchmarks. Plan to utilize the project infrastructure (i.e., research and structure) to support career-enhancing research opportunities for diverse junior, early- and mid-career researchers.

Description of any training and/or mentoring opportunities available to encourage participation of students, postdoctoral researchers and co-investigators from diverse backgrounds. Plan to develop transdisciplinary collaboration(s) that require unique expertise and/or solicit diverse perspectives to address research question(s). Publication plan that enumerates planned manuscripts and proposed lead authorship.

Outreach and planned engagement activities to enhance recruitment of individuals from diverse groups as research participants including those from under-represented backgrounds. For further information on the Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP), please see https://braininitiative. nih.

gov/about/plan-enhancing-diverse-perspectives-pedp . SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PEDP implementation costs: Applicants may include allowable costs associated with PEDP implementation (as outlined in the Grants Policy Statement section 7: https://grants. nih. gov/grants/policy/nihgps/html5/section_7/7.

1_general. htm ). BRAIN CONNECTS Network Semi-annual In-person Meeting Costs: Applications may include allowable costs for participating in semi-annual in-person BRAIN CONNECTS Network meetings.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Management and Sharing Plan will be attached in the Other Plan(s) attachment in FORMS-H and subsequent application forms packages.

For due dates on or before January 24, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan GDS) will continue to be attached in the Resource Sharing Plan attachment in FORMS-G application forms packages. All applicants planning research (funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH) that results in the generation of scientific data are required to comply with the instructions for the Data Management and Sharing Plan.

All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, must address a Data Management and Sharing Plan.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions: In the Specific Aims section, explain how the project will contribute to scalable pipelines for brain connectivity and associated data, and how it will result in new or improved capabilities that can be scaled to whole brains.

In the Research Strategy section , detail how the project will contribute to scalable pipelines for brain connectivity and associated data, and how it will result in new or improved capabilities that can be scaled to whole brains.

Applications may address any aspect(s) of data collection, analysis, and dissemination pipelines, from tissue processing to data acquisition, alignment, segmentation and annotation, error correction, analysis, integration into the larger neuroscience data environment, and dissemination to the research community.

The proposed development should enable faster, more precise, and more cost-effective generation, analysis, and interpretation of brain-wide wiring diagrams. Describe how the chosen strategies will advance state-of-art technologies and address current gaps and challenges, and why the approaches offer advantages over alternative methods.

For entirely new, disruptive, and potentially risky approaches, explain how success of the project will lead to quantitative and/or qualitative gains in brain mapping capabilities.

If a new dataset will be generated or analyzed to validate the approach, explain the significance of the data and/or resulting analysis for understanding neural circuit structure and function, and indicate how availability of the proposed data or toolsets will contribute to novel research findings and/or new capabilities for the field.

If producing or analyzing data from species other than mouse, NHP, or human, provide justification for the choice of species and explain how the approach can be generalized more broadly.

Applicants should recognize that funded awards will be integrated into the BRAIN CONNECTS Network, consisting of other Specialized Projects from this FOA and Comprehensive Centers from the companion announcements, as a coordinated effort aimed at developing the capabilities to generate wiring diagrams spanning entire brains across multiple scales.

Accordingly, proposals should include plans to ensure efficient coordination, communication, and decision support with the other entities of BRAIN CONNECTS Network. Feasibility Metrics and Milestones: In a separate section of the Research Strategy, provide