NIH BRAIN Initiative adds June 15, 2026 deadline for two new neural recording and modulation RFAs
Summary
The NIH NINDS added a new June 15, 2026 receipt date to two open BRAIN Initiative funding opportunities: RFA-NS-25-017 (Optimisation of Instrumentation and Device Technologies for Recording and Modulation) and RFA-NS-25-018 (New Technologies and Novel Approaches for Recording and Modulation). The new deadline comes as Congress is simultaneously being asked to sustain nearly $500M in BRAIN Initiative funding amid an NIH grantmaking slowdown. Both RFAs fund U01 and R01 mechanisms respectively, with no clinical trials required.
Why it matters
New BRAIN Initiative deadlines provide a funding lifeline for neurotech hardware and methods researchers during an uncertain NIH funding environment. The RFA-NS-25-018 "novel approaches" framing gives significant latitude for early-stage concepts — including ultrasound BCI, organoid computing, and neuromorphic hardware — that wouldn't qualify under more conservative standard study section review.
Want the full NeurotechMag Pro intelligence database?
Access 800+ papers, trials, patents, funding rounds and news items — updated daily.
Start free trial