NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience: Coordination Center for Interoception Research (BPCCIR) (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA AT 25 004

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AT 25 004

The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is soliciting applications to establish a Coordination Center for Interoception Research (BPCCIR) through a U24 cooperative agreement mechanism (clinical trials not allowed). In this context, interoception is defined broadly as the set of processes by which an organism or person senses, interprets, integrates, and regulates signals that reflect internal bodily states. The central idea is to strengthen and connect the field as a whole, with an emphasis on bridging brain and body research and encouraging multidisciplinary work, rather than building a program around any single disease area or narrow subdiscipline.

The Coordination Center is expected to function as a hub for the interoception research community. A major responsibility is assembling and sustaining a multidisciplinary team of interoception researchers who will oversee and guide BPCCIR activities. This team would help set priorities, coordinate community needs, and ensure that the center is serving a broad range of stakeholders and scientific perspectives. Because this is a cooperative agreement, the NIH will typically have substantial involvement in shaping and monitoring activities in partnership with the awardee, consistent with the collaborative nature of U24 awards.

A core part of the work is community-building infrastructure. The NOFO calls for the creation and support of digital communication platforms designed to make it easier for researchers to find each other, form collaborations, and share information. In practice, this could include web-based portals, community mailing lists, shared resource repositories, calendars of events, and other online tools that lower the friction for networking and coordination across labs, disciplines, and career stages.

The BPCCIR must also plan, organize, and host at least one scientific meeting each year. These meetings are expected to bring together NIH-funded interoception researchers, trainees, and other relevant stakeholders, supporting discussion of emerging science, methods, and shared needs. The annual meeting requirement signals that the center is not just an information clearinghouse, but an active convener responsible for maintaining momentum and cohesion in the research community over time.

Another major deliverable is helping the field tackle cross-cutting challenges that can slow progress when different groups use different language, measures, or data formats. The NOFO explicitly highlights identifying barriers and future opportunities, including technological and scientific directions, and developing common terminology, data standards, and common data elements. This kind of standardization work is meant to improve comparability across studies, enable data sharing and aggregation where appropriate, and make it easier to integrate findings that span physiology, neuroscience, computation, behavior, and clinical-relevant domains without turning the program into a disease-specific effort.

Finally, the center is expected to define how success will be measured and to develop plans that support long-term sustainability of the interoception research community. This includes generating metrics of success, which might track community engagement, growth in collaborations, adoption of shared standards, training participation, or other indicators that the coordination activities are having real impact. Sustainability planning is intended to ensure that the field remains connected and productive beyond any single funding period, with durable resources and practices that continue to serve researchers.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based applicants such as state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The NOFO also explicitly notes eligibility for a range of institution types and organizations such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign organizations are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; however, foreign components (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are allowed, which can permit certain international collaborations under NIH policy while keeping the applicant organization domestic.

The opportunity is issued by the National Institutes of Health under Funding Opportunity Number RFA-AT-25-004. It is categorized as a discretionary funding opportunity and uses a cooperative agreement funding instrument (U24) within the broad activity category of environment and health, with multiple CFDA listings associated with NIH programs (93.113, 93.121, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.286, 93.313, 93.853, 93.866, 93.867). The original application due date listed is 2025-11-10, and the posting/creation date is 2025-09-02. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided summary, so applicants would need to consult the full NOFO for budget expectations, project period, review criteria, and NIH-specific cooperative agreement terms.

• The National Institutes of Health in the environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience: Coordination Center for Interoception Research (BPCCIR) (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.121, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.286, 93.313, 93.853, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-09-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-11-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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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