Collaborative Opportunities for Multiple-disciplinary, Bold, and Innovative Neuroscience (COMBINE) (RM1 Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), an institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced a forthcoming Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Collaborative Opportunities for Multiple-disciplinary, Bold, and Innovative Neuroscience (COMBINE) program. This initiative is part of NIH’s broader mission to advance biomedical research and promote transformative discoveries that improve human health. The COMBINE program reflects NINDS’s longstanding commitment to addressing neurological and neuroscientific challenges by fostering high-impact, transdisciplinary collaborations that can move the field forward in fundamental and clinical directions. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support integrated research teams pursuing bold, innovative, and paradigm-shifting approaches to neuroscience. The program specifically targets applications from teams composed of three to six principal investigators working jointly to address a single, focused research goal. The expected outcomes must be significant enough to overcome persistent barriers in the field, challenge prevailing orthodoxies, or establish new foundational principles. Within a five-year period, teams must demonstrate measurable advances that significantly support the NINDS mission, spanning research domains from fundamental neuroscience to human health applications. The COMBINE award mechanism will use the RM1 activity code, which is designed to fund team science initiatives that extend beyond the scope of traditional R01 or program project/center mechanisms. The program will encourage investigators with complementary expertise to join forces in a coordinated and integrated fashion. Projects must involve a convergence of disciplines and methodologies, including basic, clinical, and translational neuroscience, to address research questions of sufficient scope and complexity that cannot be resolved within a single-laboratory framework. Collaborative investigations from both newly formed and established research teams are welcome. Funding is offered as a grant mechanism, with discretionary support in the health category. While the estimated total program funding, award ceiling, and award floor have not been provided at this stage, the program is expected to support multiple awards under the Assistance Listing 93.853, which covers extramural research programs in the neurosciences and neurological disorders. No cost sharing or matching requirement applies to this opportunity, making it broadly accessible to eligible applicants. Eligibility for this program is wide-ranging and inclusive. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, public housing authorities, Native American tribal governments (federally recognized and other tribal organizations), U.S. territories or possessions, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education), public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private higher education institutions, for-profit organizations both large and small, regional organizations, non-domestic entities including foreign institutions, faith-based and community-based organizations, and eligible agencies of the federal government. This broad eligibility scope reflects NIH’s intent to encourage innovation from a wide range of research environments. This opportunity is currently forecasted. The estimated posting date is February 4, 2026, with an estimated application due date of June 23, 2026. The estimated award date is April 1, 2027, with project start dates beginning the same day. Because this is a forecast, no applications are being solicited at this time. The early publication of this notice is intended to give prospective applicants ample time to establish the required collaborative teams and to prepare responsive proposals aligned with the program’s objectives. For additional information, prospective applicants may contact the NINDS Team Science Group by phone at 240-328-3447 or by email at NINDSteamscience@nih.gov. As this is a forecasted opportunity, applicants are advised to monitor Grants.gov and NIH’s notices for updates, including the formal release of the full NOFO. This proactive preparation phase will enable applicants to develop strong, multidisciplinary applications that meet the ambitious goals of the COMBINE program.