Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic Neuroscience or Translational Mental Health Research (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Institute of Mental Health, a component of the National Institutes of Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is offering the Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic Neuroscience or Translational Mental Health Research funding opportunity under the P50 Specialized Center activity code. The program supports collaborative, cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research addressing a well-defined and unified scientific question or problem that would be difficult to undertake within a single laboratory or small-scale collaboration. Its objectives include advancing basic brain and behavior research, integrating and translating basic and clinical neuroscience research on severe mental illnesses, and improving understanding of neurobehavioral mechanisms and developmental trajectories of psychopathology. Research may span genes, cells, synapses, circuits, behavior, model systems, and humans across the lifespan. Conte Centers may operate at one institution or across multiple U.S. institutions and may include basic neuroscience, translational neuroscience, discovery research, high-risk exploratory research, and technology development that directly supports the Center's scientific question. Technology development cannot be the Center's primary focus. Projects may use approaches such as computational modeling, organoids, organs-on-chips, 3D bioprinting, and multi-omics. The Center is also expected to provide interdisciplinary research experiences for students and postdoctoral fellows, support public communication and outreach, maintain a website for a broad audience, and promote widespread sharing of reproducible and generalizable data, methods, and resources. Research generating scientific data is subject to NIH Data Management and Sharing requirements, and investigators funded under the opportunity are expected to submit applicable data to the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive. Direct costs are limited to 2000000 in any one year, and the maximum project period is five years. The number of awards is contingent on NIH appropriations and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Cost sharing is not required. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, small businesses, other for-profit organizations, state and local governments, special district governments, tribal governments and organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, independent school districts, public and Indian housing authorities, faith-based or community-based organizations, and regional organizations. Foreign organizations, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations, and foreign components are not eligible or allowed. Applications must follow the Multi-Project instructions in the NIH How to Apply Application Guide together with the program-specific requirements in the funding opportunity. A standard application requires one Overall component, one Administrative Core, at least three Projects, and up to three optional Research Support Cores. The Overall Research Strategy must explain the Center's scientific problem, interdisciplinary framework, integration of components, significance, Center-specific added value, risks, scientific rigor, preliminary data, Center approach, timeline, milestones, evaluation plan, and plans for an external scientific board. The Administrative Core must address Center management and collaboration and is expected to support student and postdoctoral experiences, outreach, dissemination, and a Center website. Applications generating scientific data require a Data Management and Sharing Plan in the Overall component. Additional human subjects and clinical trial documentation applies when relevant, and delayed onset studies are not permitted for Conte Centers. Applications must be submitted electronically using NIH ASSIST or an institutional system-to-system solution for submission to Grants.gov and subsequently tracked through eRA Commons. Applicant organizations must complete required registrations before submission, including SAM, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov registrations. Program Directors and Principal Investigators must have eRA Commons accounts and be registered with ORCID. Applications are reviewed for completeness and compliance before scientific review. Scientific review considers overall impact, significance, investigators, innovation, approach, environment, integration of Center components, feasibility and value of projects and cores, and the quality and quantifiability of milestones. Funding decisions also consider scientific and technical merit, availability of funds, and relevance to program priorities. The opportunity was posted September 1, 2026 and opens for submissions September 15, 2026. The first listed application deadline is October 15, 2026, followed by May 25, 2027 and May 25, 2028. Applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization, and applicants are encouraged to submit early enough to correct submission errors before the deadline. For the October 15, 2026 deadline, scientific merit review is expected in March 2027, Advisory Council review in May 2027, and the earliest start date is July 2027. The opportunity expires May 26, 2028. Because multiple future submission cycles are explicitly listed, the opportunity is treated as recurring for data-entry purposes. Scientific inquiries may be directed to the National Institute of Mental Health Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science at DNBBSinitiatives@mail.nih.gov or the Division of Translational Research at DTRcommunications@mail.nih.gov. Grants management questions may be directed to NIMHNOFOGrantsManagement@mail.nih.gov. Application submission assistance is available through the eRA Service Desk and Grants.gov Support Center. Applicants should ensure that the Center Director and component leaders satisfy the specified leadership and effort requirements and that the application clearly demonstrates why the proposed research requires an integrated Conte Center rather than a standard grant mechanism.

Build the application around one well-defined unified scientific question and demonstrate why a multidisciplinary Center mechanism is necessary and adds value beyond separate projects. Show strong integration and synergy among projects and cores, rigorous and reproducible methods, clear preliminary feasibility, quantifiable milestones, alternative strategies for risky components, and effective Center governance. Ensure the Center Director meets leadership, training, project-leadership, Administrative Core leadership, and minimum-effort requirements. For clinical trials, justify the trial with prior evidence, provide detailed recruitment and study timelines, data and safety monitoring, Common Data Elements planning, and all required clinical-trial attachments. Submit early enough to correct Grants.gov or eRA Commons errors before the 5:00 PM local-time deadline.