NIH, ARO, and NSF Post Open Funding Opportunities Spanning Neurotechnology, Native Health, and Basic Research

Blueprint MedTech Translator: Neural and Neuromuscular Devices

The National Institutes of Health has issued funding opportunity PAR-25-383, the Blueprint MedTech Translator program, structured as a UG3/UH3 cooperative agreement with an application deadline of January 28, 2028. The program's stated purpose is to encourage investigators to pursue translational activities and clinical feasibility studies to advance the development of therapeutic and diagnostic devices for disorders affecting the nervous or neuromuscular systems.

According to the announcement, supported activities include implementation of clinical prototype devices, non-clinical safety and efficacy testing, design verification and validation, obtaining an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) for a Significant Risk study or Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for a Non-Significant Risk study, and a subsequent clinical feasibility study. The program document explains that the clinical study is expected to provide information about device function or final design that cannot be practically obtained through additional non-clinical assessments — such as bench top or animal studies — due to the novelty of the device or its intended use.

The program is described as milestone-driven, and NIH program staff will participate in negotiating the final project plan before award and in monitoring research progress. Participants receive funding for all activities conducted in their own laboratories and may collaborate with NIH-funded consultants for assistance in regulatory, reimbursement, intellectual property, commercialization, and strategic partnership areas. The announcement also notes that participants can augment their projects using NIH contract research organizations specializing in large animal testing, sterilization testing, biocompatibility assessment, manufacturing, and medical monitoring. No cost sharing or matching is required, and the opportunity is open to a broad range of eligible applicants including HBCUs, tribal governments, Hispanic-serving institutions, and faith-based or community-based organizations, among others.

Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health

NIH has also posted PAR-25-378, an R34 funding opportunity supporting research on interventions to improve health in Native American populations, with a deadline of January 7, 2027. The announcement defines Native American populations for purposes of this notice as Alaska Natives and American Indians whose ancestral lands fall at least partially within the U.S. mainland.

The notice identifies four categories of supported research: etiologic research where there is a significant gap in knowledge that will directly inform intervention development or adaptation; research developing, adapting, or testing the efficacy or effectiveness of health promotion and disease prevention interventions; research testing culturally informed treatment or recovery interventions; and, where a sufficient body of knowledge on intervention efficacy already exists, dissemination and implementation research developing strategies to overcome barriers to adoption, integration, scale-up, and sustainability of effective interventions.

The program document states that existing data suggest significant acute and chronic disease inequities exist for Native American populations, and that these populations experience unique sociopolitical, historical, and environmental stressors and risks that may exacerbate health conditions or impact the effectiveness of existing solutions. The notice also acknowledges that Native American populations possess unique strengths and resiliencies that can mitigate stressors or inform intervention strategies. Interventions are expected to be designed with a consideration for sustainability within the communities where they are tested, and to have the flexibility to be readily adapted, disseminated, and scaled up to other communities where culturally appropriate. No cost sharing is required; non-domestic entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, though foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed.

Army Research Office: Staff Research Collaborative Program

The U.S. Army Research Office (ARO), under the Department of the Army — Materiel Command, is soliciting proposals under opportunity W911NF25S0007, the Staff Research Program, with a deadline of June 2, 2030. Awards range from a floor of $200,000 to a ceiling of $10,000,000, with no cost sharing required.

The program's stated purpose is to enable ARO scientific staff to maintain and expand professional competence in support of the ARO mission through the conduct of hands-on, basic research performed collaboratively with external institutions. The notice states that staff research efforts involve scientific study directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge and scientific understanding in engineering, physical, life, and information sciences, at the intersection with the interests and capabilities of the participating external institutions. Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education with recognized capability for scientific research in mechanical sciences, mathematical sciences, electronics, computing science, physics, chemistry, life sciences, materials science, network science, and environmental sciences.

The announcement addresses mission integrity directly, noting that the primary role of ARO scientific staff is to objectively assess and fund extramural research, and that ARO scientists cannot engage in activities that could compromise the perceived objectivity of that scientist with respect to any institution. Consequently, ARO Program Managers are disqualified from taking official actions regarding any institution at which they conduct Staff Research. The notice further specifies that ARO scientists will not be named as a PI on any proposal or resulting award, and that results may include publication or co-authorship of research results, presentation at scientific forums, and contributions to student education and training.

NIH Behavioral Science Short Courses and NSF Marine Geology

NIH's RFA-OD-25-003 supports short courses on innovative methodologies and approaches in the behavioral and social sciences under the R25 Research Education Program, with a deadline of April 9, 2027. The award ceiling and estimated total program funding are each listed at $200,000, with no cost sharing required. The overarching goal of the R25 program, as stated in the announcement, is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs, with this particular FOA focused on courses for skills development. Non-domestic entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components are not allowed.

The National Science Foundation's Marine Geology and Geophysics Core Program (PD-17-1620) carries no posted deadline and supports research on all aspects of the geology and geophysics of present ocean basins and margins as well as the Great Lakes. Supported science includes the structure, composition, tectonics, and evolution of the oceanic lithosphere; paleoceanography, paleoclimate, and sea level change; submarine volcanology; marine hydrogeology; hydrothermal venting; marine sedimentology; mid-ocean ridge spreading; submarine components of subduction zone systems; marine geohazards such as earthquakes, faulting, mass wasting, and geological aspects of tsunamis; and coastal processes. The program supports acquisition of new field data, leveraging and synthesis of existing data, analytical and laboratory experimental projects, methods development, and modeling. The announcement notes that the program interfaces with NSF programs across the Geosciences and across the agency, and that proposers whose work crosses between programs should contact relevant programs for guidance on submission.

What to Watch

• January 7, 2027 — Deadline for NIH PAR-25-378, Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (R34).
• April 9, 2027 — Deadline for NIH RFA-OD-25-003, Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R25).
• January 28, 2028 — Deadline for NIH PAR-25-383, Blueprint MedTech Translator (UG3/UH3).
• June 2, 2030 — Deadline for ARO W911NF25S0007, Staff Research Program.
• NSF PD-17-1620 (Marine Geology and Geophysics) carries no posted deadline; prospective applicants are advised to contact the program directly.