Project Summary
Molecular imaging provides the means to quantitatively study many types of processes in the human brain in a
minimally invasive manner.
Funded Awards
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) BRAIN Initiative funds a wide-variety of research: toolmakers, trainees, individual labs testing new hypotheses, and large, team-based efforts aiming to catalyze neuroscience inquiry forward. Explore NIH BRAIN Initiative funded awards listed below. Click on the project title to learn more about it within NIH RePORTER.
To see more NIH-funded awards and associated publications, please visit the NIH RePORTER.
Title
Investigator(s)
Institution
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunity #
Project #
TitleEnabling Multi-Tracer SPECT Studies of the Human Brain
Investigator
Todd E Peterson
Institute
vanderbilt university medical center
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleEpigenetic tools and resources for cell-type and spatial analysis of individual mammalian non-neuronal cells
Investigator
Andrew Adey
Institute
oregon health & science university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
ABSTRACT
The mammalian brain is an enormously complex organ with myriad cell types cohesively working together to
carry out a host of intricate tasks, from motor functions, to the storing and execution of consciousness.
TitleFast Spatial Light Modulators for Neuronal Excitation and Imaging
Investigator
Andrei Faraon
Institute
california institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary: We propose to develop fast spatial light modulators (SLM) to address the
need for optical hardware compatible with the current fast genetically encoded sensors and
actuators.
TitleFast volumetric imaging of large areas in deep brain
Investigator
Timothy Holy
Institute
washington university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
One of the central goals of the BRAIN initiative is to develop and disseminate methods for
imaging activity in large populations of neurons at high speeds. Of the available techniques,
one of the most promising is light sheet microscopy.
TitleFlatScopes for Implantable and Scalable Optical Imaging of Neural Activity
Investigator
Caleb Kemere, Jacob T. Robinson, Ashok Veeraraghavan
Institute
rice university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary:
Large-scale measurement of individual neuronal activity in intact animals will accelerate the understanding of
the brain and treatment of neurological disorders.
TitleFOCUS: FUNCTIONAL OPTICAL IMAGING FEEDBACK-CONTROLLED CELLULAR-LEVEL ULTRASOUND STIMULATION
Investigator
Hong Chen
Institute
washington university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Although neurotechnologies are rapidly advancing, we lack a noninvasive, cell-type specific, and
spatiotemporally regulated neuromodulation tool, which would radically change neuroscience research and
enable clinically noninvasive brain stimulation with high spatiotemporal p
TitleFrom Electron Microscopy to Neural Circuit Hypotheses: Bridging the Gap
Investigator
Michale S Fee
Institute
massachusetts institute of technology
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
From Electron Microscopy to Neural Circuit Hypotheses: Bridging the gap
Recent advances in experimental technology promise rapid progress in developing a mechanistic
understanding of how neural circuit structure, at the synaptic scale, leads to complex sensory,
cognitive, and motor behaviors.
TitleFrom ion channel dynamics to human EEG and MEG: multiscale neuronal models validated by human data
Investigator
Maksim V Bazhenov, Sydney S Cash, Eric Halgren
Institute
university of california, san diego
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary/Abstract
The electroencephalogram (EEG) and magnetoencephalogram (MEG) are directly and instantaneously coupled
to the currents across cortical neuronal membranes which mediate information processing.
TitleHigh SNR Functional Brain Imaging using Oscillating Steady State MRI
Investigator
Douglas C Noll
Institute
university of michigan at ann arbor
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary: High SNR Functional Brain Imaging using Oscillating Steady State MRI
Functional brain imaging using MRI (functional MRI or fMRI) has grown rapidly over the past 25 years and is
widely used for basic cognitive neuroscience research and for presurgical planning.
TitleHigh speed, high precision volumetric multiphoton neural control
Investigator
Hillel Adesnik
Institute
university of california berkeley
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
Large scale manipulation of neural ensemble activity at cellular resolution and millisecond precision is a major
technological goal of the BRAIN initiative.
TitleHigh-throughput 3D random access three-photon calcium imaging
Investigator
Meng Cui
Institute
purdue university
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
High-throughput 3D random access three-photon structural and functional imaging
Two-photon microscopy allows in vivo observation of neuronal dynamics at high spatial and temporal
resolutions.
TitleHuman Agency and Brain-Computer Interfaces: Understanding users’ experiences and developing a tool for improved consent
Investigator
Sara Goering, Eran Klein
Institute
university of washington
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Neural prosthetic devices for sensorimotor and psychiatric disorders are in development as a
priority area of the BRAIN Initiative yet they raise important ethical concerns about human
agency.
TitleIdentifying, manipulating, and studying a complete sensory-to-motor model behavior circuit
Investigator
Lisa Stowers
Institute
scripps research institute, the
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
How does the brain transform sensory information into complex behavior?
TitleIlluminating Neurodevelopment through Integrated Analysis and Vizualization of Multi-Omic Data
Investigator
Ronna Hertzano, Owen R White
Institute
university of maryland baltimore
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The wealth, depth and quality of multi-omic data generated through funding from the BRAIN
initiative is unprecedented. It ranges from bulk and single cell RNA-seq, to detailed cell type-
specific epigenetic analyses throughout development.
TitleImaging and Analysis Techniques to Construct a Cell Census Atlas of the Human Brain
Investigator
David A Boas, Bruce Fischl
Institute
massachusetts general hospital
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
TitleImaging the D2/A2A Heterodimer with PET
Investigator
Robert H Mach
Institute
university of pennsylvania
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of this research project is to determine if it is possible to develop a PET radiotracer capable of
imaging GPCR heterodimers and not their corresponding homodimeric complexes.
TitleIn Vivo Brain Network Latency Connectome Mapping
Investigator
Peter Basser
Institute
national institute of biomedical imaging and bioengineering
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
We are pleased with the progress we are making in this "team building" R24 grant which our group received through the NIH BRAIN Initiative. We have been informed that ours is the only group within the NIH IRP to have received such an award.
TitleIn Vivo Imaging of Local Synaptic Neuromodulation by Dopamine
Investigator
Paul Robert Evans
Institute
max planck florida corporation
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Project Summary
Dopamine (DA) is a powerful neuromodulator that facilitates memory formation and underlies reward-related
behaviors by regulating synaptic plasticity.
TitleIncreased thalamocortical connectivity in tdcs-potentiated generalization of cognitive training
Investigator
Kelvin O. Lim, Angus W Macdonald
Institute
university of minnesota
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Non-invasive neuromodulation, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), is emerging as an
important therapeutic tool with documented effects on brain circuitry, yet little is understood about how it
changes cognition.
TitleInforming Choice for Neurotechnological Innovation in Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery
Investigator
Judy Illes, Patrick Mcdonald
Institute
university of british columbia
Fiscal Year
Funding Opportunities Number
Project Number
Abstract
More than 500,000 children in the USA and Canada suffer from epilepsy today. Unmanaged, epilepsy can
result in cognitive decline, social isolation and poor quality of life, and has substantial economic impact on
families and society.
Last reviewed on July 02, 2025