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

NINDS Transdisciplinary Team Science Initiative

NINDS is launching a new funding mechanism to support highly integrated team science addressing fundamental challenges in neuroscience and neurological disorders. The initiative targets research questions of sufficient scope and complexity to require convergence across multiple disciplines—spanning basic, clinical, and translational neuroscience—to overcome persistent barriers, challenge established assumptions, or establish new foundational principles. Rather than incremental advances, this program seeks outcomes that transform knowledge and practice across the neuroscience-to-human-health continuum within a five-year timeframe. The research must be beyond the scope of traditional single-investigator (R01) or Program Project/Center mechanisms and demands genuine transdisciplinary integration, not simply multi-disciplinary collaboration.

The program explicitly welcomes newly formed or established collaborative teams combining expertise across basic neuroscience, clinical neurology, translational research, and related fields. Priority is given to projects addressing persistent scientific orthodoxies or generating paradigm-shifting insights that advance the NINDS mission.

• Who can apply: Teams of 3–6 PDs/PIs leading integrated transdisciplinary science; newly formed or established collaborations combining basic, clinical, and translational expertise are encouraged.
• Funding & project length: Not stated; five-year project duration specified.
• Award / mechanism: RM1 activity code.
• Key dates: Applications not yet being solicited; NOFO publication pending. Investigators should begin forming collaborations now.
• Best fit for: Neuroscience and neurology researchers with cross-disciplinary teams ready to tackle foundational questions requiring integrated expertise across molecular, cellular, systems, clinical, or computational domains.