NIH IGNITE Program (NINDS) — Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts

NIH IGNITE Program — R61/R33 Phased Neurotherapeutic Grants

Supports early neurotherapeutic translation through milestone-based translational funding.

The NINDS IGNITE program — Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts — provides milestone-gated, phased R61/R33 funding for early-stage neurotherapeutic development, serving as the primary feeder into the later-stage NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network for small molecules (BPN) and BPN-Biologics. Three active NOFOs cover distinct development stages: PAR-25-059 (assay development and neurotherapeutic agent identification), PAR-25-060 (development and validation of model systems for neurotherapeutic discovery), and PAR-25-225 (neurotherapeutic agent characterization and in vivo efficacy studies). All three use the R61/R33 phased-award mechanism and prohibit clinical trials. Total direct costs are capped at $750,000 over the full three-year award, with no more than $499,000 in any single year.

The R61 phase is exploratory and milestone-gated; progression to the R33 development phase is contingent on achievement of predefined milestones and is not automatic. Maximum duration in either the R61 or R33 phase alone is two years. Eligible applicants include domestic universities, research hospitals, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations; individuals cannot apply without institutional affiliation. The program targets neurological disease research with a translational rationale, specifically the development of small-molecule or biologic candidates suitable for eventual entry into the BPN pipeline. Applications must include quantitative performance milestones in the research strategy.

All IGNITE applications are reviewed by the NINDS Scientific Review Branch rather than NIH's central Center for Scientific Review, which gives NINDS program officers direct influence on review panel composition and expertise. Program directors Rebecca Roof (rebecca.roof@nih.gov) and Shardell Spriggs (Shardell.spriggs@nih.gov) should be contacted to discuss project fit before submission. The three sub-NOFOs target applicants at different pre-clinical development stages; teams should apply to the NOFO that matches their current experimental phase — not the most advanced stage they hope to reach.