The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.
This grant program is designed to support investigators interested in the discovery of in vivo chemical probes for novel brain targets. It aims to facilitate the development of novel small molecules that can be used to understand biological processes relevant to the missions of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Eye Institute (NEI), and National Institute on Aging (NIA). Furthermore, the program supports the discovery and/or validation of biological targets that inform studies of brain disease mechanisms. A key focus is on projects that offer new insights into disease-related biological targets and processes, expecting applicants to already possess starting compounds (validated hits) for chemical optimization and bioassays for testing new analog compounds.