Transformative Non-Invasive/Minimally Invasive Technologies for Imaging the Olfactory System Across Scales (R01 CT Optional)
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) · NIH Institute/Center · RFA-DC-27-003
Source: Grants.gov · View original posting ↗
- AwardWhat a single award can be worth — the funder's published per-award amount or floor–ceiling range.
- Up to $500K
- DeadlineFinal application due date.
- Aug 21, 2028
- Letter of intentDue date for the letter of intent (a short pre-application some funders require or request before the full proposal).
- —
- MechanismNIH activity code — the grant type (R01 research project, R21 exploratory, K series career development, F series fellowship, …).
- R01
- DurationMaximum project period for a single award.
- —
- Expected awardsHow many awards the funder anticipates making under this opportunity.
- 3
- Funding cycleHow often the program accepts applications (annual, multiple cycles per year, rolling, or one-time).
- One-time
- Open dateWhen applications open (or opened).
- May 20, 2026
- Total fundingThe overall pool the funder expects to commit across ALL awards under this opportunity — not what one project receives.
- $2M total
- Clinical trialWhether proposed projects must, may, or must not include a clinical trial.
- Unspecified
Funding context
Based on FY2025 NIDCD R01 applications (96 of 571 applications awarded).
Payline: NIH discontinued percentile paylines for 2026 under its Unified Funding Strategy ↗ — scores are now weighed in context rather than against a fixed cutoff.
NIDCD R01, FY2025 — atypical NIH funding year (multi-year upfront funding / rescinded paylines); NIH reports FY2025 success rates as not comparable to prior years.
Aggregate historical data by institute, mechanism, and fiscal year — context for planning, not a prediction for this opportunity. Source ↗
Research areas
Auto-classified from the title and description (keyword-based) — may be imperfect.
Description
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), with the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) aims to support the development and/or adaptation of transformative in vivo high-resolution/high specificity imaging of the human olfactory system. Currently, there are limited non-invasive/minimally invasive technologies available for imaging the living human peripheral and central olfactory system with high spatial and temporal resolution. Imaging the olfactory system in the laboratory and in the clinic is essential to understanding underlying biological mechanisms as well as the etiology of an olfactory disorder. Such imaging has proven challenging due to the olfactory system"s unique anatomical and functional characteristics such as restricted accessibility, multiple cell types, and low signal resolution. Addressing these challenges requires multimodal approaches including leveraging existing advanced tools and technologies and developing new tools tailored for the olfactory system. Recent advances in minimally invasive and non-invasive imaging technologies, such as cell specific biomarkers, fluorescence imaging, specialized endoscopes, optical and acoustic imaging, molecular imaging, and hemodynamic and diffusion imaging have the potential to transform our ability to image and investigate the peripheral and central olfactory system in the living human with superior temporal and spatial resolution and eventually improve diagnostic accuracy of olfactory disorders. Applications must leverage advanced non-invasive/minimally invasive imaging technologies to visualize peripheral (e.g., olfactory- and non-olfactory epithelium) and central olfactory (e.g., olfactory bulb) targets at a level previously unattainable. In addition, projects should engage multidisciplinary teams combining expertise in olfaction, biomedical imaging, biochemistry, bioengineering, and biophysics, as appropriate.