Dysregulation and Proximal Risk for Suicide (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA MH 20 327

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 20 327

The Dysregulation and Proximal Risk for Suicide (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity (RFA-MH-20-327) is a National Institutes of Health grant announcement focused on sharpening what science can say about near-term, time-sensitive suicide risk. The central aim is to move beyond broad, long-range predictors and instead understand who is most at risk in the moment, why some people shift from suicidal thoughts to suicidal behavior, and when intervention is most likely to help. The announcement is grounded in the idea that suicide risk is not static: it changes over time, often quickly, and suicide attempts are frequently preceded by acute stressors that can trigger rapid changes in emotion, arousal, and thinking.

A key scientific gap this opportunity targets is the relative lack of research on arousal and regulation as they relate to suicide risk. Much of the existing literature emphasizes emotion dysregulation, but this FOA highlights that dysregulation can also involve physiological arousal and regulatory processes that shape how people process information and make decisions under stress. The announcement specifically points to cognitive and motivational functions that may shift during high-risk windows, such as sensitivity to reward, responses to frustrative non-reward (the reaction when an expected reward is blocked or withheld), cognitive flexibility and control, and decision-making. In practical terms, the FOA is encouraging studies that can explain how disruptions in these systems interact in real time to produce spikes in risk, rather than only describing average differences between groups.

The research emphasis is mechanistic and time-varying. Applicants are expected to propose work that clarifies how dysregulation connects with cognition and with both negative and positive valence systems (processes related to threat, loss, distress, reward, and motivation). The goal is to map pathways that can explain fluctuations in risk over short intervals and identify modifiable targets that could be used for timely interventions during periods when someone is most vulnerable. In other words, the program is not only interested in prediction, but in finding leverage points that could be changed through prevention strategies or interventions delivered at the right time.

This FOA uses the R01 mechanism and is labeled “Clinical Trial Optional,” meaning proposed projects may include a clinical trial but are not required to do so. The announcement also notes a companion funding announcement that uses the R21 mechanism (RFA-MH-19-326). The R21 is positioned for high-risk/high-payoff ideas that may not have preliminary data or that rely on existing datasets, while the R01 is framed as a better fit for teams that already have preliminary evidence and are ready for a more developed, full-scale project.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant in the health funding category (CFDA 93.242) under NIH, with an award ceiling listed at $500,000. The original closing date shown in the source information is February 13, 2020, and the posting was created on November 8, 2019. Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations and governments, such as state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other categories. The announcement also explicitly welcomes applications from a range of mission- and community-centered institutions and organizations, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, non-U.S. (foreign) entities, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Overall, the opportunity is designed to push suicide prevention research toward a more precise understanding of proximal risk: the short-term mechanisms and moment-to-moment changes that can help explain why risk escalates, how dysregulation affects thinking and motivation under stress, and what intervention targets might be most effective when delivered during high-risk periods.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Dysregulation and Proximal Risk for Suicide (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-11-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-02-13. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA MH 20 327

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: