Individually Measured Phenotypes to Advance Computational Translation in Mental Health (IMPACT-MH) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA MH 23 105

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 23 105

Individually Measured Phenotypes to Advance Computational Translation in Mental Health (IMPACT-MH) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (RFA-MH-23-105) that supports research designed to improve how mental disorders are assessed, predicted, and treated by moving beyond traditional symptom checklists and diagnoses. The core idea is to develop and use novel, performance-based behavioral measures that capture stable, meaningful individual differences (often described as "phenotypes") and then connect those measures to computational methods that can produce practical clinical decision tools. By emphasizing individually measured behavioral signals, the program aims to help build "clinical signatures" that can better inform prognosis and treatment selection, with the longer-term goal of enabling more precise, personalized mental health care.

The opportunity has two main scientific priorities. First, it encourages investigators to develop, refine, or optimize behavioral tasks that measure individual differences in ways that matter clinically. This means designing tasks that are not just interesting in a lab setting, but that produce reliable, interpretable measurements and show clear added value for predicting clinically relevant outcomes. A key requirement is demonstrating that these behavioral measures improve clinical prediction when used alongside standard clinical diagnosis, rather than simply duplicating what existing diagnostic categories already capture. In practice, this could include tasks that quantify cognitive control, reward learning, threat processing, social cognition, affective bias, or other measurable behavioral constructs, as long as they can be linked to meaningful outcomes such as symptom course, functional impairment, relapse risk, or likelihood of responding to a particular intervention.

Second, the FOA emphasizes building a data infrastructure that can support computational approaches aimed at real-world clinical decision making. The intention is not only to collect data, but to structure it in a way that enables modern analytics and modeling, including approaches that integrate behavioral task data with clinical information to generate predictive tools. This infrastructure focus signals an expectation that funded projects will pay serious attention to data standards, quality control, harmonization across sites or samples when applicable, and the kinds of documentation and organization needed for computational translation. The end goal is to make it feasible to develop, evaluate, and ultimately move toward tools that clinicians could use to guide decisions, rather than leaving findings as isolated research results.

The funding mechanism is a U01 cooperative agreement, which typically means NIH program staff will have substantial scientific involvement during the project period (for example, through coordinated milestones, collaboration expectations, and ongoing input on direction and deliverables). The announcement is labeled "Clinical Trial Optional," meaning applicants may propose studies that include a clinical trial if it is appropriate for their research plan, but a clinical trial is not required to apply. The funding opportunity sits within the NIH health research area (Funding Activity Category: Health) and is associated with CFDA number 93.242. The listed award ceiling is $2,500,000. The original closing date provided in the source information is 2023-06-14, and the opportunity was created on 2023-04-14.

Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types across government, academia, nonprofit, and private sectors. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicants, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs); Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); faith-based or community-based organizations; eligible federal agencies; regional organizations; U.S. territories or possessions; Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized; and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations). This wide eligibility scope reflects a program interest in engaging diverse institutions and communities and in building resources that can support broadly useful computational translation efforts in mental health.

Overall, IMPACT-MH is aimed at closing a common gap in mental health research: many measures and models show promise scientifically but do not translate well into clinically actionable predictions. By funding work that both strengthens the measurement of individual behavioral differences and builds the data foundation needed for computational modeling, this FOA is designed to accelerate the development of clinically useful signatures and tools that can support precision assessment, prognosis, and treatment planning in mental disorders.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Individually Measured Phenotypes to Advance Computational Translation in Mental Health (IMPACT-MH) (U01 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 2023-04-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-14. (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 $2,500,000.00 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 23 105

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