Establishing Pediatric CNS Pharmacodynamic Measures as Tools to Enable Psychiatric Indications in Adolescents

The National Institute of Mental Health, operating within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has forecasted a new funding opportunity titled Establishing Pediatric CNS Pharmacodynamic Measures as Tools to Enable Psychiatric Indications in Adolescents. This initiative reflects the agency’s mission to advance scientific understanding and treatment options for mental illnesses by focusing on pediatric populations, particularly adolescents facing serious psychiatric conditions. The funding mechanism will be a cooperative agreement, indicating a high degree of involvement from the federal agency in managing and overseeing the supported projects. The opportunity is designed to support the development and refinement of central nervous system tools and models capable of demonstrating how psychiatric medications affect the brain in children and adolescents. The research emphasis includes functional imaging modalities such as EEG and fMRI, along with digital health assessments and cognitive testing. A primary goal of this program is to integrate pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data to improve safety, optimize dosing strategies, and enhance the effectiveness of clinical trials involving younger populations. By establishing validated pediatric pharmacodynamic measures, the initiative aims to provide tools that can eventually support new psychiatric indications in adolescent medicine. Applications are not being solicited at this stage. This is a forecasted announcement made on September 12, 2025, to allow researchers and organizations sufficient time to establish collaborations and prepare proposals. The estimated posting date for the official notice of funding opportunity is December 13, 2025, with applications projected to be due by February 13, 2026. Awards are expected to be issued on December 1, 2026, with funded projects beginning on that same date. The anticipated fiscal year for funding is 2027. Eligibility for this program is broad and inclusive. Qualified applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private universities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit entities including small businesses, tribal governments, tribal organizations, housing authorities, city and county governments, school districts, and special district governments. The program is also open to U.S. territories, regional organizations, non-domestic entities including foreign institutions, and eligible federal agencies. This wide scope of eligibility is designed to ensure that research expertise across disciplines and geographies can contribute to developing these much-needed pharmacodynamic measures. Because this opportunity is in its forecast stage, some funding details remain unspecified. The award ceiling, floor, and total program funding amounts have not yet been determined. Likewise, the expected number of awards has not been released. However, the notice clarifies that no cost sharing or matching requirement is associated with this program, making it accessible to a broad range of applicants without additional financial commitments. Applicants will eventually submit proposals through Grants.gov once the official announcement is posted. Proposals will be evaluated for their relevance to the goals of the program, their methodological rigor, and their ability to advance pediatric psychiatry by integrating pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic approaches. Prospective applicants with expertise in pediatric psychiatry, neuroimaging, pharmacology, and clinical trial design are encouraged to begin developing collaborative projects now. For further information, the designated grant contact is Margaret C. Grabb, Ph.D., who can be reached at 301-443-3563 or by email at mgrabb@mail.nih.gov. Researchers and organizations are encouraged to engage early in planning their projects so they are well prepared to apply when the official funding announcement is published in December 2025.