The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), has reissued the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) PAR-24-240, titled “Genetic Architecture of Mental Disorders in Ancestrally Varied Populations II (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).” This funding opportunity is part of the Ancestral Populations Network (APN-2), which builds upon previous efforts from the initial APN-1 phase, and is intended to foster large-scale, coordinated genomic research in diverse, non-European populations. The objective is to enhance understanding of the genetic underpinnings of psychiatric disorders by expanding ancestral representation in mental health genomics studies. Applicants are also encouraged to review the companion funding opportunity PAR-24-241, which funds the network’s coordinating center.

The purpose of this initiative is to promote international, collaborative research using genome-wide approaches to accelerate gene discovery for psychiatric disorders in ancestrally diverse cohorts. Studies must integrate clinical and phenotypic assessments, and applicants are encouraged to utilize existing data resources as well as coordinate with global psychiatry and genetics consortia. This phase emphasizes broadening geographical, clinical, and genomic representation in research and requires inclusion of career development and community engagement components in project proposals.

Funding will support cooperative research projects that are non-clinical trial in nature. Applications are encouraged from institutions and researchers proposing genomic and phenotypic studies in global, ancestrally diverse populations, especially in settings that were not part of the previous APN-1 phase. Research plans must include the collection or analysis of structured clinical assessments and genetic data, and should incorporate social determinants of health, innovative analysis of genetic admixture, and harmonization of data from diverse sources. All projects must share biospecimens and data with designated NIH repositories in compliance with NIH data-sharing policies.

Eligible applicants include higher education institutions, nonprofits, for-profit organizations, tribal entities, and various local, state, and federal governments, as well as foreign institutions. Applications must be scientifically distinct if submitting more than one per organization. A letter of intent is requested by September 15, 2024. Application due dates are scheduled three times per year: October 11, 2024; June 13, 2025; and February 13, 2026. Awards will be made under cooperative agreements for project periods up to five years. Budgets are not capped but must be justified.

Evaluation criteria for this funding opportunity include scientific significance, innovation, and approach; inclusion of appropriate community engagement and career development plans; and project management structures that ensure equitable collaboration among international partners. Projects will be judged based on their potential to advance the understanding of genetic risks for psychiatric disorders across diverse ancestral populations, as well as the extent to which they promote inclusivity and global mental health research infrastructure.