Dysregulation and Proximal Risk for Suicide FOA (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA MH 19 211

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 19 211

The Dysregulation and Proximal Risk for Suicide FOA (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health funding opportunity aimed at sharpening short-term, time-sensitive prediction and prevention of suicide attempts. The core motivation is that suicide risk is not static; it shifts over hours, days, and weeks, often in response to acute stressors. This FOA specifically targets the gap between knowing that someone has suicidal thoughts and understanding why, when, and under what conditions they move from thoughts to actions. In line with the Prioritized Research Agenda for Suicide Prevention (Short-term Objective 1.C), the opportunity emphasizes mechanisms that can explain imminent (proximal) risk and inform when to intervene.

A central requirement is a focus on dysregulation framed through the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) perspective, with a strong emphasis on the Arousal and Regulatory Systems domain. NIMH notes that many suicide studies concentrate on emotion dysregulation broadly, but fewer examine arousal and regulation in a way that captures how physiological and regulatory processes dynamically shape moment-to-moment thinking and feeling. The FOA highlights examples of functions that may be influenced by arousal and regulation, including how people respond to reward, how they react to frustrative non-reward, their cognitive flexibility and control, and their decision-making under stress. The intent is to push research beyond general or trait-level descriptions and toward explanations of the mechanisms that fluctuate and create windows of high risk.

To be considered responsive, applications must explicitly investigate interactions between at least one construct within Arousal and Regulation and one or more constructs from other RDoC domains, such as Cognitive Systems, Negative Valence Systems, and Positive Valence Systems, and then link those interactions directly to imminent risk for suicide attempts. In practical terms, the FOA is looking for studies that model how combinations of arousal/regulatory dysregulation plus changes in cognition and/or valence-related processing come together to raise near-term attempt risk. Proposals that examine only one RDoC domain, or that do not test cross-domain interaction mechanisms, fall outside the scope.

The FOA is equally explicit about what it will not support. Studies centered primarily on static suicidal traits, distant (distal) risk factors, past suicidal behavior as the main outcome, or risk conceptualized only at a broad, unchanging level are described as non-responsive. The goal is not simply to identify who is generally at risk, but to understand the time-varying processes that signal when risk is escalating toward an attempt. This emphasis also reflects an intervention logic: if the field can identify modifiable, short-term targets that precede attempts, it becomes more feasible to deliver timely interventions during high-risk periods.

From a funding mechanism standpoint, this is an R01 grant with clinical trials listed as optional, meaning applicants may propose either observational/mechanistic studies or clinical trial components, as long as the project meets the scientific focus on proximal risk and cross-domain RDoC interactions. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary grant funding in the health area, associated with CFDA 93.242. The posted award ceiling is $500,000, and the original closing date listed is 2018-12-05 (with a creation date of 2018-10-03), indicating this is a time-bound solicitation from that period.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic applicants, such as state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; special district governments; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicants, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), 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, and even non-U.S. (foreign) organizations, reflecting an interest in a wide range of research settings and populations.

Overall, the opportunity is designed to move suicide research toward near-term prediction and prevention by requiring applicants to study dynamic, mechanistic interactions involving arousal/regulation and other RDoC domains, with a clear link to imminent suicide attempt risk and an emphasis on identifying modifiable targets that can be acted on during brief periods of heightened danger.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Dysregulation and Proximal Risk for Suicide FOA (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 2018-10-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-12-05. (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 19 211

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