Novel Genomic Technology Development (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 18 777

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 777

The Novel Genomic Technology Development (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) opportunity (PAR 18 777) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant program focused on pushing genomics tools forward in a major, step-change way. The central goal is not incremental optimization, but technology development that meaningfully expands what researchers can measure, how well they can measure it, or how efficiently they can generate and interpret genomic data. NIH is looking for innovations that either enable comprehensive genomic analysis of biological features that cannot really be assayed with today s methods, or deliver at least an order of magnitude improvement (10x or more) over an existing approach. That 10x threshold can be met in one or more dimensions, including data quality, throughput, efficiency, or comprehensiveness, and the intent is to support transformative methods that materially change what is feasible for biomedical research.

A key boundary of this FOA is what it explicitly does not support. It excludes the development of novel technologies for DNA sequencing and for direct RNA sequencing. Projects centered on inventing new sequencing platforms or direct RNA sequencing methods are expected to apply instead to a parallel set of NIH funding announcements (RFA HG 18 001, RFA HG 18 002, and RFA HG 18 003). In practice, that means proposals here should focus on other major genomics technology needs beyond creating new sequencing modalities, such as upstream sample handling innovations, measurement of genomic or epigenomic features that are currently difficult to capture, improved methods for resolving genome structure and variation, spatial or single cell genomics innovations (so long as the core is not new DNA sequencing technology), scalable functional genomics assays, or similarly enabling tool development that meets the program s bar for a transformative leap.

The award mechanism is an NIH R01 research project grant, with clinical trials not allowed under this announcement. That typically means applicants can conduct technology development and may use human samples or datasets in a research context if appropriate, but they cannot propose a clinical trial as defined by NIH. The Funding Activity Category is Health, and the CFDA number listed is 93.172. The opportunity was created on 2018 05 09, and the original closing date shown is 2021 01 07. The provided source data lists an award ceiling of 700000, which can be read as an upper bound for award size in this posting context (applicants would still need to align budgets with NIH policy and the specific constraints described in the full announcement).

Eligibility is broad and spans a wide range of organization types, reflecting NIH s interest in drawing ideas from academia, industry, nonprofits, and government. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special districts; 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 and other tribal organizations; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as 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 non domestic (non U.S.) entities (foreign organizations). This breadth signals that NIH is open to technology development teams formed in many settings, including cross sector collaborations, as long as the scientific and technical case meets the emphasis on substantial innovation and impact.

In summary, this program is aimed at high impact genomics technology development that can clearly demonstrate either brand new assay capability or at least a 10x leap in performance metrics, while staying outside the scope of inventing new DNA sequencing or direct RNA sequencing technologies. The best fit applications are those that can make a strong, credible argument that the proposed tool or platform will remove a current bottleneck in genomic analysis, substantially expand the types of genomic questions that can be answered, and deliver practical improvements in usability, scale, and data quality that the broader research community can build on.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Novel Genomic Technology Development (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.172.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-05-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-01-07. (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 $700,000.00 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 PAR 18 777

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