Maintain and Enrich Resource Infrastructure for Existing Environmental Epidemiology Cohorts (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA ES 18 009

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA ES 18 009

Maintain and Enrich Resource Infrastructure for Existing Environmental Epidemiology Cohorts (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a discretionary NIH grant opportunity (RFA ES 18 009; CFDA 93.113) sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, with a focus area spanning environment and health. The central intent of the program is not to launch new cohorts or conduct clinical trials, but to keep established Environmental Epidemiology Cohorts (EECs) strong and scientifically productive by funding the kinds of shared, behind-the-scenes infrastructure that make long-term cohort research usable, accessible, and ready for future studies. In practical terms, the announcement is aimed at protecting and maximizing prior cohort investments made by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) by ensuring these cohorts remain well-maintained and increasingly valuable to the broader research community.

The FOA has two main goals. First, it supports maintenance of existing cohorts, which generally means sustaining the operational and data-related capacity required to keep a cohort viable over time. That can include preserving data integrity, maintaining participant tracking systems, keeping biospecimen and data resources organized and secure, and ensuring the cohort can continue to support environmental epidemiology research questions as science evolves. Second, it supports enrichment of research infrastructure so that the cohort becomes easier to use for new analyses and collaborations. This emphasis on enrichment is strongly tied to improving scientific activities and enabling resource sharing, such as better data documentation, stronger governance and access procedures, improved harmonization with other datasets, modernized informatics, and other tools that make a cohort more interoperable and attractive for collaborative projects.

A defining feature of this opportunity is the focus on readiness and collaboration. The FOA frames infrastructure as the bridge between past investments and future discoveries: by strengthening data systems, standardizing resources, and improving sharing mechanisms now, cohorts are better positioned to compete for and contribute to later research opportunities, including multi-cohort studies and broader scientific partnerships. The overall vision is that well-supported cohorts can serve as community resources rather than isolated datasets, expanding their impact beyond the original investigative team.

The funding mechanism is a grant under the R24 activity code, and clinical trials are explicitly not allowed, signaling that the work should be centered on resource and infrastructure development rather than intervention testing. The listed award ceiling is $250,000, and the original closing date for the opportunity was 2019-07-31 (with a creation date of 2018-08-30), indicating this specific solicitation was time-limited and tied to that application window.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and public entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other qualifying entities. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal government agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions, reflecting an intent to include diverse institutional settings that may host or support established cohorts.

At the same time, the FOA draws clear boundaries around foreign participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as applicants. However, foreign components are allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S. applicant may include certain foreign elements within the project structure when permissible under NIH policy, even though a foreign institution cannot serve as the primary applicant.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as an NIEHS/NIH effort to keep existing environmental epidemiology cohorts scientifically current, operationally stable, and easier to leverage for shared science. It prioritizes strengthening the infrastructure that supports cohort usefulness over time, with the expectation that better-maintained and better-organized cohort resources will accelerate future discoveries, enable broader collaboration, and deliver more value from long-term investments in environmental health research.

• The National Institutes of Health in the environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Maintain and Enrich Resource Infrastructure for Existing Environmental Epidemiology Cohorts (R24 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): 93.113.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-08-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-07-31. (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 $250,000.00 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 ES 18 009

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