Leveraging Existing Data Resources for Computational Model and Tool Development to Discover Novel Candidate Mechanisms and Biomarkers for ADRD (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA NS 22 006

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 22 006

The grant opportunity "Leveraging Existing Data Resources for Computational Model and Tool Development to Discover Novel Candidate Mechanisms and Biomarkers for ADRD (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-NS-22-006) is a discretionary NIH research grant aimed at accelerating discoveries in Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (ADRD) by making stronger, more creative use of data that already exist. Instead of funding new clinical trials, this program is designed to support projects that build, refine, and share computational models and analytic tools that can extract new insights from established ADRD datasets. The core idea is to turn the growing ecosystem of ADRD data resources into practical, reusable computational approaches that help researchers better understand disease mechanisms, improve risk assessment and prediction of clinical outcomes, and surface promising new candidate biomarkers for ADRD.

A central emphasis of this announcement is computational development and dissemination. Applicants are expected not only to analyze existing data, but to create models, pipelines, algorithms, or software tools that can be broadly useful to the research community. The FOA highlights discovery-oriented work that can connect data to biology and clinical relevance: identifying novel candidate mechanisms that may drive disease onset or progression, clarifying relationships between risk factors and outcomes, and proposing biomarker candidates that could later be validated for diagnosis, prognosis, stratification, or monitoring. Because the announcement specifically focuses on leveraging existing data resources, competitive projects generally align with secondary analyses, integrative modeling across datasets, multimodal data fusion, and methodological innovations that increase the value and interpretability of shared ADRD data.

The funding instrument is an R01 research project grant, and clinical trials are not allowed under this opportunity. That typically means the supported research should not involve prospective assignment of human participants to interventions to evaluate health outcomes. Instead, the work should be based on previously collected datasets and samples, repositories, and other established data resources relevant to ADRD, using computational and data-science driven approaches to generate new hypotheses and candidate findings. The activity category is health, and the listed CFDA numbers are 93.853 and 93.866, which correspond to NIH programs in neurological disorders and related research areas.

In terms of scale and timing, the source information lists an award ceiling of $499,000, with the original closing date of 2021-10-26 and a creation date of 2021-08-02. While the record excerpt does not state the exact number of expected awards, the intent is clearly to fund a set of projects that collectively expand the modeling and tool-building capacity for ADRD discovery using existing data.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or 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 that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in that particular nonprofit category); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant types 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); eligible federal government agencies; faith-based or community-based organizations; regional organizations; U.S. territories or possessions; and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, meaning foreign organizations can apply as well.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as an NIH push to turn existing ADRD data infrastructure into new, shareable computational capability: models and tools that can be disseminated and reused, and that can generate credible new candidate mechanisms and biomarkers. The expected outputs are not only scientific findings, but also computational resources that help the broader field move faster by improving how ADRD data are combined, interpreted, and translated into clinically meaningful hypotheses for future validation.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Leveraging Existing Data Resources for Computational Model and Tool Development to Discover Novel Candidate Mechanisms and Biomarkers for ADRD (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): 93.853, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-08-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-10-26. (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 $499,000.00 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.

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