Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 24 021
This NIH funding opportunity (RFA-AG-24-021) supports cooperative agreement (U01) research projects aimed at clarifying how gene-environment interactions influence brain aging and the development or progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD). The central focus is on environmental toxicants and how genetic background changes cellular responses to those exposures. The program is designed to move beyond broad associations by pushing applicants to generate mechanistic evidence, meaning clear, testable explanations of what the toxicant is doing in cells and how genetic variation modifies those effects in ways that matter for aging and neurodegeneration.
The research scope is specifically anchored in disease-relevant human cell-based systems, including in vitro and ex vivo models. Projects are expected to use human cellular models that can realistically capture aspects of brain biology and aging, then apply environmental toxicants to examine how genotype and exposure interact to alter gene regulation and core cellular functions. The opportunity emphasizes identifying toxicant-mediated molecular and cellular mechanisms tied to brain aging and AD/ADRD, such as changes in transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, proteostasis, mitochondrial and metabolic function, neuroinflammatory signaling, synaptic biology, or other pathways that plausibly connect exposure to neurodegenerative vulnerability. Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged, reflecting the need to integrate toxicology, neuroscience, genetics/genomics, computational biology, and cell biology to interpret GxE effects with enough rigor to be biologically convincing.
Administratively, this is a discretionary health research grant mechanism under the National Institutes of Health, listed under CFDA 93.866. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means NIH program staff will have substantial involvement during the project (for example, coordinating milestones, encouraging data sharing, or shaping collaborative components), compared with a standard investigator-initiated grant. The notice states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," so applications should not propose prospective human intervention studies that meet NIH's clinical trial definition; the intent is mechanistic work in human cell-based model systems rather than testing interventions in participants.
Key logistics provided in the source information include an award ceiling of $500,000 and an original closing date of 2023-10-23. While the expected number of awards is not specified in the provided text, the ceiling indicates the program is aiming for focused, mechanistic projects rather than very large consortia budgets. Applicants should still plan for the kinds of resources needed for robust cellular modeling and multi-omic or functional readouts, while keeping within the stated cap and aligning tightly with the mechanistic GxE objective.
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations: state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories and community-serving institutions, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, HBCUs, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, regional organizations, and even non-U.S. (foreign) entities. Taken together, the eligibility language signals an intent to attract a diverse set of scientific teams and institutional perspectives, including those with strong community or environmental health connections, while keeping the scientific centerpiece on human cell-based mechanistic studies of toxicant-driven gene-environment interactions relevant to AD/ADRD.Apply for RFA AG 24 021
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Understanding Gene-Environment Interactions in Brain Aging and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) (U01 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): 93.866.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2023-05-15.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-10-23. (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.
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