NIAID’s Radiation and Nuclear Countermeasures Program (RNCP) will support collaborative research to advance safe and effective medical countermeasures (MCMs) and biodosimetry approaches through the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplement for Collaborative Projects Supported by the NIAID/RNCP. The NOSI’s overarching goal is to develop MCMs and biodosimetry tools for civilians to be used post-exposure in a radiological or nuclear public health emergency.
Only current awardees of the RNCP (with a few exceptions noted in the NOSI) are eligible to apply, and investigators must propose studies that involve a collaboration with researchers at another institution in the RNCP-funded grants portfolio.
Research Objectives
RNCP is specifically looking for research that would enhance the understanding of radiation-induced pathways for injury, advance biomarkers that reflect radiation-induced damage, or accelerate the development of MCMs along the product development pathway; all to contribute to the health and well-being of civilian populations following radiation incidents.
For example, NIAID is interested in research studies to:
- Establish efficacy, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, mechanism of action, or other developmental studies of a radiation MCM under investigation in one laboratory in an animal model that was developed at another institution (e.g., mixed gamma/neutron field, LINAC, x-ray; gamma-ray source).
- Test MCMs in an irradiator available to researchers in one laboratory but not another (e.g., mixed gamma/neutron field, LINAC, X-ray; gamma-ray source).
- Conduct studies in which two MCMs under development in different laboratories are tested in combination in the same animal model (polypharmacy approach).
- Identify different biomarkers (e.g., cytogenetic, genomic, proteomic, metabolomic, microRNA) in similar samples obtained by different institutions, across a range of radiation exposure levels, or detection devices.
- Searches for similar biomarkers of radiation injury across a variety of animal models or types of radiation exposures available at different institutions.
Through this NOSI, you would receive funds to establish formal partnerships with other research groups to achieve outcomes that would likely be impossible without the expertise, models, and facilities available at partnering institutions.
For Your Consideration
We strongly encourage you to discuss your proposed supplement project with the NIAID/RNCP program official of the approved parent award before applying to ensure that the proposed activity is within the scientific priorities and the scope of the existing award. Collaborations are permitted within established NIAID/RNCP-funded consortia, as well as across the RNCP portfolio (i.e., with awardees in other consortia or parts of the program).
You can use administrative supplements to meet additional costs associated with increased animal and personnel needs. All science proposed must be within the scientific scope of the parent award.
Application and Submission Information
Apply to this initiative by using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent.
- PA-20-272, Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp, Clinical Trial Optional)
Follow all instructions in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide and PA-20-272, including the following additions:
- One annual application due date for the next 3 years – October 2, 2023; October 2, 2024; and October 2, 2025, by 5 p.m. local time of applicant organization.
- Include “NOT-AI-23-044” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field box (box 4B) of the SF-424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered.
- The budget request cannot exceed $100,000 in annual total costs for each collaborator.
- NIAID/RNCP will award requests 1 year at a time, depending on scientific merit and availability of funding. The budget period of the request must coincide with the budget period of the parent award. Applicants must have at least 1 year of funding remaining on their parent award’s project period at the time of supplement award.
Contact Information
Direct all inquiries to NIAID’s scientific/research contact, Dr. Andrea L. DiCarlo-Cohen, at cohena@niaid.nih.gov or 240-627-3492.