Exploratory Analyses of Existing Cohorts, Data Sets, and Stored Biospecimens to Address Clinical Aging Research Questions (R21) | PA 17 089

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 089

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Exploratory Analyses of Existing Cohorts, Data Sets, and Stored Biospecimens to Address Clinical Aging Research Questions (R21)" (Funding Opportunity Number: PA-17-089; CFDA: 93.866) supports exploratory clinical aging research that relies on secondary analysis rather than new participant recruitment. The central purpose is to use existing longitudinal cohorts, previously collected datasets, and stored biospecimens housed in biorepositories to investigate how aging-related changes affect health across the lifespan, with a particular emphasis on clinically meaningful outcomes such as diseases, functional decline, and disabilities in older adults. The mechanism is an R21 grant, which is commonly used for early-stage, hypothesis-generating, and feasibility-oriented projects that can open the door to larger epidemiologic studies or future human intervention trials.

A key feature of this opportunity is its encouragement of innovative, clinically oriented hypotheses that can be tested by leveraging already available data resources. Projects are expected to focus on questions relevant to aging and health, including the development, progression, or consequences of age-associated conditions. Because the FOA is aimed at exploratory analyses, it is well-suited for studies that assess novel associations, develop preliminary risk or prognostic models, examine subgroup effects, or test whether certain biomarkers, clinical characteristics, or exposures measured earlier in life predict later-life outcomes. The announcement places special value on cohorts that can be linked to electronic health records (EHRs) and/or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrative data, since these linkages can strengthen clinical outcome ascertainment, enable analyses of healthcare utilization, and provide richer longitudinal follow-up for aging populations.

The FOA also explicitly allows applicants to include certain supportive activities in their proposed budgets when those activities are necessary to accomplish the project aims. This includes costs for data harmonization (for example, aligning variables across multiple cohorts or standardizing measures collected under different protocols), archival activities (such as organizing and preparing datasets or biospecimen inventories for analysis), and assay refinement (improving, validating, or optimizing laboratory measurements on stored biospecimens when needed to test the study hypotheses). These activities are not meant to be stand-alone efforts; they need to be clearly tied to the specific scientific questions being addressed and should directly enable the proposed exploratory analyses.

In terms of award size, the listed award ceiling is $200,000, consistent with the modest, exploratory nature of the R21 mechanism. The source information lists an original closing date of 2020-05-07 (with a creation date of 2016-12-15), which signals that applicants should verify current submission dates and active cycles on NIH or Grants.gov if they intend to pursue the opportunity or any reissued/related announcements.

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of domestic and non-domestic organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and 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 (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA further highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, non-U.S. (foreign) entities, and U.S. territories or possessions. This broad eligibility aligns with the FOA's emphasis on maximizing the use of existing research resources and encouraging participation from diverse institutions and communities.

Overall, this NIH R21 opportunity is designed for teams that already have access to well-characterized cohorts, curated datasets, and/or stored biospecimens and want to ask new clinical aging questions without the time and expense of building a new cohort from scratch. Competitive projects will typically present a clear and innovative clinical aging hypothesis, identify appropriate existing data and specimen resources to test it, justify any needed harmonization or assay work, and show how the exploratory findings will inform the next steps, such as a larger epidemiologic effort or a future clinical intervention study.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Exploratory Analyses of Existing Cohorts, Data Sets, and Stored Biospecimens to Address Clinical Aging Research Questions (R21)" 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 2016-12-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-05-07. (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 $200,000.00 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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