Limited Competition: Analysis of Data from NIA's Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project Follow-Up Study (U01) | PAR 17 214

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 214

This funding opportunity, PAR 17-214, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant announcement from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) focused on Alzheimer’s disease genetics. It supports projects that analyze large-scale human genetic datasets produced through NIA’s Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) Follow-Up Study, specifically the genome-wide association study (GWAS) data and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and related sequencing data that were generated under the earlier initiative referenced as PAR-16-406. In practical terms, the announcement is aimed at teams that can take already-generated ADSP follow-up genomic data and extract new scientific findings from it, such as identifying risk variants, clarifying genetic architecture, connecting variants to biological pathways, or improving understanding of how genetic differences influence Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

The mechanism is a U01 cooperative agreement, which generally means the work is funded as a research project but with substantial scientific involvement from NIH staff compared to a typical investigator-initiated R01. A U01 structure is commonly used when the agency expects coordination, adherence to shared program goals, or close interaction with NIH program leadership, particularly for complex, high-value data resources like major sequencing consortia. The activity category is listed under Health and the CFDA number provided is 93.866, which corresponds to NIA research support.

The opportunity is described as a limited competition, signaling that it is not an open-ended call for any Alzheimer’s topic, but a targeted solicitation for analysis of a specific set of datasets produced by the ADSP Follow-Up Study. The central expectation is rigorous, genome-scale analysis, which can include GWAS-based discovery, sequencing-based rare variant analysis, integrative analyses across data types, and other advanced statistical and computational approaches suited to large genomic datasets. Because the data are already generated, the emphasis is on analytic strategy, methodological strength, interpretation, and the ability to translate genetic signals into credible biological or clinical insight, rather than on collecting new samples.

A wide range of applicant organizations are eligible. Eligible applicants include many types of U.S.-based public entities (state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities), U.S. higher education institutions (public/state-controlled and private institutions of higher education), Native American tribal governments that are federally recognized, and Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments. The announcement also permits applications from nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. It explicitly highlights additional eligible 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, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. This broad eligibility is consistent with NIH’s interest in drawing on a wide scientific workforce and encouraging participation from diverse institution types, including those that serve underrepresented populations.

At the same time, the announcement is explicit about restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply as applicant organizations, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. In addition, foreign components, as NIH defines them in its Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. In short, the applicant and all participating components need to be U.S.-based without foreign components under NIH’s definitions.

Administrative details in the source information include an original closing date of 2020-09-07 and a creation date of 2017-03-10. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided excerpt, which typically means applicants would need to consult the full funding announcement or related NIH guidance for budget limits, project period expectations, and anticipated award count. Overall, the grant is best understood as a targeted NIA initiative to maximize the scientific return on a major Alzheimer’s genomics investment by funding sophisticated analyses of existing ADSP follow-up GWAS and sequencing datasets under a cooperative agreement framework.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: Analysis of Data from NIA's Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project Follow-Up Study (U01)" 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 2017-03-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-09-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 PAR 17 214

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