Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (U19 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA AI 20 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AI 20 007

The Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (AADCRC) opportunity (RFA-AI-20-007) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement (U19) focused on building and supporting multi-project research centers that combine clinical and translational science to tackle major asthma and allergy-related diseases. The intent is to fund centers based at a single institution or formed as consortia across multiple institutions, with the expectation that teams will work in an integrated way rather than as isolated projects. Because this is a cooperative agreement, the NIH role is typically more collaborative than in a standard research grant, with substantial scientific involvement from the funding institute in coordinating, guiding, and aligning the center activities with program goals.

Scientifically, the program is aimed at understanding the mechanisms that drive the onset and progression of a set of closely related, high-burden inflammatory and hypersensitivity conditions. The diseases explicitly highlighted include asthma; rhinitis (both allergic and non-allergic); chronic rhinosinusitis; atopic dermatitis; food allergy; and drug allergy. The unifying theme is pathogenesis: applicants are expected to propose research that clarifies the biological and clinical processes that cause these conditions to begin, worsen, or persist, and to translate those insights into a rational basis for better treatments and prevention strategies. In practical terms, a competitive application would typically connect mechanistic studies (for example, immune pathways, epithelial barrier biology, host-microbe interactions, environmental triggers, genetics, or biomarkers) to clinically relevant questions, such as why certain patients progress to more severe disease, why some respond to specific therapies while others do not, or what early changes predict later development of asthma or allergy.

The FOA is “Clinical Trial Optional,” meaning applicants may include clinical trials if they are justified by the proposed aims, but a trial is not required. This gives flexibility to design a center around observational clinical studies, mechanistic studies using human samples, translational experiments that bridge lab findings to patient phenotypes, and, where appropriate, interventional trials that test prevention or treatment approaches grounded in the mechanistic framework developed by the center. The overall expectation is that the center structure enables coordinated projects and shared resources that accelerate progress beyond what separate R01-type projects would accomplish on their own.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based research and community organizations that can support the scope of a center-level program. Eligible applicants include a wide range of government entities (state, county, city or township, special district governments), independent school districts, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly welcomes applications from institutions and organizations that often serve underrepresented communities, including 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), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, and Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized (in addition to federally recognized tribal governments listed in the general eligibility set). This framing signals an interest in broad participation and, potentially, research approaches that are relevant to diverse populations and real-world clinical settings.

Foreign participation is limited in a specific way. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as the main applicant organization. However, “foreign components” as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, which generally means a U.S. applicant can include certain types of scientifically necessary work conducted abroad under NIH rules and oversight, even though a foreign institution cannot serve as the primary awardee.

From the administrative details provided, the opportunity falls under the NIH health research activity area and is associated with CFDA number 93.855. The original closing date listed is August 28, 2020, indicating this specific solicitation was time-bound to that cycle. The listed award ceiling is $900,000 (as presented in the source data), which can be read as an upper bound on the budget level anticipated by the announcement, although actual allowable budgets in NIH center programs can depend on the FOA’s detailed budget instructions and the final NIH award negotiations. The expected number of awards is not stated in the provided excerpt.

In essence, this FOA was designed to create coordinated research centers that can connect patient-oriented investigation with mechanistic discovery across asthma and a spectrum of allergic diseases, with the explicit purpose of turning improved understanding of disease biology into better, more targeted therapies and prevention approaches. The center model is meant to foster shared infrastructure, harmonized clinical and laboratory methods, and cross-project synergy so that advances in one area (for example, biomarker discovery in asthma) can quickly inform related areas (such as food allergy or atopic dermatitis) when the underlying biology overlaps.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (U19 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-03-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-08-28. (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 $900,000.00 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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