Using Omics to Define Human Placental Development and Function Across Pregnancy (R01) | RFA HD 16 036

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the funding opportunity?

Using Omics to Define Human Placental Development and Function Across Pregnancy (R01) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity that supports research to build detailed, gestation-spanning omics profiles of the human placenta. The focus is on mapping how placental development and function change across pregnancy using modern high-throughput approaches.

What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is RFA-HD-16-036.

What NIH grant mechanism does this opportunity use?

This opportunity uses the R01 research project grant mechanism.

What is the main scientific goal of the FOA?

The central goal is to generate comprehensive omics profiles of the human placenta across gestation in order to clarify normal placental biology at different gestational stages and establish foundational reference information for the field.

What kinds of omics approaches are specifically within scope?

The FOA highlights high-throughput approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and related multi-omics strategies.

Is the emphasis primarily on discovering new findings or building shared resources?

A major emphasis is resource building for the broader research community, not only producing results for a single lab or consortium. Funded projects are expected to create a community resource consisting of research resources, complex datasets, and associated metadata that are broadly available and shared.

What types of outputs are expected from funded projects?

Projects are expected to produce high-value, well-annotated omics datasets and supporting materials that other investigators can reuse, reanalyze, and integrate with their own studies. The FOA emphasizes well-documented datasets and associated metadata intended to function as foundational reference information.

Why does the FOA emphasize datasets and metadata?

The intent is to create a broadly useful community resource. Well-annotated datasets and associated metadata make it possible for other researchers to reuse and integrate the information, helping accelerate innovation in placental science beyond the original awardee team.

How does this FOA connect to longer-term goals in placental science?

The long-term vision includes accelerating innovation in placental research by creating a foundation that can support integration with emerging technologies, including efforts aiming to enable safe, real-time assessment of placental status in vivo during pregnancy.

What is the subject area or activity classification for this opportunity?

The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant within the Health, Income Security and Social Services activity area and is associated with CFDA 93.865.

What is the award ceiling listed for this FOA?

The award ceiling is listed at $500,000.

When was this funding opportunity created?

The creation date shown is September 17, 2015.

What is the closing date listed for this funding opportunity?

The original closing date shown is December 18, 2015.

Is this described as a current/open opportunity or a historical announcement?

Based on the creation date (September 17, 2015) and the original closing date (December 18, 2015), the information provided indicates this is a specific historical announcement rather than an open-ended program description.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic U.S. applicants as well as certain international entities. The FOA lists multiple eligible organization types across government, education, nonprofit, for-profit, small business, tribal, and other categories.

Which U.S. government entities are eligible applicants?

Eligible U.S. government applicants include state governments; county governments; city or township governments; special district governments; and other eligible entities as listed in the FOA.

Are educational institutions eligible to apply?

Yes. Eligible applicants include independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and private institutions of higher education. The FOA also calls out specific institution types such as HBCUs, TCCUs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and AANAPISIs.

Are nonprofit organizations eligible?

Yes. The FOA includes nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education) and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education). It also explicitly includes faith-based or community-based organizations.

Are for-profit organizations eligible?

Yes. The FOA includes for-profit organizations other than small businesses and also includes small businesses.

Are tribal entities eligible to apply?

Yes. Eligibility includes federally recognized Native American tribal governments, Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments), and Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized.

Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?

Yes. The FOA explicitly includes U.S. territories or possessions among additional eligible applicants.

Are non-U.S. (foreign) organizations eligible?

Yes. The FOA explicitly includes non-U.S. (foreign) organizations among eligible applicants.

What types of research teams is this opportunity designed for?

This opportunity is designed for teams that can combine rigorous placental biology with strong omics and data-generation capabilities, along with a clear plan for producing standardized, well-documented, shareable datasets intended to serve as a lasting community resource.

Does the FOA focus on placental health and disease?

The primary emphasis described is on clarifying normal placental biology across gestational stages and producing foundational reference information. That reference foundation is described as something the field can use to better understand placental health and disease.

What does "gestation-spanning" mean in the context of this FOA?

Within the information provided, "gestation-spanning" refers to building omics profiles of the human placenta across pregnancy, with the goal of mapping changes in placental development and function across gestational stages.

What makes this opportunity different from a typical single-lab research project?

The FOA places a major emphasis on creating broadly available resources (datasets and metadata) intended for reuse by the wider research community, rather than focusing solely on findings that primarily benefit one laboratory or consortium.

What is meant by a "community resource" in this FOA?

In this opportunity, a community resource refers to research resources, complex datasets, and associated metadata that are broadly available and shared so other investigators can reuse, reanalyze, and integrate the outputs into their own work.