Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 18 600
The NIH Blueprint grant opportunity titled "Development and Validation of Technologies for Rapid Isolation and Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles of Central Nervous System Origin" (RFA-MH-18-600) is aimed at pushing forward practical, high-performance methods to isolate and study extracellular vesicles (EVs) that specifically come from the central nervous system (CNS). EVs are small, membrane-bound particles released by cells that carry molecular cargo such as RNA, proteins, lipids, and metabolites. Because CNS tissue is difficult to access in living people, the ability to reliably capture CNS-derived EVs from peripheral, more easily collected samples (for example, blood or other non-CNS fluids) could open up new ways to study brain biology, neurological disease mechanisms, and potentially future diagnostic approaches. The core emphasis of this announcement is not on running clinical trials, but on building and validating the underlying technology needed to make CNS-EV work more robust, reproducible, and informative.
A central problem this FOA is trying to solve is that isolating CNS-origin EVs from peripheral samples is technically challenging. Peripheral fluids contain a huge mixture of EVs and other particles released from many tissues throughout the body, along with proteins and other contaminants that can interfere with downstream measurements. NIH is therefore seeking approaches that can isolate and purify CNS-EVs in a way that is consistent across experiments and users, and that produces material of sufficient quality for careful molecular characterization. Successful applications are expected to go beyond incremental tweaks to existing methods and instead deliver genuinely improved tools or platforms that make CNS-EV isolation more specific, cleaner, faster, and more reproducible. Alongside isolation, the FOA also highlights the importance of characterizing what types of CNS-EVs are being captured, what cargo they carry, and how confidently their CNS origin can be established.
The opportunity uses the R21/R33 phased innovation mechanism and explicitly states that clinical trials are not allowed. In practice, the R21 phase is meant to support early, proof-of-concept development of a new technology or tool, while the R33 phase supports expansion and validation once feasibility has been demonstrated and agreed-upon milestones have been met. This structure is designed to encourage higher-risk, higher-reward engineering and methodological work, while still requiring a clear path to a validated, usable technology. Validation in this context can include demonstrating performance across multiple sample types or conditions, showing reproducibility, benchmarking against existing approaches, and proving that the isolated EVs can support downstream analyses. The FOA specifically notes that validation may involve characterizing the full breadth of EV composition, including RNA, proteins, lipids, and metabolites, reflecting NIH interest in platforms that enable multi-omic or integrative profiling rather than single-measure readouts.
From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity from the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, under multiple CFDA program numbers, reflecting participation across NIH components that make up the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research. The award ceiling listed is $200,000, and the FOA anticipated around six awards, indicating a competitive and targeted program focused on a small set of strong technology-development projects. The original posting date was November 6, 2017, with an original closing date of January 22, 2018.
Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types that can credibly develop biomedical research tools: state, county, and city governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled universities; private higher education institutions; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other entities as described in the FOA. This wide eligibility reflects the reality that enabling technologies for EV isolation and characterization can come from academic labs, engineering groups, biotech companies, and cross-sector partnerships.
Overall, the FOA is best understood as a technology and methods acceleration effort: NIH is looking for tools that can pull out CNS-derived extracellular vesicles from peripheral samples with high specificity and cleanliness, then reliably characterize their type, cargo, and origin, with validation strong enough to support further biological studies. The end goal is to make CNS-EV analysis more rigorous and accessible so that downstream neuroscience and neuro disease research can rely on well-validated, reproducible EV-based measurements.Apply for RFA MH 18 600
- The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIH Blue Print: Development and Validation of Technologies for Rapid Isolation and Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles of Central Nervous System Origin (R21/R33 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.121, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.350, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
- This funding opportunity was created on Nov 06, 2017.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 22, 2018. (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.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
- 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal:
Browse more opportunities from the same category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services
Next opportunity: Museum Grants for African American History and Culture
Previous opportunity: FOA: State Energy Program 2017 Competitive Awards
Applicant Portal:
Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.
Apply for RFA MH 18 600
Applicants also applied for:
Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (RFA MH 18 600) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award (F99/K00) Apply for RFA NS 18 007 Funding Number: RFA NS 18 007 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Household Air Pollution (HAP) Health Outcomes Trial (UM1) Apply for RFA HL 16 012 Funding Number: RFA HL 16 012 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $5,075,000 |
| NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award (F99/K00) Apply for RFA NS 17 009 Funding Number: RFA NS 17 009 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of Genomics Small Research Grant Program (R03) Apply for PA 17 445 Funding Number: PA 17 445 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of Genomics Research Project Grant Program (R01) Apply for PA 17 444 Funding Number: PA 17 444 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of Genomics Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (R21) Apply for PA 17 446 Funding Number: PA 17 446 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research: Dynamic Neuroimmune Interactions in the Transition from Normal CNS Function to Disorders (R01) Apply for RFA AA 18 007 Funding Number: RFA AA 18 007 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| Research on Transgender Health (R01) Apply for PA 17 478 Funding Number: PA 17 478 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Research on Transgender Health (R21) Apply for PA 17 477 Funding Number: PA 17 477 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Innovative Approaches or Technologies to Investigate Regional, Structural and Functional Heterogeneity of CNS Small Blood and Lymphatic Vessels (R01) Apply for RFA NS 18 003 Funding Number: RFA NS 18 003 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| Human Studies of Target Identification, Biomarkers and Disease Mechanisms Specific to CNS Small Blood and Lymphatic Vessels (R01) Apply for RFA NS 18 004 Funding Number: RFA NS 18 004 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $499,000 |
| Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 007 Funding Number: PAR 18 007 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 017 Funding Number: PAR 18 017 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Bioengineering Research Grants (BRG) (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 206 Funding Number: PAR 18 206 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Bioengineering Research Partnerships (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 208 Funding Number: PAR 18 208 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 488 Funding Number: PA 18 488 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Research Centers of Excellence (U54 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 657 Funding Number: PAR 18 657 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $2,000,000 |
| Research on the Health of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Populations (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PA 18 728 Funding Number: PA 18 728 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Research on the Health of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PA 18 729 Funding Number: PA 18 729 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| NIH Blueprint Program for Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences (R25) Apply for RFA NS 19 007 Funding Number: RFA NS 19 007 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Environment, Health, Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
Grant application guides and resources
It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!
Apply for Grants
Inside Our Applicants Portal
Access Applicants Portal
- Grants Repository - Access current and historic funding opportunities with ease. Thousands of funding opportunities are published every week. We can help you sort through the database and find the eligible ones to apply for.
- Applicant Video Guides - The grant application process can be challenging to follow. We can help you with intuitive video guides to speed up the process and eliminate errors in submissions.
- Grant Proposal Wizard - We have developed a network of private funding organizations and investors across the United States. We can reach out and submit your proposal to these contacts to maximize your chances of getting the funding you need.
Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers
Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.
If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.
Learn More
Request more information:
Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "RFA MH 18 600", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:
Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.