Structural Biology of Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (ADRDs) Proteinopathies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA NS 18 015

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 18 015

The NIH funding opportunity "Structural Biology of Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (ADRDs) Proteinopathies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (RFA-NS-18-015) is designed to push forward detailed structural understanding of the abnormal protein species that drive or mark Alzheimer’s disease related dementias. The central idea is to fund projects that can directly visualize and define these disease-linked proteins at high resolution, focusing on the kinds of misfolded, aggregated, or otherwise altered protein assemblies often referred to as "proteinopathies." The announcement ties this work to priority research needs identified in the 2016 update to the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, signaling that the program is meant to address recognized gaps in what is known about the physical forms and structural diversity of ADRD-associated proteins.

A key feature of this FOA is its strong emphasis on cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) as the primary methods. Applicants are expected to use these approaches to structurally characterize protein species as they exist in biologically relevant contexts, specifically proteins expressed in human tissues and cell sources. In practice, that means the program is oriented toward studying disease-relevant material rather than relying only on simplified model systems, with the goal of capturing structures that reflect what is actually present in human disease and in human-derived cellular environments. Cryo-EM supports high-resolution structural determination of isolated or enriched protein assemblies, while cryo-ET can provide 3D context and architecture in more native-like settings, so the FOA encourages the kind of structural insight that can connect molecular form to cellular and tissue-level organization.

Beyond producing structural maps, the FOA also expects projects to generate enabling research tools and resources that help the broader community further characterize and validate the protein species being studied. This resource-development component is important because structural findings often need independent confirmation and follow-on experiments, and because standardized tools (for example, reagents, workflows, or shared reference data) can reduce duplication and make results more comparable across labs. While the announcement does not list specific required resource types in the provided text, the intent is clear: funded teams should not only answer their own structural questions but also leave behind assets that make it easier for other researchers to detect, compare, and interpret these ADRD-associated protein forms.

The mechanism is a U01 cooperative agreement, which generally indicates substantial NIH program involvement compared with a typical investigator-initiated grant. In a cooperative agreement, the funded research is still carried out by the award recipients, but there is usually closer coordination with NIH staff around milestones, data/resource sharing expectations, and programmatic alignment with the FOA’s goals. The FOA is categorized under health research and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.853 and 93.866. Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed under this opportunity, so applications need to be structured as non-clinical-trial research even if they use human tissues or human-derived materials.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; certain tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, HBCUs, tribally controlled colleges and universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions, reflecting an intent to include a wide range of institutional settings.

On foreign participation, the rules are somewhat specific. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-U.S. institutions are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. However, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are eligible to apply, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are allowed. Put simply, the lead applicant needs to be a qualifying U.S. organization, but parts of the work can involve foreign components when allowable under NIH policy and justified by the project needs.

Administrative details from the source data include an original closing date of April 30, 2018, and a creation date of February 7, 2018. The funding instrument type is listed as a cooperative agreement, and the award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided excerpt. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted NIH effort to accelerate rigorous, high-resolution structural biology of ADRD-related protein species using cryo-EM and cryo-ET, while also building practical tools and resources that help validate and extend those structural discoveries across the research community.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Structural Biology of Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (ADRDs) Proteinopathies (U01 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): 93.853, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-02-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-04-30. (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 RFA NS 18 015

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: