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Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)

The Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) intends to promote a new initiative by publishing a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit applications aimed at developing broadly applicable technologies, tools, and resources for validating animal models and enhancing rigor, reproducibility, and translatability of animal research.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

The FOA is expected to be published on November 04, 2022, with an expected application due date on January 06, 2023.

This FOA will utilize the R24 activity code. Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

ORIP intends to support research-related resource projects aimed at developing broadly applicable technologies, tools, and resources for validating animal models and enhancing rigor, reproducibility, and translatability of animal research. This initiative will seek projects that address key animal resource- and technology-related gaps identified in the Validation of Animal Models and Tools for Biomedical Research workshop organized by ORIP and its Institute and Center (IC) Partners.

ORIP advances the NIH mission by supporting research infrastructure and research-related resource programs, including animal models and facilities for research relevant to human health and diseases (for more details see ORIP Strategic Plan for 2021-2025). Proposed studies, models, resources, or technologies under this initiative must either address research interests of multiple NIH ICs, explore multiple organ systems, or be applicable to diseases and processes that impact multiple organ systems. Applications are not acceptable and will be withdrawn if they only address a specific disease or area of research, are relevant to the mission and programs of a single IC or are related predominantly to the interest of one IC and only peripherally to the interests of other ICs.

Examples of projects suitable for this initiative include but are not limited to:

• Generation of a large quantity of animal models by using high-efficiency gene editing technologies, including gene mutation and tagging.
• Nanobodies for identification or detection of a large quantity of proteins expressed in model organisms involved in multiple body systems or disease processes, such as metabolism, cell signaling, and immune responses, especially protein targets that are conserved across species.
• Antibodies that can modulate the function of endogenous proteins for animal research relevant to multiple areas of human health and disease.
• Biosensors for genotypic, phenotypic, physiological, or metabolomic monitoring in animal models.
• Animal models or resources that facilitate detecting and understanding protein-protein interactions in cells and organelles at large scale.
• High-throughput, high-efficiency, and high-resolution imaging technologies, analytic tools, or atlases for visualization and integrative analysis of cells and cellular networks across animal species, especially tools that can be broadly and easily utilized by the research community.
• High-throughput technologies, including informatic, genetic, and biochemical technologies, to facilitate systematic animal model phenotyping at multiple scales (single-cell, tissue, organ, whole organism) or for integrating different types of related data (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, morphology, behavior).
• Artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) tools to integrate collection of multi-omics, biochemical, physiological, morphological, and behavioral data from animal models, or AI or ML strategies that allow user-friendly informatic searches and integrative mining of bioinformatic and phenomic data for comparative human-animal biology.
• Technologies to improve the efficiency, reliability, and accuracy of developing animal models by means of xenotransplantation of human cells or by engineering the models to express human gene products.

Examples of projects that will NOT be supported under this initiative include but are not limited to those that:

• Focus on genomic sequencing of model organisms.
• Primarily focus on creating, expanding, or maintaining genomic or other types of databases.
• Create or maintain individual model organism databases.
• Develop or distribute wild-type animals and related biospecimens treated with diet, drug(s), toxin(s), infectious agent(s), or other environmental factors.
• Develop or distribute wild-type animals and related biospecimens subjected to physical or surgical manipulations.
• Involve threatened or endangered species.
• Develop, expand, or maintain repositories of specific tissues and related biospecimens (e.g., RNA extracts, processed tissues) from research organisms.

Applications submitted under this initiative should aim to enhance the rigor, reproducibility, and translatability of animal research through the development of resources and technologies that have significant impact across a broad range of research areas using animal models. Applications must demonstrate how the proposed resources and technologies impact rigor and reproducibility of animal studies. Demonstration of the impact of the proposed project on translatability is not required but is a strength. Applications for developing a limited quantity of resources are not suitable for this FOA but may be appropriate for the Notice(s) related to R21 funding opportunity announcements supported by ORIP.

Investigators interested in submitting applications are strongly encouraged to contact ORIP program staff before submission to discuss whether their research plans are appropriate for and responsive to this initiative. Applications with projects outside the areas of interest of this initiative will be considered nonresponsive and will be administratively withdrawn.

Applications are not being solicited at this time.

Please direct all inquiries to:

Stephanie J. Murphy, VMD, PhD
Office of Research Infrastructure Program (ORIP)
Telephone: 301-451-7818
Email: stephanie.murphy@nih.gov

Sige Zou, PhD
Office of Research Infrastructure Program (ORIP)
Telephone: 301-435-0749
Email: sige.zou@nih.gov