Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for The Rare Diseases Clinical Research Consortia (U54)

Notice Number: NOT-TR-13-004

Release Date: February 1, 2013
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: April 2013
First Estimated Application Due Date: September/October 2013
Earliest Estimated Award Date: July/August 2014
Earliest Estimated Start Date: July/August 2014

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

The Purpose of this Notice is to indicate the intent to publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to continue the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) Program and to alert potential applicants of the objectives of this cooperative agreement program.  This FOA will be open to current Rare Diseases Clinical Research Consortia (RDCRC) as well as to new applicants.

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 in Spring 2013 with an expected application due date in Fall 2013.

This FOA will utilize the U54 activity code. Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

The purpose of this cooperative research program is to facilitate clinical research in rare diseases through support for 1) collaborative clinical research in rare diseases, including longitudinal studies of individuals with rare diseases, clinical studies and/or pilot and demonstration projects; 2) training of clinical investigators in rare diseases research; 3) a test bed for distributed clinical data management that incorporates novel approaches and technologies for data management, data mining, and data sharing across rare diseases, data types, and platforms; and 4) access to information related to rare diseases for basic and clinical researchers, academic and practicing physicians, patients, and the lay public. Each RDCRC must include a consortium of clinical investigators, institutions, and relevant organizations, including patient support organizations, for the study of a subgroup of a minimum of three rare diseases. This cooperative program will facilitate identification of biomarkers for disease risk, disease severity/activity, and measures of clinical outcome appropriate for applicability to clinical trials and encourage development of new approaches to diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of rare diseases.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Please direct all inquiries via email to:

Rashmi Gopal-Srivastava, Ph.D.
Office of Rare Diseases Research
National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS)
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 100, MSC 4874
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4874
Phone: 301-402-4336
Email: gopalr@mail.nih.gov

Or

Stephen C. Groft, Pharm. D.
Director, Office of Rare Diseases Research
National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS)
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 1001, MSC 4874
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4874
Phone: 301-435-6041
Email: Stephen.Groft@nih.gov