Nutrition for Precision Health, powered by the All of Us Research Program: Metabolomics and Clinical Assays Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA RM 21 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 21 002

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued this discretionary funding opportunity (RFA-RM-21-002) to support a Metabolomics and Clinical Assays Center (MCAC) as part of the Nutrition for Precision Health Consortium, which is powered by the All of Us Research Program. The award mechanism is a U24 cooperative agreement, meaning the funded center would not operate as a stand-alone grantee working in isolation, but rather as a core, service-oriented hub that coordinates closely with NIH and other consortium components under substantial NIH programmatic involvement. The FOA is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," so the work is expected to focus on laboratory and analytical activities, method implementation, and consortium support functions rather than running interventional clinical studies.

At its core, the opportunity is about building or designating a centralized capability to generate high-quality molecular and clinical measurement data from biospecimens collected in the broader Nutrition for Precision Health effort. The MCAC is expected to do two main things. First, it must generate targeted and non-targeted metabolite profiles, which typically implies both hypothesis-driven panels (targeted assays for specific metabolites of interest) and discovery-oriented profiling (broad, non-targeted metabolomics to capture a wide array of small molecules). Second, it must perform or facilitate clinical assays using blood, urine, and stool samples. In practice, this means the center would either run clinical chemistry and related assays in-house or coordinate with qualified laboratories to ensure those assays are completed to appropriate standards, with strong attention to quality control, reproducibility, and data harmonization across the consortium.

The types of applicants NIH is willing to consider are broad, reflecting the infrastructure-like nature of the award and NIH's interest in wide participation. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISISs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. On the international side, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant; however, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations may participate, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are allowed, which generally means specific foreign collaborations can be included when well-justified and properly structured under a U.S.-based applicant.

Administratively, the opportunity sits in the NIH health funding category and is associated with CFDA number 93.310. The FOA was created on January 21, 2021, with an original application closing date of April 6, 2021. The source text does not provide an award ceiling or the number of expected awards, so applicants would need to refer to the full FOA or NIH materials for budget expectations and anticipated funding levels. Overall, the grant is designed to stand up a consortium-facing laboratory and assay resource that can produce standardized metabolomics and clinical assay outputs from key biospecimens (blood, urine, stool) to enable nutrition and precision health research at scale within the All of Us-enabled program.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Nutrition for Precision Health, powered by the All of Us Research Program: Metabolomics and Clinical Assays Center (U24 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): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-01-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-04-06. (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 RM 21 002

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