Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 13 021
Apply for RFA RM 13 021
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Exceptionally Innovative Tools and Technologies for Single Cell Analysis (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.310 Trans NIH Research Support.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 19, 2013 and posted on Dec 18, 2013.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 4, 2014. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $2,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities State governments Public and State controlled institutions of higher education City or township 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 County governments Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Special district governments Independent school districts Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) For profit organizations other than small businesses.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs) Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government Faith based or Community based Organizations Hispanic serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized) Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) Regional Organizations Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply. Non domestic (non U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed
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Opportunity Summary:
The NIH funding opportunity "Exceptionally Innovative Tools and Technologies for Single Cell Analysis (R21)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-RM-13-021) is a discretionary grant program aimed at supporting early-stage, high-risk, high-impact research to create next-generation technologies for single-cell analysis, especially in ways that preserve spatial context and capture cellular diversity directly in intact tissues or living systems. The central goal is to move beyond averaged measurements across mixed cell populations and instead develop tools that can reliably distinguish and characterize heterogeneous cellular states and classes in situ, where cells retain their native microenvironment, interactions, and structural organization. By targeting technology development rather than incremental biological studies, the FOA is essentially pushing applicants to invent and validate new ways of observing, measuring, and tracking individual cells as dynamic entities within complex biological settings.
A key expectation is that applicants clearly articulate what the current state of the art can and cannot do, and then use that as a benchmark for judging the proposed innovation. In practical terms, proposals are expected to define specific technical performance gaps (for example, limits in sensitivity, specificity, multiplexing, temporal resolution, spatial resolution, throughput, or scalability) and show how the proposed approach would represent a substantial leap rather than a modest improvement. The FOA emphasizes proof-of-concept testing in a complex biological tissue or a living organism, signaling that NIH is looking for technologies that function under realistic biological conditions, not only in simplified cell culture or overly controlled test systems. This requirement also implies that the project should include a credible plan for demonstrating feasibility, not just conceptual designs or early prototypes.
The types of advances the FOA highlights include substantially improved sensitivity and selectivity (detecting faint signals or rare molecular events while avoiding false positives), improved spatiotemporal resolution (pinpointing where signals arise in tissue and how they change over time), and improved scalability for measuring multiple global or functional features of single cells. "Multiple global or functional measures" points toward platforms that can interrogate more than one dimension of cell state, such as gene expression, epigenetic state, protein signaling, metabolic activity, electrophysiology, lineage history, or functional responses to stimuli, ideally in an integrated or parallel manner. Another major emphasis is minimizing perturbation to cells, including enabling viability for repeated measurements over time. That preference reflects a shift away from strictly destructive end-point assays toward approaches that can repeatedly sample or monitor the same cells, allowing researchers to capture trajectories such as differentiation, activation, stress responses, migration, or disease progression as they unfold.
From a broader impact perspective, the FOA frames these technologies as enablers of a more fine-grained, integrative, and dynamic view of cellular heterogeneity. This is particularly relevant in areas where cellular mixtures and state changes drive outcomes, such as cancer evolution and therapy resistance, immune responses and inflammation, neurobiology and circuit plasticity, development and regenerative medicine, and many chronic diseases where small subpopulations of cells can have outsized effects. The opportunity explicitly ties tool development to the long-term aim of transforming research on the cellular basis of disease, meaning successful projects should plausibly unlock new experimental questions or make previously inaccessible measurements routine.
Administratively, this is an NIH R21 mechanism, which typically aligns with exploratory and developmental projects that may be early stage and not yet supported by extensive preliminary data, but still need to show a strong rationale, a clear innovation case, and a realistic path to proof of concept. The program was posted December 18, 2013, created December 19, 2013, and had an original and current closing date of April 4, 2014, with an archive date of May 5, 2014. The estimated total funding listed is $2,000,000, and the award ceiling is $200,000. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
Eligibility is broad and includes academic institutions (public and private higher education), nonprofits (including 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations), small businesses and other for-profit organizations (other than small businesses are also included), and a wide range of governmental entities (state, county, city/township, special district, independent school districts, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities). It also explicitly includes tribal governments and tribal organizations, and a large set of mission-focused institution types such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and tribally controlled colleges and universities. Importantly, non-U.S. entities are eligible as well: foreign organizations, foreign institutions, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations may apply, and foreign components as defined by NIH policy are allowed. The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health, with CFDA number 93.310 (Trans-NIH Research Support). The full announcement was made available through the NIH grants guide at the link provided in the source text, and NIH’s Office of Extramural Research webmaster contact is listed for access and technical linking issues.
FAQs: NIH "Exceptionally Innovative Tools and Technologies for Single Cell Analysis (R21)" (RFA-RM-13-021)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is an NIH discretionary grant opportunity titled "Exceptionally Innovative Tools and Technologies for Single Cell Analysis (R21)," Funding Opportunity Number RFA-RM-13-021. It supports early-stage, high-risk, high-impact research focused on creating next-generation technologies for single-cell analysis.
What is the main goal of the program?
The central goal is to move beyond averaged measurements taken from mixed cell populations and instead develop tools that can distinguish and characterize heterogeneous cellular states and classes in situ. A major emphasis is on preserving spatial context and capturing cellular diversity directly in intact tissues or living systems, where cells retain their native microenvironment, interactions, and structural organization.
What kinds of projects does NIH want to fund under this FOA?
The FOA is aimed at technology development rather than incremental biological studies. It pushes applicants to invent and validate new tools and technologies for observing, measuring, and tracking individual cells as dynamic entities within complex biological settings.
Is this more about building tools or answering biological questions?
Based on the FOA description provided, the emphasis is on building and validating exceptionally innovative tools and technologies. The tool should plausibly enable new biological questions or make previously inaccessible measurements routine, but the primary focus is the technology itself rather than incremental biological discovery.
What does "single-cell analysis" mean in the context of this opportunity?
In this context, single-cell analysis refers to methods that can reliably distinguish and characterize individual cells (and their diverse states) rather than producing averaged readouts across mixed populations. The FOA particularly emphasizes doing this in intact tissues or living systems where spatial and microenvironmental context is preserved.
What is meant by preserving "spatial context"?
Preserving spatial context means measuring or observing cells in a way that keeps information about where each cell is located within an intact tissue or living system, along with its structural organization and interactions with neighboring cells and the local microenvironment.
What is NIH looking for in terms of innovation?
Applicants are expected to clearly describe what the current state of the art can and cannot do and use that as a benchmark. Proposals should identify specific technical performance gaps and show how the proposed approach would represent a substantial leap forward rather than a modest improvement.
What kinds of technical performance gaps should applicants address?
The FOA highlights gaps such as limits in sensitivity, specificity, multiplexing, temporal resolution, spatial resolution, throughput, and scalability. Proposals should define which gaps are most relevant to the proposed technology and how the project would close them in a meaningful way.
Does NIH require proof-of-concept testing?
Yes. The FOA emphasizes proof-of-concept testing in a complex biological tissue or a living organism. This signals that NIH is looking for technologies that work under realistic biological conditions, not only in simplified cell culture or overly controlled test systems.
Can projects be purely conceptual or limited to early prototypes?
The description indicates NIH expects more than conceptual designs alone. The project should include a credible plan for demonstrating feasibility, including proof-of-concept testing in complex tissue or a living organism.
What improvements does the FOA specifically highlight?
The FOA highlights substantially improved sensitivity and selectivity, improved spatiotemporal resolution, and improved scalability for measuring multiple global or functional features of single cells.
What does "improved sensitivity and selectivity" mean here?
It refers to detecting faint signals or rare molecular events while avoiding false positives. In practice, this means technologies that can pick up low-abundance events or rare cell states with high confidence.
What does "improved spatiotemporal resolution" mean here?
It refers to the ability to pinpoint where signals arise within tissue (spatial resolution) and track how those signals change over time (temporal resolution), especially in intact tissues or living systems.
What does "scalability" mean for this FOA?
Scalability refers to the ability to measure multiple features of single cells efficiently and potentially at higher throughput, or in ways that can be expanded to interrogate more targets, more cells, or more conditions.
What are "multiple global or functional measures" of single cells?
The FOA frames this as the ability to interrogate more than one dimension of cell state, potentially including gene expression, epigenetic state, protein signaling, metabolic activity, electrophysiology, lineage history, and functional responses to stimuli. The emphasis is on integrated or parallel measurements rather than a single narrow readout.
Does the FOA prioritize approaches that keep cells alive?
Yes. A major emphasis is minimizing perturbation to cells, including enabling viability for repeated measurements over time. This reflects a preference for approaches that can repeatedly sample or monitor the same cells rather than relying only on destructive end-point assays.
Why does NIH emphasize repeated measurements over time?
Repeated measurements can capture dynamic trajectories such as differentiation, activation, stress responses, migration, or disease progression as they unfold, rather than providing only a single snapshot.
What broader research areas could these technologies impact?
The FOA describes these tools as enabling a more fine-grained, integrative, and dynamic view of cellular heterogeneity. It calls out areas where cellular mixtures and state changes drive outcomes, including cancer evolution and therapy resistance, immune responses and inflammation, neurobiology and circuit plasticity, development and regenerative medicine, and chronic diseases where small subpopulations of cells can have outsized effects.
What is the grant mechanism for this opportunity?
This opportunity uses the NIH R21 mechanism, which typically aligns with exploratory and developmental projects that may be early stage and not yet supported by extensive preliminary data, but still must present a strong rationale, a clear case for innovation, and a realistic path to proof of concept.
How much total funding is estimated for this program?
The estimated total funding listed is $2,000,000.
What is the award ceiling?
The award ceiling is listed as $200,000.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
Who is the sponsoring agency?
The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
What is the CFDA number associated with this program?
The CFDA number is 93.310 (Trans-NIH Research Support).
When was the opportunity posted and created?
The program was posted on December 18, 2013, and created on December 19, 2013.
What were the closing and archive dates?
The original and current closing date was April 4, 2014, and the archive date was May 5, 2014.
Is this opportunity still open?
Based on the provided dates (closing date April 4, 2014, archive date May 5, 2014), this specific FOA is not open for new applications.
What types of organizations are eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes academic institutions (public and private higher education), nonprofits (including 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations), small businesses, and other for-profit organizations. It also includes a wide range of governmental entities (state, county, city/township, special district, independent school districts, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities).
Are tribal governments and tribal organizations eligible?
Yes. The FOA explicitly includes tribal governments and tribal organizations, and includes tribally controlled colleges and universities among the eligible institution types.
Are mission-focused institution types (like HBCUs and Hispanic-serving institutions) eligible?
Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and tribally controlled colleges and universities.
Are non-U.S. (foreign) organizations eligible to apply?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly states that foreign organizations, foreign institutions, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations may apply, and that foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are allowed.
Where was the full announcement made available?
The full announcement was made available through the NIH Grants Guide at the link referenced in the source text.
Who is listed as a contact for access or technical linking issues?
The NIH Office of Extramural Research webmaster contact is listed for access and technical linking issues.
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Previous opportunity: Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE FOA 0000991
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