Expansion of Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN) (U01) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Expansion of Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN) (U01) funding opportunity (RFA-DK-12-017) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement designed to bring additional research sites into the existing LURN network. The central goal is to strengthen and broaden ongoing work on lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) by further validating symptom-based measurement tools and improving how researchers identify and describe distinct patient subgroups (phenotypes). In practical terms, NIH is supporting a coordinated, multi-site effort to make sure that symptom instruments and patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures accurately capture the full range of LUTD symptoms in both men and women, including symptoms that may appear early or late, come and go (transient), or persist over time.

A major emphasis of this opportunity is rigorous validation of symptom-based instruments and newly developed PRO measures. The network aims to confirm that these tools reliably measure what patients experience and report, and that they work well across different populations and clinical settings. Because LUTD symptoms can vary significantly by sex, timing, severity, and pattern, the FOA specifically highlights the need to measure and distinguish early, late, transient, and persistent symptoms. This kind of validated measurement is intended to improve research consistency across sites and ultimately make study findings more comparable and clinically meaningful.

The announcement also prioritizes deeper and more comprehensive patient characterization, often described as phenotyping. Added sites are expected not only to recruit participants with LUTD symptoms but also to conduct extensive assessments that help define clinically relevant phenotypes among men and women. The intent is to move beyond broad symptom labels and instead describe subgroups with shared characteristics, which can support better understanding of disease mechanisms, progression patterns, and potentially different responses to treatment. By expanding the network, NIH is aiming for larger and more diverse participant samples, which strengthens statistical power and helps determine whether identified phenotypes hold up across varied patient populations.

Operationally, the new research sites and an expanded Data Coordinating Center (DCC) are expected to adopt and implement study protocols already developed by current LURN investigators. This signals that the network is building on established methods rather than having each new site create its own approach. Key responsibilities for the added sites include following standardized protocols, enrolling and retaining eligible participants, administering and validating the PRO instruments, and completing the required phenotyping activities. The expanded DCC role is to support coordinated data management and study operations across the network, helping ensure that information collected at different sites is consistent, high quality, and suitable for combined analyses.

The award mechanism is a U01 cooperative agreement, which typically means NIH anticipates substantial scientific or programmatic involvement during the project period compared with a standard research grant. The opportunity is listed as discretionary and falls under CFDA 93.847 (Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research). There is no cost sharing or matching requirement.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations, such as public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) entities), state and local governments, tribal governments and tribal organizations, public housing authorities, independent school districts, special district governments, and for-profit organizations other than small businesses, as well as small businesses. The FOA also explicitly allows applications from non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions), non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations, and foreign components as permitted under NIH policy. It additionally notes eligibility for categories such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

The FOA was posted on August 31, 2012, and the original/current closing date listed is November 29, 2012, with an archive date of December 30, 2012. The NIH is the sponsoring agency, and the full announcement was made available through the NIH grants guide at the link provided in the source information. For access or technical issues, the contact listed is the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) Webmaster.

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