Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 16 020
Apply for RFA RM 16 020
- The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Facile Methods and Technologies for Synthesis of Biomedically Relevant Carbohydrates (U01)" 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 Sep 15, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 28, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
- 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Opportunity Summary:
Facile Methods and Technologies for Synthesis of Biomedically Relevant Carbohydrates (U01) is an NIH Common Fund funding opportunity that sits within the Accelerating Translation of Glycoscience Integration and Accessibility initiative. The central idea is to lower the practical barriers that have historically kept many biomedical labs from working with carbohydrates (glycans) by supporting the creation of tools, methods, and enabling technologies that make glycan synthesis and modification much easier, faster, and cheaper. The bigger program goal is to broaden participation in glycoscience by giving non-specialist biomedical researchers realistic ways to access well-defined carbohydrates and glyco-conjugates, so they can investigate how these molecules influence health and disease without needing highly specialized synthesis expertise or infrastructure.
The scientific focus of the opportunity is on developing new approaches for the rapid, robust, and affordable synthesis and/or functionalization of biomedically relevant glycans and glyco-conjugates. In practice, that means proposals are expected to advance chemistry and technology that can reliably produce important carbohydrate structures in forms that are actually usable in downstream biomedical experiments. The FOA specifically highlights catalytic methods, purely chemical approaches, and chemo-enzymatic strategies, along with broader synthesis technologies. The end goal is not just incremental improvements, but genuinely more “facile†routes that reduce time, cost, and technical complexity while improving reproducibility and scalability.
A key feature is that the targeted products should represent two major domains of biological importance: (1) mammalian glycomes and (2) microbial glycans. Mammalian glycomes include the diverse glycans found on human and other mammalian proteins and lipids, which are central to cell-cell communication, immune recognition, receptor function, inflammation, and many disease processes. Microbial glycans include carbohydrate structures from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, which often drive host-pathogen interactions, immune evasion, vaccine antigenicity, and microbiome-related biology. By emphasizing both mammalian and microbial carbohydrate targets, the FOA aims to support a toolkit that can impact a wide range of biomedical areas, from cancer and autoimmune disease to infectious disease and vaccine development.
This opportunity uses the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning funded projects are typically expected to involve substantial NIH programmatic involvement compared with a standard research grant. Cooperative agreements often come with an emphasis on milestone-driven progress, coordination, and practical deliverables, reflecting the Common Fund’s goal of building widely usable capabilities rather than supporting purely curiosity-driven work. The program’s intent is strongly translational in the sense of translation to community use: methods and technologies should be positioned to become accessible resources that enable many other researchers to conduct glycan-focused experiments.
Administratively, the funding opportunity is issued by the Department of Health and Human Services through the National Institutes of Health. It is labeled as a discretionary grant opportunity in the health activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.310. The funding opportunity number is RFA-RM-16-020, and it was created on September 15, 2016, with an original closing date of November 28, 2016. The expected number of awards is six, with an award ceiling of $500,000, indicating a moderate-sized portfolio designed to seed multiple complementary solutions rather than a single large center.
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of applicants across the public, nonprofit, academic, and private sectors. Eligible entities include state, county, city, and 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 and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations as allowed by NIH eligibility language. This wide eligibility aligns with the FOA’s technology-development emphasis, since strong solutions may come from academic synthetic chemistry groups, engineering and automation teams, platform technology companies, or hybrid academic-industry collaborations.
Taken together, the grant opportunity is essentially a call to build better “on-ramps†to glycoscience: new catalytic and chemo-enzymatic routes, improved chemical synthesis strategies, and practical technologies that make it straightforward to obtain and tailor the glycans and glyco-conjugates that biomedical researchers need. The intended impact is to accelerate discovery by making carbohydrate structure and function studies more routine, reproducible, and affordable across mainstream biomedical research, thereby expanding what scientists can test about the roles of glycans in physiology, pathology, and host-microbe interactions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
Facile Methods and Technologies for Synthesis of Biomedically Relevant Carbohydrates (U01) is an NIH Common Fund funding opportunity within the Accelerating Translation of Glycoscience Integration and Accessibility initiative. It supports the development of tools, methods, and enabling technologies that make glycan (carbohydrate) synthesis and modification easier, faster, cheaper, and more reproducible for biomedical research.
What is the main goal of the program?
The central goal is to lower practical barriers that have historically limited non-specialist biomedical labs from working with glycans. The program aims to broaden participation in glycoscience by enabling researchers to access well-defined carbohydrates and glyco-conjugates without needing highly specialized synthesis expertise or infrastructure.
What kinds of projects is NIH looking for under this FOA?
Projects are expected to develop new approaches for rapid, robust, and affordable synthesis and/or functionalization of biomedically relevant glycans and glyco-conjugates. The emphasis is on approaches that produce carbohydrate structures in forms that are usable in downstream biomedical experiments, with improvements in time, cost, technical complexity, reproducibility, and scalability.
What scientific approaches does the FOA highlight?
The FOA specifically calls out catalytic methods, purely chemical approaches, and chemo-enzymatic strategies, along with broader synthesis technologies that can make glycan synthesis and modification more straightforward and accessible.
What is meant by "facile" routes in this context?
"Facile" refers to methods and technologies that meaningfully reduce the burden of glycan work, including lowering cost, shortening timelines, reducing technical complexity, improving reproducibility, and supporting scalability. The intent is to move beyond incremental improvements toward approaches that substantially change what is practical for typical biomedical laboratories.
What products or outputs are expected from funded projects?
The opportunity is geared toward practical deliverables: tools, methods, and enabling technologies that reliably generate important glycans and glyco-conjugates in usable forms for biomedical experiments. The broader program intent is that these capabilities become accessible resources that enable many other researchers.
What types of carbohydrate targets are in scope?
The FOA emphasizes two major domains of biological importance: (1) mammalian glycomes and (2) microbial glycans. Projects should align with producing and/or enabling access to glycans and glyco-conjugates relevant to these domains.
What are mammalian glycomes, and why are they important?
Mammalian glycomes include the diverse glycans found on human and other mammalian proteins and lipids. These glycans are central to processes such as cell-cell communication, immune recognition, receptor function, inflammation, and many disease mechanisms.
What are microbial glycans, and why are they important?
Microbial glycans are carbohydrate structures from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. They often influence host-pathogen interactions, immune evasion, vaccine antigenicity, and microbiome-related biology, making them highly relevant for infectious disease and immunology research.
Does the FOA require addressing both mammalian and microbial glycans?
The FOA emphasizes both domains to support a toolkit with broad biomedical impact. Based on the provided description, proposals are expected to target products representing these major domains of biological importance.
How is this FOA intended to impact biomedical research?
The intended impact is to make carbohydrate structure and function studies more routine, reproducible, and affordable across mainstream biomedical research. By making it easier to access well-defined glycans and glyco-conjugates, the program aims to accelerate discoveries about how glycans influence health, disease, and host-microbe interactions.
What funding mechanism is used for this opportunity?
This opportunity uses the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism.
What does a U01 cooperative agreement imply for applicants?
A U01 typically involves substantial NIH programmatic involvement compared with a standard research grant. Cooperative agreements often emphasize milestone-driven progress, coordination, and practical deliverables, consistent with the Common Fund goal of building widely usable capabilities rather than supporting purely curiosity-driven work.
Is this opportunity focused on basic research or translation?
The focus is strongly translational in the sense of translation to community use. The program is intended to produce methods and technologies positioned to become accessible resources that enable many other researchers to conduct glycan-focused experiments.
Which agency is issuing this funding opportunity?
The funding opportunity is issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
What is the funding opportunity number?
The funding opportunity number is RFA-RM-16-020.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
This opportunity is associated with CFDA number 93.310.
When was this funding opportunity created, and what was the original closing date?
It was created on September 15, 2016, and the original closing date was November 28, 2016.
How many awards are expected?
The expected number of awards is six.
What is the award ceiling?
The award ceiling is $500,000.
What does the expected number of awards suggest about the program portfolio?
With six expected awards and a $500,000 ceiling, the FOA appears designed to seed multiple complementary solutions rather than concentrate funding in a single large center.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes entities across government, nonprofit, academic, and private sectors, consistent with the technology-development emphasis of the program.
What government entities are eligible?
Eligible government applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.
Are tribal organizations eligible?
Yes. Other Native American tribal organizations (in addition to federally recognized tribal governments) are listed as eligible.
Are schools and universities eligible?
Yes. Eligible applicants include independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and other eligible education-related entities as described.
Are nonprofits eligible?
Yes. Nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status are eligible, with the noted exclusion language in the description (excluding institutions of higher education within those nonprofit categories).
Are for-profit organizations eligible?
Yes. For-profit organizations other than small businesses are eligible, and small businesses are also eligible.
Are public housing authorities eligible?
Yes. Public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities are listed as eligible.
Why is eligibility so broad for this FOA?
The FOA is focused on technology and method development, and strong solutions may come from academic synthetic chemistry groups, engineering and automation teams, platform technology companies, or collaborative efforts that bridge academic and industry capabilities.
What kinds of biomedical areas could benefit from the methods developed under this FOA?
The FOA frames potential impact across a wide range of areas, including cancer, autoimmune disease, infectious disease, vaccine development, and microbiome-related biology, reflecting the broad roles glycans play in physiology, pathology, and host-microbe interactions.
What is the overall "big picture" purpose of the opportunity?
It is essentially a call to build better on-ramps to glycoscience by developing catalytic and chemo-enzymatic routes, improved chemical synthesis strategies, and practical technologies that make it straightforward for many biomedical researchers to obtain and tailor the glycans and glyco-conjugates needed for experiments.
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