From Association to Function in the Alzheimers Disease Post Genomics Era (R01) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the title and ID of this funding opportunity?

The opportunity is titled "From Association to Function in the Alzheimers Disease Post Genomics Era (R01)" and the announcement ID is RFA-AG-17-010.

Which agency and NIH Institute are offering this grant?

This is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity issued by the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

What is the overall purpose of this FOA?

The purpose is to move Alzheimers disease (AD) genetics beyond statistical association and toward biological understanding by translating AD-associated genetic findings into protein-level functional insight.

What specific Alzheimers disease genetics does the FOA focus on?

It targets the large set of genetic variants identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for sporadic and late-onset Alzheimers disease.

What is the central scientific goal described in the announcement?

The central goal is to clarify what AD-associated genetic variants do at the protein level, including how they influence protein structure, activity, interactions, and regulation, as well as effects on protein complexes.

Is this FOA focused on deep mechanistic studies of a single pathway?

No. The FOA emphasizes earlier-stage functional translation rather than immediately pursuing deep, single-pathway mechanistic dissection. The intent is to generate functional readouts that help prioritize which genetic signals are biologically meaningful and how they connect to relevant cellular phenotypes.

What kinds of research approaches are emphasized?

The FOA emphasizes platform and pipeline development for functional characterization, including more effective and integrated approaches to screen protein function, map protein-protein interactions, define protein complexes, and measure how different AD variants alter those properties.

What types of functional effects of variants are highlighted as outcomes of interest?

Examples include altered protein-protein interactions, disrupted protein complex assembly, changes in protein stability or localization, and variant-specific regulatory differences.

Does the FOA encourage scalable approaches that can address multiple genes or variants?

Yes. The description points toward scalable or semi-scalable experimental systems that can take multiple candidate genes/variants from GWAS and rapidly generate functional readouts.

How does this FOA position the work relative to downstream hypothesis-driven research?

Projects are meant to bridge the gap between variant discovery and downstream hypothesis-driven work by creating robust ways to test variant-driven protein and complex changes before committing to intensive mechanistic studies.

What role do protein complexes and protein-protein interactions play in this announcement?

They are a major theme. The FOA explicitly calls for approaches that map protein-protein interactions, define protein complexes, and determine how AD-associated variants change interaction networks and complex behavior.

What does the FOA say about innovation and collaboration?

It stresses innovation and collaboration, encouraging teams to combine complementary expertise to generate integrated functional insights grounded in human genetic evidence.

What types of expertise are specifically mentioned as complementary?

Examples listed include human genetics, proteomics, structural biology, cell biology, computational analysis, and assay development.

What outcomes are expected from projects funded under this FOA?

The expected outcome is a clearer understanding of the complex biology underlying late-onset AD, informed by human genetics and grounded in protein-level effects, supporting more coherent disease models and improved therapeutic target identification and validation.

What is the funding mechanism used for this opportunity?

The announcement uses the NIH R01 grant mechanism.

What is the activity category associated with this grant?

It is within the health research activity category.

What is the CFDA number listed for this opportunity?

The CFDA number is 93.866.

What is the award ceiling stated in the announcement?

The award ceiling is stated as $350,000.

Who is eligible to apply?

The announcement lists a broad set of eligible applicants, including federal and non-federal governmental entities (state, county, city/township, special districts), public and private institutions of higher education, independent school districts, federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (excluding small businesses as a separate category), and small businesses. Additional eligibility details are referenced in the full announcement text.

Are tribal entities included among eligible applicants?

Yes. Federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations are listed among eligible applicants.

Are nonprofit organizations eligible, and does 501(c)(3) status matter?

Yes. Nonprofit organizations are listed as eligible both with and without 501(c)(3) status.

Are for-profit organizations eligible to apply?

Yes. For-profit organizations are listed as eligible (with small businesses also listed as an eligible category).

When was this FOA posted and created?

The FOA was posted on May 11, 2016, and the creation date is also May 11, 2016.

What was the application closing date?

The application closing date was September 27, 2016. The original and current closing dates are the same.

Is the focus on sporadic and late-onset Alzheimers disease?

Yes. The FOA specifically references GWAS findings for sporadic and late-onset Alzheimers disease and frames the scientific goals around late-onset AD biology.

What does "From Association to Function" mean in the context of this FOA?

It refers to translating GWAS associations (statistical links between variants and disease risk) into functional evidence about how those variants affect proteins and protein complexes, helping interpret genetic signals in biological terms.

Does the FOA describe what kinds of readouts or measurements are valuable?

Yes. It highlights readouts tied to protein structure, activity, interactions, regulation, complex membership/assembly, stability, localization, and regulatory differences that are specific to particular variants.

How does this FOA connect genetics to potential therapeutic progress?

By translating human genetic signals into functional and phenotypic interpretation at the protein level, supported projects are intended to contribute to better therapeutic target identification and validation over time.