Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA GM 15 001
Apply for RFA GM 15 001
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Genomes to Natural Products (U01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.859 Biomedical Research and Research Training.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 5, 2014 and posted on Mar 5, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 10, 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 $4,500,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities Independent school districts Special district governments Public and State controlled institutions of higher education For profit organizations other than small businesses Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) City or township governments County governments State governments Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Small businesses Private institutions of higher education Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
- 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) Regional Organizations Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply. Non domestic (non U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Genomes to Natural Products (U01) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-GM-15-001) is a National Institutes of Health cooperative agreement designed to push natural products discovery into a more scalable, data-driven era. The core idea is to take advantage of the massive and growing supply of genomic and metagenomic sequencing data and combine it with modern synthetic biology to create new, high-throughput, broadly applicable ways to find, make, and characterize natural products. Rather than focusing only on one-off discoveries, the FOA emphasizes method and platform development: approaches that can be reused across many organisms, gene clusters, and environments to systematically expand the pipeline of natural products with potential biomedical relevance.
A central feature of this FOA is the expectation of tightly integrated, collaborative teams. Applications are encouraged from groups that genuinely combine complementary strengths in synthetic biology (for example, heterologous expression systems, pathway refactoring, chassis engineering, and scalable production strategies), bioinformatics (such as genome mining, metagenomic assembly/annotation, biosynthetic gene cluster prediction, and prioritization algorithms), and natural products expertise (including isolation strategies, analytical chemistry, structure elucidation, and biological activity profiling). The intent is that these capabilities are not operating in parallel silos but are coordinated in a single workflow that moves efficiently from sequence data to candidate biosynthetic pathways to expressed products and validated molecules.
Because the award mechanism is a U01 cooperative agreement, NIH anticipates a more active partnership role than in a standard grant, and applicants must plan to participate in trans-network activities. That includes collaboration with other funded teams, sharing approaches and lessons learned, and taking part in network-level projects aimed at accelerating the field. In practical terms, proposals should be written with interoperability and collaboration in mind: clear plans for data sharing, methods dissemination, and participation in joint efforts that benefit the broader network, not just the individual project.
From an administrative standpoint, this was a discretionary funding opportunity in the health category under CFDA 93.859 (Biomedical Research and Research Training). NIH expected to make 2 awards, with an estimated total funding level of $4.5 million. The award ceiling was listed as $1.5 million. There was no cost sharing or matching requirement. Key dates in the posted announcement were a Posted Date of March 5, 2014, an Original/Current Closing Date of June 10, 2014, and an Archive Date of July 11, 2014.
Eligibility was broad and included many types of U.S.-based organizations: public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses, as well as a range of governmental entities (state, county, city/township, special district governments) and tribal governments/organizations. The eligibility notes also explicitly included categories such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign institutions and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations were not eligible to apply, although foreign components (as defined in NIH policy) were allowed.
Overall, the FOA was aimed at building a set of practical, high-throughput discovery engines that can translate genome and metagenome sequence information into real natural product molecules more reliably and at greater scale. It sought to move beyond the traditional bottlenecks of cultivation, low expression, and slow compound isolation by encouraging integrated pipelines that blend computational triage, synthetic reconstruction of pathways, and modern analytical/biological screening, all while operating as part of a coordinated NIH-supported network. For the full archived announcement details, the NIH link provided in the source was: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-15-001.html.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Genomes to Natural Products (U01) opportunity?
The Genomes to Natural Products (U01) opportunity is an NIH cooperative agreement funding opportunity focused on advancing natural products discovery by leveraging genomic and metagenomic sequence data together with synthetic biology. It is identified as Funding Opportunity Number (FON) RFA-GM-15-001.
What is the main goal of this funding opportunity?
The main goal is to push natural products discovery into a scalable, data-driven approach by creating new high-throughput and broadly applicable ways to find, produce, and characterize natural products derived from genomic and metagenomic information.
Is this opportunity focused on one-off natural product discoveries or reusable approaches?
This FOA emphasizes method and platform development rather than isolated one-off discoveries. The intent is to support approaches that can be reused across many organisms, biosynthetic gene clusters, and environments to systematically expand the natural products pipeline.
What kinds of data are intended to be used in supported projects?
Projects are expected to take advantage of the large and growing supply of genomic and metagenomic sequencing data, using those data to identify and prioritize candidate biosynthetic pathways for natural product discovery.
How does synthetic biology fit into the intended approach?
Synthetic biology is positioned as a core enabler for turning sequence information into actual molecules. Examples referenced include heterologous expression systems, pathway refactoring, chassis engineering, and scalable production strategies to help make and validate products predicted from sequence data.
What does the FOA mean by an integrated workflow?
The FOA describes an end-to-end workflow that moves efficiently from sequence data to candidate biosynthetic pathways, to expressed products, and finally to validated molecules. The expectation is that bioinformatics, synthetic biology, and natural products expertise are coordinated in one pipeline rather than operating as separate parallel efforts.
What expertise or capabilities are encouraged in applicant teams?
Applications are encouraged from collaborative teams that combine complementary strengths, including:
- Synthetic biology (e.g., heterologous expression, pathway refactoring, chassis engineering, scalable production)
- Bioinformatics (e.g., genome mining, metagenomic assembly/annotation, biosynthetic gene cluster prediction, prioritization algorithms)
- Natural products expertise (e.g., isolation strategies, analytical chemistry, structure elucidation, biological activity profiling)
What award mechanism is used, and what does it imply?
The mechanism is a U01 cooperative agreement. This implies NIH anticipates a more active partnership role than in a standard grant, including expectations that awardees participate in coordinated, network-level activities.
What kinds of collaboration are expected after an award is made?
Awardees are expected to participate in trans-network activities, including collaboration with other funded teams, sharing approaches and lessons learned, and engaging in network-level projects intended to accelerate the field.
Are there expectations around data sharing and methods dissemination?
Yes. Proposals are expected to be written with interoperability and collaboration in mind, including clear plans for data sharing, dissemination of methods, and participation in joint efforts that benefit the broader network.
What problem or bottlenecks is this FOA trying to address?
The FOA aims to move beyond traditional bottlenecks such as cultivation challenges, low expression of biosynthetic pathways, and slow compound isolation. The intended direction is to streamline discovery using computational triage, synthetic reconstruction of pathways, and modern analytical and biological screening.
Which NIH program area/category is associated with this opportunity?
Administratively, it was described as a discretionary funding opportunity in the health category under CFDA 93.859 (Biomedical Research and Research Training).
How many awards did NIH expect to make and what was the estimated total funding level?
NIH expected to make 2 awards, with an estimated total funding level of $4.5 million.
What was the award ceiling for this opportunity?
The award ceiling was listed as $1.5 million.
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. There was no cost sharing or matching requirement stated for this opportunity.
What were the key dates for the opportunity?
- Posted Date: March 5, 2014
- Original/Current Closing Date: June 10, 2014
- Archive Date: July 11, 2014
Is this funding opportunity still open?
No. Based on the provided dates, the opportunity has been archived (Archive Date: July 11, 2014) and the closing date listed was June 10, 2014.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was broad and included many U.S.-based organizations, such as public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and multiple types of governmental entities.
What types of government entities were included as eligible applicants?
Eligible governmental entities included state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, tribal governments, and tribal organizations.
Were specific institution types explicitly included (e.g., HBCUs or Hispanic-serving institutions)?
Yes. The eligibility notes explicitly included categories such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.
Are foreign institutions or non-U.S. components eligible to apply?
No. Foreign institutions and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations were not eligible to apply.
Are foreign components allowed in any form?
Yes. Although foreign institutions could not apply, foreign components (as defined in NIH policy) were allowed.
What does “interoperability†mean in the context of this FOA?
In this FOA, interoperability refers to designing project outputs (data, methods, workflows, and lessons learned) so they can be shared, combined, and used effectively across the broader network of funded teams.
Where can the archived announcement be found?
The archived NIH announcement link provided in the source is: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-15-001.html.
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