Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AI 10 018
Apply for RFA AI 10 018
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Biocontainment Laboratories (NBLs) Operations Support Limited Competition (UC7)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.856 Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 1, 2010 and posted on Jun 10, 2010.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 16, 2010. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $30,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, TX Boston University, Boston, MA
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Biocontainment Laboratories (NBLs) Operations Support Limited Competition (UC7) funding opportunity (RFA-AI-10-018) is a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH) solicitation designed to keep two U.S. Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) national biocontainment facilities operating at a high, reliable standard. Rather than focusing on launching new construction or funding a broad set of new research projects, this opportunity is centered on sustaining day-to-day and program-level operations that allow these top-containment laboratories to function as a national resource for highly hazardous pathogen work. The two facilities specifically named are the National Biocontainment Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, and the competition is limited to these institutions.
The main purpose is to provide continued operations support under the UC7 cooperative agreement mechanism. In practical terms, that means NIH/NIAID expects substantial involvement and coordination with the awardees, reflecting the high public-health and national-security importance of BSL-4 capacity. The supported activities span the essential backbone required to run containment labs safely and compliantly: facility maintenance and operations (keeping complex building systems, containment engineering controls, and specialized infrastructure functioning); biosecurity (protecting access to dangerous agents, materials, and sensitive areas); environmental health and safety requirements (ensuring workplace safety programs, biosafety procedures, and incident prevention/response capabilities); regulatory compliance (meeting federal, state, and local rules that apply to select agents, containment research, animal work, and clinical/laboratory activities); and specialized research support services (the kind of technical and operational services that enable researchers to perform in vitro and in vivo work safely in high-containment settings).
NIAID positions these laboratories as a shared national capability that supports clinical and laboratory research, including both in vitro and in vivo testing, involving hazardous biological agents. The stated alignment is with NIAID's biodefense research priorities and broader infectious disease efforts, meaning the operational support is intended to keep the facilities prepared to support research and testing that contributes to national preparedness and scientific progress against high-consequence pathogens. Because BSL-4 work requires exceptional safeguards, trained personnel, validated systems, and tightly controlled procedures, this FOA is essentially funding the continuous readiness and safe performance of these platforms, not just discrete scientific experiments.
From a funding and administrative perspective, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument. It falls under the health activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.856 (Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research). NIAID indicated an intent to commit up to $30,000,000 in total costs per year during Fiscal Years 2011 through 2016 to support the NBLs, reflecting the scale and sustained expense of operating BSL-4 infrastructure. The posting date was June 10, 2010, with key dates including an original closing date of July 13, 2010, a current closing date of August 16, 2010, and an archive date of September 16, 2010. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement described.
Eligibility is intentionally narrow. While the listing mentions public and state-controlled institutions of higher education in general, the "Other Eligible Applicants" section makes clear that only UTMB (Galveston, TX) and Boston University (Boston, MA) are eligible for this limited competition. In short, the FOA is a targeted continuation of federal operational investment to ensure these two national biocontainment laboratories remain secure, compliant, and fully functional so they can support the United States' biodefense and infectious disease research needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is the National Biocontainment Laboratories (NBLs) Operations Support Limited Competition (UC7) funding opportunity, FOA number RFA-AI-10-018, issued by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
What is the main goal of RFA-AI-10-018?
The goal is to keep two U.S. Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) national biocontainment laboratories operating at a high, reliable standard by supporting ongoing day-to-day and program-level operations, rather than new construction or a broad set of new research projects.
Which facilities does this opportunity support?
The opportunity specifically names and supports two facilities: the National Biocontainment Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to the two institutions named in the solicitation: UTMB (Galveston, TX) and Boston University (Boston, MA). While general categories may mention public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, the limited competition is restricted to these two applicants.
Is this a limited competition?
Yes. This is explicitly described as a limited competition, meaning only the named institutions (UTMB and Boston University) are eligible to apply.
What funding mechanism is being used?
The funding mechanism is a UC7 cooperative agreement. This structure is intended for situations where NIH/NIAID expects substantial involvement and coordination with awardees.
What does a cooperative agreement imply for how the program is run?
Based on the description provided, a cooperative agreement implies NIH/NIAID anticipates substantial involvement and coordination with the awardees, reflecting the public-health and national-security importance of maintaining BSL-4 capacity.
What types of activities are intended to be supported?
The solicitation focuses on the operational backbone needed to run high-containment labs safely and compliantly, including facility maintenance and operations, biosecurity, environmental health and safety requirements, regulatory compliance, and specialized research support services.
Does the opportunity fund new building construction?
No. The opportunity is described as being centered on sustaining operations rather than launching new construction.
Is the focus on funding many new research projects?
No. The emphasis is on sustaining day-to-day and program-level operations that allow these laboratories to function as a national resource, rather than funding a broad set of new research projects.
What does "operations support" mean in this context?
Operations support refers to the continuous readiness and safe performance of the facilities, including keeping complex building systems and containment engineering controls functioning, maintaining biosecurity, meeting environmental health and safety requirements, ensuring regulatory compliance, and providing specialized services that enable in vitro and in vivo work to be performed safely in high-containment settings.
What is included under facility maintenance and operations?
Facility maintenance and operations includes keeping complex building systems, containment engineering controls, and specialized infrastructure functioning so the labs can operate reliably as BSL-4 facilities.
What is meant by biosecurity in this funding opportunity?
Biosecurity is described as protecting access to dangerous agents, materials, and sensitive areas within the facilities.
What environmental health and safety areas are addressed?
The opportunity references workplace safety programs, biosafety procedures, and incident prevention/response capabilities as part of meeting environmental health and safety requirements.
What kinds of regulatory compliance are relevant here?
Regulatory compliance is described as meeting federal, state, and local rules that apply to select agents, containment research, animal work, and clinical/laboratory activities.
What are "specialized research support services" in this context?
These are the technical and operational services that enable researchers to conduct in vitro and in vivo testing safely in high-containment settings, supporting the facilities' role as a national resource.
How does NIAID describe the role of these laboratories?
NIAID positions the laboratories as a shared national capability that supports clinical and laboratory research, including in vitro and in vivo testing, involving hazardous biological agents.
How does this opportunity align with NIAID priorities?
The supported operations are stated to align with NIAID biodefense research priorities and broader infectious disease efforts, helping ensure the facilities remain prepared to support research and testing relevant to national preparedness and scientific progress against high-consequence pathogens.
What is the activity category for this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with the health activity category.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with CFDA 93.856, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research.
What type of funding is this (discretionary or mandatory)?
This opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding.
How much funding did NIAID indicate it intended to commit?
NIAID indicated an intent to commit up to $30,000,000 in total costs per year during Fiscal Years 2011 through 2016 to support the NBLs.
Are cost sharing or matching funds required?
No cost sharing or matching requirement is described in the information provided.
What are the key dates listed for this funding opportunity?
The posting date is June 10, 2010. The original closing date is July 13, 2010. The current closing date is August 16, 2010. The archive date is September 16, 2010.
Why does the opportunity emphasize continuous readiness instead of individual experiments?
The description emphasizes that BSL-4 work requires exceptional safeguards, trained personnel, validated systems, and tightly controlled procedures, so the funding is aimed at continuous readiness and safe performance of the platforms rather than only discrete scientific experiments.
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