Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA GM 14 006
Apply for RFA GM 14 006
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "New Methods for Understanding the Functional Role of Human DNA Sequence Variants in Complex Phenotypes (R01)" 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 Dec 4, 2012 and posted on Dec 4, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 21, 2013. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $3,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Eligible applicants include: Independent school districts County governments State governments For profit organizations other than small businesses Special district governments Private institutions of higher education Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Nonprofits having 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) Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities City or township governments Small businesses.
- 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) Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) Regional Organizations Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply. Non domestic (non U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
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Opportunity Summary:
The NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) offered this R01 grant opportunity, titled "New Methods for Understanding the Functional Role of Human DNA Sequence Variants in Complex Phenotypes," to support research that develops or applies experimental strategies for figuring out what human DNA sequence variants actually do. The core focus is functional relevance: moving beyond simply identifying genetic variants associated with traits or disease risk and instead testing, in experimentally rigorous ways, how specific variants influence biological processes and ultimately contribute to complex phenotypes. In practice, this kind of work sits at the intersection of human genetics, molecular and cellular biology, genomics, and experimental method development, with an emphasis on approaches that can help interpret variants that are discovered through sequencing, genome-wide association studies, and related efforts.
The mechanism is an NIH R01 research project grant, meaning it was intended for substantial, hypothesis-driven projects that are ready for a full-scale research plan rather than exploratory pilot work alone. The opportunity was categorized as discretionary grant funding under the health research activity area (CFDA 93.859, Biomedical Research and Research Training). NIGMS positioned the FOA around experimental approaches, which signals a preference for proposals that do more than computational prediction or statistical association and instead produce direct evidence of function, such as how variants affect gene regulation, protein activity, cellular phenotypes, pathways, or measurable organism-relevant traits. The goal of the program was to foster new or improved methods that make it easier and more reliable to translate variant lists into mechanistic understanding, especially for complex traits where many variants may each have modest effects or act through regulatory rather than coding changes.
The FOA (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-GM-14-006) was posted on December 4, 2012, with an application due date of February 21, 2013, and it was later archived on March 24, 2013. The total estimated funding level listed for the opportunity was $3,000,000, indicating a limited, competitive pool intended to support a small set of meritorious projects aligned with the institute’s priorities at that time. The announcement explicitly stated there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement, consistent with standard NIH R01 practices where applicants propose a budget justified by the work and NIH provides support subject to award terms and appropriations.
Eligibility was broad and included a wide range of domestic U.S. organizations across the public, private, nonprofit, and for-profit spectrum. Eligible applicants included public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, small businesses, and for-profit organizations other than small businesses. Nonprofit organizations were eligible both with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), and tribal entities were included, such as federally recognized Native American tribal governments as well as other tribal organizations. The opportunity also clarified additional eligible categories, including a variety of minority-serving institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), along with faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies.
Notably, the FOA allowed participation from non-U.S. entities as well. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) organizations and foreign institutions were eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations were eligible, and foreign components were allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. That international openness is important for human genetics and functional genomics, where cohorts, expertise, model systems, and specialized platforms can be distributed across countries, and it signals that NIGMS was willing to support strong projects regardless of geography as long as they met NIH requirements and the proposed science was compelling.
From an applicant’s perspective, the practical takeaway is that this opportunity was aimed at research teams that could design credible experiments to connect genotype to phenotype in complex biological settings. Competitive proposals under a call like this typically emphasize clear experimental design, validation strategies, appropriate controls, and an explanation of how the proposed methods overcome current limitations in variant interpretation. Because the FOA highlights "new methods," it implies interest in innovations that improve scalability, accuracy, or interpretability, such as high-throughput functional assays, improved genome editing-based tests, better cellular or tissue models, or other experimental systems that can systematically test variant effects rather than evaluating one variant at a time.
For reference, the full announcement was hosted on the NIH Grants Guide at the provided link: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-14-006.html. For technical access issues, NIH listed the Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster contact at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the name of this NIH grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "New Methods for Understanding the Functional Role of Human DNA Sequence Variants in Complex Phenotypes."
Which NIH institute offered this funding opportunity?
The funding opportunity was offered by the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA number)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-GM-14-006.
What type of grant mechanism is this?
This opportunity used the NIH R01 research project grant mechanism, intended for substantial, hypothesis-driven projects with a full-scale research plan (not just exploratory pilot work).
What is the overall purpose of this FOA?
The purpose was to support research that develops or applies experimental strategies to determine what specific human DNA sequence variants do, with a focus on establishing functional relevance in the context of complex phenotypes.
What does "functional role" mean in the context of this FOA?
In this FOA, functional role refers to experimentally supported evidence of how a specific DNA sequence variant affects biological processes, such as gene regulation, protein activity, cellular phenotypes, pathways, or other organism-relevant measurable traits, and how those effects contribute to complex phenotypes.
How is this different from studies that only identify genetic associations?
This FOA emphasized moving beyond identifying variants associated with traits or disease risk (for example through sequencing or genome-wide association studies) and instead testing, in experimentally rigorous ways, how specific variants influence biology and contribute to complex phenotypes.
Does the FOA prioritize experimental work over computational approaches?
Yes. The FOA was positioned around experimental approaches and signaled a preference for proposals that produce direct evidence of function, rather than relying only on computational prediction or statistical association.
What kinds of experimental outcomes were emphasized?
Examples highlighted in the description include evidence showing how variants affect gene regulation, protein activity, cellular phenotypes, biological pathways, or measurable organism-relevant traits.
What scientific areas does this opportunity sit at the intersection of?
The work described sits at the intersection of human genetics, molecular and cellular biology, genomics, and experimental method development.
What kinds of variants or discovery sources were in scope?
The FOA targeted approaches that help interpret variants discovered through sequencing, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and related efforts.
Why does the FOA emphasize "complex phenotypes"?
The description notes that complex traits often involve many variants with modest effects and that variants may act through regulatory (non-coding) mechanisms rather than coding changes. The FOA aimed to foster methods that make translating variant lists into mechanistic understanding easier and more reliable in these settings.
What was the estimated total funding level for this opportunity?
The total estimated funding level listed was $3,000,000, indicating a limited and competitive pool intended to support a small set of meritorious projects aligned with NIGMS priorities at that time.
Was cost-sharing or matching required?
No. The announcement explicitly stated there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement, consistent with standard NIH R01 practices.
When was the FOA posted?
The FOA was posted on December 4, 2012.
What was the application due date?
The application due date was February 21, 2013.
Is this FOA still open?
No. It was later archived on March 24, 2013.
What was the activity area and CFDA listing mentioned?
The opportunity was categorized as discretionary grant funding under the health research activity area, with CFDA 93.859 (Biomedical Research and Research Training).
Who was eligible to apply from within the United States?
Eligibility was broad and included many domestic U.S. organization types across public, private, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors, including institutions of higher education and multiple levels of government entities, as well as eligible businesses and other organizations listed in the announcement.
Are public and private institutions of higher education eligible?
Yes. The FOA included eligibility for public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education.
Are nonprofit organizations eligible?
Yes. Nonprofit organizations were eligible both with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education).
Are for-profit organizations eligible?
Yes. The FOA listed small businesses and for-profit organizations other than small businesses as eligible applicant types.
Are government entities eligible applicants?
Yes. Eligible applicants included state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. The FOA also noted eligible federal agencies.
Are tribal governments and tribal organizations eligible?
Yes. The FOA included federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations among eligible applicants.
Were minority-serving institutions explicitly included?
Yes. The FOA explicitly included multiple minority-serving institution categories, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs).
Were faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?
Yes. The FOA stated that faith-based or community-based organizations were included among eligible categories.
Could non-U.S. (foreign) organizations apply?
Yes. The FOA allowed participation from non-U.S. entities: non-domestic (non-U.S.) organizations and foreign institutions were eligible to apply.
Could non-domestic components of U.S. organizations participate?
Yes. The FOA indicated that non-domestic components of U.S. organizations were eligible.
Are foreign components allowed, and how are they defined?
Yes. Foreign components were allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
What kinds of projects were likely to be competitive under this FOA?
Based on the description, competitive projects would be expected to present credible experiments linking genotype to phenotype in complex biological settings, with clear experimental design, validation strategies, appropriate controls, and an explanation of how the proposed methods overcome limitations in variant interpretation.
What does the FOA imply by highlighting "new methods"?
It implies interest in innovations that improve scalability, accuracy, or interpretability of functional variant testing, such as high-throughput functional assays, improved genome editing-based tests, better cellular or tissue models, or other experimental systems capable of systematically testing variant effects rather than evaluating one variant at a time.
Where can applicants find the full FOA announcement?
The full announcement was hosted on the NIH Grants Guide at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-14-006.html
Who was listed for help with technical access issues?
For technical access issues, NIH listed the Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster contact: FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.
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