New Technologies for the Glycosciences (R41/R42) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the name of this funding opportunity?

The funding opportunity is titled "New Technologies for the Glycosciences (R41/R42)."

What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA number)?

The Funding Opportunity Number is PA-16-158.

Which federal agency sponsors this opportunity?

This is an NIH grant program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

What type of grant mechanism does this opportunity use?

This opportunity uses the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) mechanisms.

Which award types are included under STTR for this program?

The award types included are R41 (Phase I) and R42 (Phase II).

Who is this program designed for?

It is designed for eligible small business applicants that can partner with a research institution to move early-stage technical innovations toward practical, usable products.

Is a research institution partnership required?

Based on the description provided, the program is oriented to small businesses partnering with a research institution as part of the STTR approach to translate innovations toward products or services.

What is the overall purpose of the program?

The purpose is to accelerate development of affordable, broadly usable tools and technologies for carbohydrate research (glycoscience), with an emphasis on making glycan-related experiments easier, more reproducible, and more accessible to non-specialist laboratories.

What scientific area does this opportunity focus on?

It focuses on glycoscience, including tools and technologies for studying carbohydrates and glycans and their roles in biology and medicine.

Why is NIH emphasizing glycoscience tools and technologies?

Carbohydrates and glycans play major roles in cell signaling, immune recognition, pathogen interactions, protein stability, and disease biomarkers. Despite their importance, glycoscience has faced barriers such as complex structures, difficult synthesis, limited standardized reagents, and fragmented data resources. This program targets technology development to reduce those bottlenecks.

What are the primary technology areas of interest?

The opportunity highlights three primary areas: (1) new approaches for glycan synthesis, (2) accessible analytical reagents and technologies for studying glycoconjugates, and (3) informatics tools for glycan data analysis.

What does "new approaches for glycan synthesis" include?

This includes improved ways to create defined carbohydrates and glycan structures with greater speed, lower cost, and better scalability. Examples described include chemical, enzymatic, chemoenzymatic, or automated synthesis methods, as well as platform technologies that improve yield, stereochemical control, or access to diverse glycan libraries.

What are "glycoconjugates," and why do they matter in this program?

Glycoconjugates are molecules where glycans are attached to proteins or lipids, such as glycoproteins, glycolipids, and proteoglycans. The program emphasizes tools that help researchers study these molecules by improving detection, quantification, mapping, and comparison of glycan structures in biological samples.

What types of analytical reagents and technologies are encouraged?

The description includes examples such as novel labeling reagents, affinity reagents, enzymes, standards, sample preparation kits, improved separation methods, mass spectrometry workflows, and other analytical platforms that improve the study of glycoconjugates and glycan structures.

What does the informatics focus cover?

The informatics area encourages software and computational approaches that handle glycan structural complexity, interpret analytical outputs, support annotation and standardization, and enable sharing and re-use of glycomics and glycoproteomics data.

How does this opportunity relate to the NIH Common Fund glycoscience efforts?

It is described as complementing the NIH Common Fund program "Accelerating Translation of Glycoscience Integration and Accessibility," launched in 2015. The key difference noted is that Common Fund programs do not use STTR mechanisms, while this opportunity does.

What is the practical significance of using the STTR mechanism here?

As described, using STTR means the program is specifically oriented toward small businesses collaborating with research institutions to translate promising glycoscience technologies into products or services that can be adopted broadly, rather than being limited to academic development alone.

Which CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is associated with CFDA numbers 93.121, 93.859, and 93.867.

What do the listed CFDA numbers imply?

They indicate that the opportunity is relevant across multiple NIH institutes and centers that support biomedical research and enabling technologies, based on the information provided.

When was this funding opportunity created and posted?

The listing states it was created and posted on March 30, 2016.

What is the closing date for the opportunity?

The original and current closing date listed is April 5, 2019.

Does the provided information include an award ceiling or number of expected awards?

No. The provided data does not specify an award ceiling or an expected number of awards.

Where would applicants typically look for budget expectations and phase limits?

The description notes that applicants would typically need to consult the full NIH announcement and institute-specific guidance for budget expectations, phase limits, and likely funding levels.

Is this opportunity more research-focused or commercialization-focused?

Based on the description, it is best understood as a commercialization-oriented NIH pathway for small businesses (working with research institutions) to develop next-generation glycoscience tools and translate them into broadly adoptable products or services.

What kinds of end results is this program aiming for?

The program aims to move early-stage technical innovations toward practical, usable products that make carbohydrate research more practical, affordable, reproducible, and widely usable across biomedical science.