Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 15 008
Apply for RFA RM 15 008
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Novel and Innovative Tools to Facilitate Identification, Tracking, Manipulation, and Analysis of Glycans and their Functions (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.310 Trans NIH Research Support.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 14, 2015 and posted on Jul 14, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 15, 2015. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments Small businesses Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities Public and State controlled institutions of higher education City or township governments 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) Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) County governments Independent school districts Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Private institutions of higher education For profit organizations other than small businesses Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Special district governments.
- 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 NIH grant opportunity titled "Novel and Innovative Tools to Facilitate Identification, Tracking, Manipulation, and Analysis of Glycans and their Functions (R21)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-RM-15-008) is a discretionary research grant aimed at accelerating early-stage, high-impact tool development for glycoscience. The central purpose is to spur the creation of novel and innovative tools, reagents, and technologies that make it easier for researchers to identify glycans, track them in biological contexts, manipulate them experimentally, and analyze how they interact with their binding partners and contribute to biological function. A key theme is practicality and accessibility: the FOA is not only looking for clever new methods, but also for approaches that lower barriers to entry so that a broader range of laboratories can use glycan-related techniques without needing highly specialized expertise or prohibitively expensive infrastructure.
The scientific scope emphasizes both measurement and meaning. On the measurement side, proposed projects should improve the ability to detect and characterize glycans and glycan-containing molecules, including methods that help map glycan structures, quantify glycan patterns, or profile glycosylation states across samples. On the meaning side, the FOA explicitly calls for tools that connect glycans to function, including technologies that help determine how glycans engage their biological binding partners (for example, glycan-binding proteins and other interacting molecules) and how those interactions affect cellular or organismal processes. In other words, the opportunity is oriented toward enabling technologies that move glycan studies from difficult-to-access structural analyses toward more routine, functionally informative experimentation.
A notable feature of the announcement is that it welcomes projects that build on or interface with existing technologies and procedures, as long as the end result makes glycan-related workflows easier to access and use. This can include simplifying sample preparation, improving robustness and reproducibility, reducing the need for rare instrumentation, creating user-friendly platforms or reagents, or developing streamlined computational methods that translate complex glycan data into interpretable outputs. The FOA signals that innovation can take the form of bridging and packaging, not only inventing from scratch, provided the outcome substantially improves usability for the broader community.
The announcement also highlights considerations that matter for real-world adoption. Where relevant, applicants are expected to think ahead about scale-up factors that would make instrumentation or methods broadly accessible and cost-effective for end users, rather than remaining boutique solutions. In addition, it stresses that data produced by new tools should be compatible with integration into existing databases, reflecting a push toward standardization and interoperability in glycoscience. That means applicants should pay attention to outputs, formats, metadata, and other design choices that will allow results to be compared, shared, and reused across studies and resources.
Mechanistically, this is an R21 funding opportunity, which generally supports exploratory and developmental projects that are high-risk/high-reward and intended to establish feasibility or produce proof-of-concept advances. The agency is the National Institutes of Health, and the activity category is Health. NIH anticipated making about 15 awards under this FOA, with an estimated total funding amount of $4,500,000. The award ceiling is listed as $250,000. Cost sharing or matching is not required, which lowers administrative and financial barriers for applicants.
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; small businesses; and for-profit organizations other than small businesses. The FOA also explicitly notes additional eligible applicant categories 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 (AANAPISIs), as well as eligible federal agencies and faith-based or community-based organizations. Non-U.S. (foreign) institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; however, foreign components as defined in NIH Grants Policy may be allowed, which can matter for collaborations that involve international resources while keeping the applicant organization U.S.-based.
In terms of timing and administrative details, the FOA was posted on July 14, 2015, with an original and current closing date of October 15, 2015, and an archive date of November 15, 2015. The CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 93.310 (Trans-NIH Research Support). The official announcement and further details were provided via the NIH grants site at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-15-008.html, and NIH’s Office of Extramural Research webmaster contacts were listed for access or linking issues.
Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted push to make glycan science easier to do, easier to scale, and easier to integrate with shared data ecosystems. It prioritizes enabling capabilities, especially those that allow researchers to connect glycan identity and dynamics to interactions and function, while keeping a clear eye on adoption constraints like cost, usability, and database compatibility.
FAQs: NIH R21 - Novel and Innovative Tools to Facilitate Identification, Tracking, Manipulation, and Analysis of Glycans and their Functions (RFA-RM-15-008)
What is this grant opportunity?
This is an NIH discretionary research grant opportunity titled "Novel and Innovative Tools to Facilitate Identification, Tracking, Manipulation, and Analysis of Glycans and their Functions (R21)" under Funding Opportunity Number RFA-RM-15-008. It supports early-stage, high-impact tool development in glycoscience.
What is the main purpose of this FOA?
The central purpose is to accelerate the development of novel and innovative tools, reagents, and technologies that make it easier to identify glycans, track them in biological settings, manipulate them experimentally, and analyze their interactions and functional roles.
What makes this FOA different from a typical research project grant?
The emphasis is on enabling technologies and practical tools that lower barriers to entry in glycoscience. The FOA prioritizes usability, accessibility, and broad adoption, not just methodological novelty for its own sake.
What kinds of tool capabilities are encouraged?
The FOA highlights tools that help researchers: (1) identify and characterize glycans and glycan-containing molecules, (2) track glycans in biological contexts, (3) manipulate glycans experimentally, and (4) analyze glycan interactions with binding partners and how those interactions relate to biological function.
Does the FOA focus only on measuring glycan structures?
No. It emphasizes both measurement and meaning. On the measurement side, it calls for improved detection, characterization, mapping, quantification, and profiling of glycosylation. On the meaning side, it calls for tools that link glycans to function, including tools that illuminate interactions with binding partners and downstream biological effects.
Are projects required to invent entirely new technologies?
No. The FOA welcomes projects that build on or interface with existing technologies and procedures, as long as the end result substantially improves accessibility and ease of use for glycan-related workflows. Innovation can include bridging, simplifying, packaging, and streamlining.
What does "practicality and accessibility" mean in this announcement?
It means proposed tools should reduce barriers that currently limit glycan studies, such as highly specialized expertise requirements or expensive and rare infrastructure. The goal is for a broader range of laboratories to be able to use the resulting tools and approaches.
What types of improvements to workflows does the FOA mention?
Examples described in the FOA include simplifying sample preparation, improving robustness and reproducibility, reducing reliance on rare instrumentation, creating user-friendly platforms or reagents, and developing streamlined computational methods that convert complex glycan data into interpretable outputs.
Does the FOA consider real-world adoption and scaling?
Yes. Where relevant, applicants are expected to consider scale-up factors that would make instrumentation or methods broadly accessible and cost-effective, rather than remaining boutique solutions.
Are data standards or database compatibility important for this opportunity?
Yes. The FOA stresses that data produced by new tools should be compatible with integration into existing databases. This reflects an emphasis on standardization and interoperability, including attention to outputs, formats, metadata, and design choices that support sharing and reuse.
What grant mechanism is used for this opportunity?
This is an R21 funding opportunity. R21 awards generally support exploratory and developmental projects that are high-risk/high-reward and intended to establish feasibility or produce proof-of-concept advances.
Which agency is offering this funding opportunity?
The funding agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the activity category is Health.
How many awards did NIH anticipate making under this FOA?
NIH anticipated making about 15 awards under this funding opportunity.
What was the estimated total funding amount for this FOA?
The estimated total funding amount listed for this FOA was $4,500,000.
What is the award ceiling?
The award ceiling is listed as $250,000.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. Cost sharing or matching is not required for this opportunity.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad for U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; small businesses; and for-profit organizations other than small businesses.
Are minority-serving institutions specifically mentioned as eligible?
Yes. The FOA explicitly notes eligibility for 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 (AANAPISIs).
Are faith-based and community-based organizations eligible?
Yes. The FOA lists faith-based and community-based organizations among eligible applicant categories.
Are federal agencies eligible to apply?
Yes. The FOA lists eligible federal agencies among the eligible applicant categories.
Can a non-U.S. (foreign) institution apply as the applicant organization?
No. Non-U.S. (foreign) institutions are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization.
Can non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations participate?
No. Non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible under this FOA.
Are any international collaborations allowed at all?
Potentially. The FOA notes that foreign components (as defined in NIH Grants Policy) may be allowed, which can be relevant when collaborations involve international resources while keeping the applicant organization U.S.-based.
When was this FOA posted?
The FOA was posted on July 14, 2015.
What was the application closing date?
The original and current closing date listed is October 15, 2015.
When was the archive date?
The archive date listed is November 15, 2015.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number associated with this opportunity is 93.310 (Trans-NIH Research Support).
Where can the official FOA details be found?
The official announcement is available on the NIH grants site at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-15-008.html
Who was listed for technical issues accessing the FOA link?
NIH Office of Extramural Research webmaster contacts were listed for access or linking issues.
What is the overall goal of the opportunity in plain terms?
It is a targeted push to make glycan science easier to do, easier to scale, and easier to integrate with shared data ecosystems by supporting enabling tools that connect glycan identity and dynamics to interactions and biological function, with strong attention to usability and cost-effective adoption.
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