Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 16 006
Apply for RFA AG 16 006
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Short term Measurements of Improved Physical and Molecular Resilience in Pre clinical Models (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866 Aging Research.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 11, 2015 and posted on Aug 11, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 4, 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 $2,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) State governments Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Small businesses City or township governments County governments Private institutions of higher education Independent school districts For profit organizations other than small businesses 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) Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) Regional Organizations Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession.
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Opportunity Summary:
The NIH funding opportunity RFA-AG-16-006, titled "Short term Measurements of Improved Physical and Molecular Resilience in Pre clinical Models (R01)," was designed to push the field of aging research toward practical, near-term ways to measure "resilience" in living systems. In this FOA, resilience is treated as an organism's capacity to respond effectively to a defined challenge, meaning how well an animal (or optionally a human participant) withstands and recovers from a physical or molecular stressor. The core problem the announcement is trying to solve is that, even though researchers often argue that higher resilience should track with longer life and better healthspan, the field has lacked standardized, short-duration tests in animal models that can convincingly quantify resilience and predict later-life outcomes.
The main scientific goal is the development of short-term surrogate assays or test batteries that provide a more comprehensive readout of resilience in aging animal models. The intent is not just to create another single biomarker, but to build methods that can capture meaningful system-level responses to challenges, such as the magnitude of physiological disruption, the speed and completeness of recovery, and the downstream molecular signatures that accompany those responses. Importantly, the FOA narrows the scope of acceptable stressors: it focuses on physical and molecular challenges and explicitly excludes psychological and social stressors. The emphasis is on challenges that can be applied in a controlled, reproducible way and that generate measurable responses over relatively short time windows, making them feasible as experimental tools rather than multi-year survival studies.
A key expectation is that the resulting tests should be predictive of subsequent health. In other words, the assay should not merely detect an immediate response to a stressor; it should tell you something useful about future functional status, vulnerability to decline, or trajectories of aging-related outcomes. For animal studies, the FOA highlights a practical validation strategy: researchers should benchmark or test the predictive value of their resilience measures against interventions already known to increase lifespan and/or healthspan. This might include genetic, dietary, pharmacologic, or other manipulations with established effects in standard aging models, with the resilience test used to determine whether those long-term benefits can be detected or foreshadowed by short-term challenge-response metrics.
While the primary focus is preclinical, the announcement also allows applicants to include aims involving humans, as long as the human component is tied closely to the animal work. Specifically, investigators may propose measuring resilience in humans using identical or analogous stressors to those used in the animal models. The underlying idea is translational alignment: if a resilience paradigm can be made comparable across species, it becomes more valuable for bridging mechanistic animal research with clinically relevant human biology. That said, the optional human component is framed as complementary, not required, and the central deliverable remains the creation and validation of preclinical resilience tests.
From an administrative and funding standpoint, this was an NIH discretionary grant opportunity using the R01 mechanism under the activity category of health and the CFDA listing for Aging Research (93.866). The total estimated funding listed was about $2,000,000, with an award ceiling of $250,000 (as provided in the source data). There was no cost sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted on August 11, 2015, with an original and current closing date of November 4, 2015, and it was archived on December 5, 2015. Eligibility was broad and included many common applicant types across academia, nonprofits, small businesses, for-profit organizations (with distinctions noted), and multiple levels of government, along with a wide range of designated institutions and organizations such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and foreign organizations, among others.
Overall, the FOA is essentially a methods-development and validation call centered on a specific gap in aging science: the need for reliable, short-duration, challenge-based measures of physical and molecular resilience in animal models that can predict later health and can be used to evaluate whether lifespan/healthspan-extending interventions also improve an organism's capacity to handle stress. The expected impact is to provide the research community with standardized or at least well-justified tools for quantifying resilience in ways that are faster than lifespan studies but still meaningfully connected to aging outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is NIH RFA-AG-16-006 about?
RFA-AG-16-006 is an NIH funding opportunity titled "Short term Measurements of Improved Physical and Molecular Resilience in Pre clinical Models (R01)." It focuses on developing and validating short-duration tests that measure "resilience" in living systems, mainly in aging-related animal models.
How does this FOA define "resilience"?
In this FOA, resilience is treated as an organism's capacity to respond effectively to a defined challenge. That includes how well an animal (and optionally a human participant) withstands a physical or molecular stressor and how well it recovers afterward.
What problem is this funding opportunity trying to solve in aging research?
The FOA targets a key gap in the field: even though resilience is often assumed to relate to longer lifespan and improved healthspan, researchers have lacked standardized, short-duration tests in animal models that can convincingly quantify resilience and predict later-life outcomes.
What is the main scientific goal of the RFA?
The main goal is to develop short-term surrogate assays or test batteries that provide a more comprehensive readout of resilience in aging animal models. The intent is to create practical experimental tools that can quantify challenge-response performance over relatively short time windows.
Is the NIH looking for a single biomarker of resilience?
No. The FOA emphasizes that the intent is not simply to create another single biomarker. Instead, it encourages methods that capture system-level responses to challenges, including the magnitude of disruption, the speed and completeness of recovery, and associated downstream molecular signatures.
What kinds of stressors or challenges are in scope for this FOA?
The FOA focuses on physical and molecular challenges that can be applied in a controlled and reproducible way and that yield measurable responses over short time windows.
Are psychological or social stressors allowed under this FOA?
No. The FOA explicitly excludes psychological and social stressors and narrows acceptable challenges to physical and molecular stressors.
What does "short-term" mean in the context of these resilience measurements?
"Short-term" refers to assessments that can be measured over relatively brief time windows after a controlled challenge, making them feasible as experimental tools rather than requiring multi-year survival or lifespan studies.
What types of outcomes should a proposed resilience test capture?
The FOA highlights outcomes such as the magnitude of physiological disruption after a stressor, the speed and completeness of recovery, and molecular signatures linked to those responses.
Does the FOA require that resilience assays predict future health outcomes?
Yes. A key expectation is that the resulting tests should be predictive of subsequent health. The assay should do more than record an immediate response; it should provide information relevant to future functional status, vulnerability to decline, or trajectories of aging-related outcomes.
How does the FOA suggest validating whether a resilience measure is predictive in animal studies?
For animal studies, the FOA points to a practical validation approach: benchmark the predictive value of resilience measures against interventions already known to increase lifespan and/or healthspan. The idea is to test whether short-term challenge-response metrics can detect or foreshadow those long-term benefits.
What types of interventions can be used for benchmarking in animal models?
The FOA notes that benchmarking may include genetic, dietary, pharmacologic, or other manipulations with established effects in standard aging models.
Is human research allowed in RFA-AG-16-006?
Yes, a human component is allowed, but it is optional and must be tied closely to the animal work. The central deliverable remains the creation and validation of preclinical resilience tests.
What is the purpose of including humans in an otherwise preclinical FOA?
The FOA frames human aims as a translational complement: investigators may measure resilience in humans using identical or analogous stressors to those used in animal models. The goal is cross-species alignment that helps bridge mechanistic animal research with clinically relevant human biology.
Is the human component required to apply?
No. The FOA describes the human component as complementary and not required.
What grant mechanism is used for this opportunity?
This opportunity uses the NIH R01 mechanism.
What is the CFDA listing associated with this funding opportunity?
The CFDA listing provided is Aging Research (93.866).
How much total funding was estimated for the FOA?
The total estimated funding listed was about $2,000,000.
What was the award ceiling listed for this opportunity?
The award ceiling listed in the provided information was $250,000.
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. The FOA indicated there was no cost sharing or matching requirement.
When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?
It was posted on August 11, 2015. The original and current closing date was November 4, 2015.
Is this funding opportunity still active?
No. The opportunity was archived on December 5, 2015.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was broad and included many common applicant types across academia, nonprofits, small businesses, for-profit organizations (with distinctions noted), and multiple levels of government. The FOA also included a wide range of designated institutions and organizations such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and foreign organizations, among others.
What is the overall intended impact of the FOA?
The FOA aims to provide the aging research community with standardized, or well-justified, short-duration challenge-based tools to quantify physical and molecular resilience in animal models. These tools are intended to be faster than lifespan studies while still being meaningfully connected to later-life health and aging outcomes.
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