Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AI 12 021
Apply for RFA AI 12 021
- The National Institutes of Health in the education health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "U.S. China Program for Biomedical Collaborative Research (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242 Mental Health Research Grants 93.393 Cancer Cause and Prevention Research 93.394 Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research 93.395 Cancer Treatment Research 93.396 Cancer Biology Research 93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders 93.855 Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research 93.856 Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 4, 2012 and posted on Apr 4, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 18, 2012. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $5,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Private institutions of higher education County governments Public and State controlled institutions of higher education State governments Independent school districts City or township governments Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) For profit organizations other than small businesses 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 Small businesses Special district governments Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions 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 U.S. China Program for Biomedical Collaborative Research (R01) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity designed to encourage and expand research partnerships between investigators based in the United States and collaborators in China. Its central goal is to stimulate joint biomedical research that can move from basic discovery through translational and applied studies, leveraging complementary expertise, patient populations, datasets, tools, and research infrastructure across both countries. The program specifically targets collaborative projects that address significant public health needs and where a true partnership between U.S. and Chinese researchers strengthens the science and the likelihood of meaningful outcomes.
The scientific scope is broad but clearly focused on several major disease and research areas. These include allergy and immunology; infectious diseases and microbiology (explicitly including HIV/AIDS and related co-morbidities and co-infections); cancer across the spectrum from biology to prevention, detection/diagnosis, and treatment; mental health; and neurological conditions such as Parkinsons disease and stroke. In practice, this means applicants could propose topics ranging from immune mechanisms and host-pathogen interactions to biomarker discovery, therapeutic development, clinical or population-focused studies, and implementation-oriented approaches, as long as the work fits within the stated NIH mission areas and is structured as a genuine U.S.-China collaboration.
This opportunity uses the NIH R01 mechanism, which is the standard NIH research project grant supporting a defined, hypothesis-driven or well-justified research plan. The listing identifies the funding instrument type as a grant and the activity category as education/health, reflecting NIHs biomedical research mission. The opportunity is identified by Funding Opportunity Number RFA-AI-12-021 and was posted on April 4, 2012, with an application due date of September 18, 2012. It was later archived on October 19, 2012, indicating it was a time-limited solicitation with a specific submission window rather than an open-ended standing program announcement.
In terms of budget and scale, the opportunity listed an estimated total funding amount of $5,000,000 and an award ceiling of $200,000. No cost sharing or matching requirement was indicated, so applicants were not required to commit non-federal matching funds as a condition of applying. The ceiling figure generally signals an upper limit on award size under the solicitation (often interpreted as a maximum direct cost level per year unless otherwise specified in the full announcement), and applicants would typically be expected to propose a scope of work that is realistic within that constraint.
Eligibility is intentionally broad on the U.S. side, spanning many types of domestic organizations. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) nonprofits), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and a range of government entities such as state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and independent school districts. The eligibility list also explicitly includes institutions and organizations that NIH often calls out to encourage participation, 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 faith-based or community-based organizations, among others.
At the same time, the solicitation includes important limits related to foreign eligibility. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means a U.S. applicant can include a foreign component (such as a collaborating site or performance location outside the U.S.) when it is scientifically necessary and well-justified. This structure aligns with the stated purpose: the application is submitted by an eligible U.S.-based organization, while substantive collaboration with Chinese researchers can be built into the project via appropriate foreign component arrangements, subawards, or other collaboration structures consistent with NIH policy.
The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA program areas that reflect the cross-cutting topics NIH intended to support. These include 93.855 (Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research) and 93.856 (Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research), as well as several cancer-related CFDAs (93.393 through 93.396), mental health research grants (93.242), and neuroscience and neurological disorders programs (93.853). Taken together, those codes reinforce that the solicitation was meant to support a wide range of biomedical projects as long as they fit within the highlighted disease areas and are grounded in a strong, collaborative U.S.-China research partnership.
For applicants or organizations looking for the original details, NIH provided an additional information link to the full announcement on the NIH grants site (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-12-021.html). NIH also listed the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster contact for access or linking issues (FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV), which is typical for archived or older funding announcements where applicants may have trouble retrieving the complete posting.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the U.S. China Program for Biomedical Collaborative Research (R01)?
It is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity that uses the R01 research project grant mechanism to encourage and expand biomedical research partnerships between investigators in the United States and collaborators in China. The intent is to support joint projects that can move from basic discovery through translational and applied studies by leveraging complementary expertise, patient populations, datasets, tools, and research infrastructure in both countries.
What is the main goal of this funding opportunity?
The central goal is to stimulate collaborative biomedical research that addresses significant public health needs and where a true U.S.-China partnership strengthens the science and increases the likelihood of meaningful outcomes.
What kinds of research topics are within scope?
The scientific scope is broad but focused on major disease and research areas, including allergy and immunology; infectious diseases and microbiology (explicitly including HIV/AIDS and related co-morbidities and co-infections); cancer (from biology through prevention, detection/diagnosis, and treatment); mental health; and neurological conditions such as Parkinsons disease and stroke.
Does the program support both basic and applied research?
Yes. The opportunity is designed to support projects spanning basic discovery, translational research, and applied studies, as long as the work aligns with NIH mission areas and is structured as a genuine U.S.-China collaboration.
What is meant by a "true" or "genuine" U.S.-China collaboration?
Based on the description, the program is aimed at projects where the partnership itself materially strengthens the science (for example, by leveraging complementary expertise, patient populations, datasets, tools, or research infrastructure in the U.S. and China) rather than being a nominal or minimal collaboration.
What funding mechanism is used?
This opportunity uses the NIH R01 mechanism, which is NIH's standard research project grant for a defined, hypothesis-driven (or otherwise well-justified) research plan.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this solicitation?
The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-AI-12-021.
When was this opportunity posted and when was the application due?
The opportunity was posted on April 4, 2012, and the application due date was September 18, 2012.
Is this funding opportunity still active?
No. It was archived on October 19, 2012, indicating it was a time-limited solicitation with a specific submission window rather than an open-ended standing program announcement.
What is the estimated total funding amount available?
The listing provided an estimated total funding amount of $5,000,000.
What is the award ceiling?
The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $200,000.
Does the award ceiling describe the maximum grant size?
The listing indicates the ceiling figure signals an upper limit on award size under this solicitation. The description notes this is often interpreted as a maximum direct cost level per year unless otherwise specified in the full announcement, and applicants would typically be expected to propose a scope of work that fits within that constraint.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No cost sharing or matching requirement was indicated. Applicants were not required to commit non-federal matching funds as a condition of applying.
What types of U.S. organizations were eligible to apply?
Eligibility on the U.S. side was broad and included public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits (including 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) nonprofits); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and a range of government entities such as state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and independent school districts.
Were any specific institution types explicitly encouraged or included?
Yes. The eligibility list explicitly included various institution types NIH often calls out to encourage participation, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and faith-based or community-based organizations, among others.
Can a Chinese (non-U.S.) institution apply as the main applicant organization?
No. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) were not eligible to apply as the applicant organization for this solicitation.
Can a non-domestic component of a U.S. organization apply?
No. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations were also not eligible to apply as the applicant organization.
Are foreign components allowed in an application?
Yes. Foreign components were allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The description notes that a U.S. applicant can include a foreign component (such as a collaborating site or performance location outside the U.S.) when it is scientifically necessary and well-justified.
How does the program expect U.S. applicants to structure collaboration with China?
The structure described is that an eligible U.S.-based organization submits the application, while substantive collaboration with Chinese researchers can be incorporated through foreign component arrangements, subawards, or other collaboration structures consistent with NIH policy.
What is the funding instrument type and activity category?
The funding instrument type is a grant, and the activity category is education/health, reflecting NIH's biomedical research mission.
Which CFDA program areas are associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA program areas, including 93.855 (Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research), 93.856 (Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research), several cancer-related codes (93.393 through 93.396), mental health research grants (93.242), and neuroscience and neurological disorders programs (93.853).
Do the CFDA codes indicate the program is limited to a single NIH institute or topic area?
The presence of multiple CFDA codes reflects that the solicitation was intended to support a cross-cutting range of biomedical projects, as long as they fit within the highlighted disease and research areas and are grounded in a strong U.S.-China research partnership.
Where can I find the original full announcement?
NIH provided an additional information link to the full announcement at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-12-021.html
Who is the listed contact for access or linking issues to the announcement?
The NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster contact listed is FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV, which is noted as typical for archived or older funding announcements where users may have trouble retrieving the complete posting.
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