We’ve issued a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA): Exploring the Scientific Value of Existing or New Sepsis Human Biospecimen Collections (R21/R33 – Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PAR-21-077). This FOA aims to promote the optimal use, testing, and sharing of patient-derived materials. It stems from recommendations of the NAGMSC working group on sepsis and input from the scientific community for strategies to rebalance NIGMS’ investment in sepsis research.
This two-phase FOA supports a 2-year R21 award for up to $275,000 direct costs in the first phase, and a 2-year R33 award with a budget cap of $500,000 direct costs in any single year in the second phase. The transition from the R21 to R33 phase is subject to administrative review, with an expected conversion rate of about 50% of the awards. No preliminary data are required to apply. There are three receipt dates per year, and the first application deadline is February 16, 2021. All principal investigators (PIs), including NIGMS Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) PIs, are eligible to apply.
Through this FOA, NIGMS seeks to establish best practices to collect, utilize, and share existing or newly collected human sepsis biospecimens as summarized in a concept clearance presented to our Advisory Council. Samples may include those from septic and septic shock patients as well as appropriate comparison groups, e.g., critically ill patients (due to infection or trauma) who didn’t develop sepsis. The use of cutting-edge technologies and methods to share linked clinical data are encouraged. This FOA is not intended to support hypothesis testing or new technology development.
Please contact me with questions regarding the potential responsiveness of a project for this FOA.