Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 17 013
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity called "Compound Identification Development Cores (CIDC)" uses the U2C cooperative agreement mechanism (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-RM-17-013; CFDA 93.310). It focuses on a persistent bottleneck in metabolomics: many signals detected in high-throughput experiments correspond to unknown metabolites, and the field often lacks fast, affordable ways to identify the most biologically and medically important of these unknowns. The FOA is aimed at creating dedicated development cores that will invent and refine new methods, workflows, and tools that make compound identification quicker, cheaper, and more scalable, with a practical emphasis on metabolites that matter for human health and disease.
At its core, the program is about expanding the set of biologically relevant compounds that can be reliably identified in routine metabolomics studies. In practice, that means pushing beyond incremental improvements and supporting approaches that materially improve identification of unknown metabolites, especially those that show up repeatedly across biomedical datasets or have strong links to clinically relevant phenotypes. Because metabolite identification can require a mix of analytical chemistry (for measurement and structural characterization), informatics and computation (for spectral interpretation, prediction, database searching, and confidence scoring), and domain biology (to prioritize which unknowns are most meaningful), the FOA explicitly expects an interdisciplinary strategy. Successful applications are expected to bring together metabolomics experts, biomedical researchers, chemists, and computational specialists in a tightly integrated way, rather than treating these as separate, loosely connected efforts. NIH also signals that progress from these cores should be "catalytic" to the metabolomics field, meaning the resulting methods and capabilities should accelerate discovery broadly, not just within a single project.
This announcement is categorized as discretionary funding in the health area and uses a cooperative agreement, which generally implies more substantial scientific or programmatic involvement by NIH than a standard research grant. The posted award ceiling is $600,000. The source listing does not specify the exact number of expected awards. The original closing date was October 20, 2017, and the opportunity record indicates a creation date of August 1, 2017.
Eligibility is broad and includes many common applicant types: state, county, city/township, and special district governments; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.
On the foreign involvement side, the rules are specific: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant organization. However, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are eligible to apply, and foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed. In other words, a U.S.-based applicant can include certain foreign collaborations or project components consistent with NIH policy, but a foreign institution generally cannot be the main applicant for this FOA.
Overall, the opportunity is designed to build specialized, cross-disciplinary cores that can develop and disseminate improved ways to identify unknown metabolites that are most relevant to biomedicine. The long-term payoff NIH is aiming for is a major reduction in the "unknowns" problem in metabolomics, enabling researchers to interpret more of their data with higher confidence and at lower cost, and ultimately speeding up biological and clinical insights drawn from metabolomics experiments.Apply for RFA RM 17 013
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Compound Identification Development Cores (U2C)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.310.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2017-08-01.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-10-20. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $600,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is the name of this NIH funding opportunity?
The opportunity is called Compound Identification Development Cores (CIDC).
2) What funding mechanism does this FOA use?
This FOA uses the U2C cooperative agreement mechanism, which typically involves more substantial scientific or programmatic involvement by NIH than a standard research grant.
3) What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA number)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-RM-17-013.
4) What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number listed for this opportunity is 93.310.
5) What problem is this program trying to solve in metabolomics?
The program targets a persistent bottleneck: in high-throughput metabolomics, many detected signals correspond to unknown metabolites, and the field often lacks fast, affordable, and scalable ways to identify the most biologically and medically important unknowns.
6) What is the main goal of the CIDC program?
The main goal is to create dedicated development cores that invent and refine new methods, workflows, and tools that make compound identification quicker, cheaper, and more scalable, with a practical emphasis on metabolites relevant to human health and disease.
7) What kinds of outcomes is NIH looking for from these development cores?
NIH is looking for progress that expands the set of biologically relevant compounds that can be reliably identified in routine metabolomics studies, and that reduces the overall metabolomics "unknowns" problem to enable higher-confidence interpretation of metabolomics data at lower cost.
8) Does the FOA emphasize any particular type of metabolites?
Yes. The FOA emphasizes a practical focus on metabolites that matter for human health and disease, especially unknowns that appear repeatedly across biomedical datasets or show strong links to clinically relevant phenotypes.
9) Is this opportunity focused on incremental improvements or more substantial advances?
Based on the description, the FOA is aimed at approaches that go beyond incremental improvements and instead materially improve the identification of unknown metabolites in ways that support routine and scalable metabolomics.
10) What disciplines are expected to be involved in successful applications?
The FOA explicitly expects an interdisciplinary strategy, combining expertise such as:
- Analytical chemistry (measurement and structural characterization)
- Informatics and computation (spectral interpretation, prediction, database searching, confidence scoring)
- Domain biology/biomedicine (prioritizing which unknowns are most meaningful)
11) How should teams be organized according to the FOA?
The FOA expects teams to be tightly integrated across metabolomics experts, biomedical researchers, chemists, and computational specialists, rather than operating as separate, loosely connected efforts.
12) What does NIH mean by "catalytic" progress in this FOA?
The FOA indicates that outcomes from these cores should be "catalytic" to the metabolomics field, meaning the resulting methods and capabilities should accelerate discovery broadly, not only within a single project.
13) What is the posted award ceiling?
The posted award ceiling is $600,000.
14) How many awards does NIH expect to make?
The source listing does not specify the exact number of expected awards.
15) What type of funding is this categorized as?
This announcement is categorized as discretionary funding in the health area.
16) When was the opportunity created?
The opportunity record indicates a creation date of August 1, 2017.
17) What was the original closing date?
The original closing date was October 20, 2017.
18) What types of U.S. government entities are eligible to apply?
Eligibility includes multiple U.S. government entity types, including:
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Public housing authorities / Indian housing authorities
- Independent school districts
- Eligible federal agencies
- Regional organizations
- U.S. territories or possessions
19) Are higher education institutions eligible?
Yes. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education.
20) Are nonprofit organizations eligible?
Yes. Eligible applicants include nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status.
21) Are for-profit organizations eligible?
Yes. Eligible applicants include for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses are also listed as eligible.
22) Are minority-serving institutions and other specific institution types eligible?
Yes. The FOA highlights additional eligible categories, including:
- Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
- Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
- Hispanic-serving Institutions
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
- Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
- Faith-based or community-based organizations
23) Can a foreign (non-U.S.) institution apply as the primary applicant?
No. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant organization under this FOA.
24) Are any foreign components or collaborations allowed?
Yes. The rules described allow:
- Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations to apply, and
- Foreign components (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) to be included.
In practical terms, a U.S.-based applicant can include certain foreign collaborations or project components consistent with NIH policy, even though a foreign institution generally cannot be the main applicant.
25) What is the long-term impact NIH is aiming for with this program?
The long-term payoff described is a major reduction in the metabolomics "unknowns" problem, enabling researchers to interpret more metabolomics data with higher confidence and lower cost, ultimately speeding up biological and clinical insights from metabolomics experiments.
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| Secondary Analyses of Existing Alcohol Research Data (R01) Apply for PA 17 467 Funding Number: PA 17 467 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Secondary Analyses of Existing Alcohol Research Data (R03) Apply for PA 17 468 Funding Number: PA 17 468 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $50,000 |
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