Extracellular RNA Sequencing Research Resource for the Accelerating Medicines Partnership Parkinsons Disease (AMPPD) (R24 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA NS 23 014

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 23 014

The NIH funding opportunity titled "Extracellular RNA Sequencing Research Resource for the Accelerating Medicines Partnership Parkinsons Disease (AMP PD) (R24 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-NS-23-014; CFDA 93.279) is designed to build a shared, community-facing research resource that expands molecular data available for Parkinsons disease research. The core goal is to support a group with demonstrated technical expertise in isolating brain-derived extracellular vesicles from blood and generating high-quality extracellular RNA (exRNA) sequencing data from those vesicles. Rather than funding a hypothesis-driven study focused on a narrow biological question, this R24 mechanism is centered on creating infrastructure and datasets that will be broadly useful to many investigators.

A major feature of the project is access to roughly 2,400 blood samples that will be supplied to the awardee. These samples come from existing Parkinsons disease and normal control cohorts, and importantly, those cohorts already have longitudinal clinical data and sequencing datasets that are publicly available to the research community. In practical terms, the work supported by this FOA is meant to add a new, standardized layer of molecular information (exRNA derived from brain-related extracellular vesicles) that can be linked back to rich clinical trajectories and existing omics profiles. This linkage is what gives the resource much of its value, because it allows researchers to study relationships among vesicle-associated RNA signatures, disease status, disease progression, and other molecular readouts already housed in AMP PD.

The expected end product is not just a set of sequencing files, but a curated resource that can be integrated into the AMP PD Knowledge Platform and shared widely. That implies the project will need to emphasize reproducible laboratory methods, careful quality control, consistent metadata capture, and data packaging in forms that can be used by outside groups. Since the announcement explicitly frames the effort as a community resource, the implicit expectation is that the resulting dataset will be accessible and interoperable with other AMP PD assets, supporting downstream analyses such as biomarker discovery, disease stratification, and mechanistic investigations that leverage large, harmonized human datasets.

This is an R24 award and clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA. The focus is on generating and disseminating research resources rather than enrolling participants or testing interventions. The samples are coming from established cohorts, so the award primarily supports the specialized processing and sequencing work, along with data generation and integration activities aligned with AMP PD platform standards.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations. 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; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education where applicable); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly notes additional eligible 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. At the same time, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed, reinforcing that the work must be carried out within allowable U.S.-based institutional arrangements.

Key administrative details from the source listing include that the sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the grant funding instrument, and it falls under the education and health activity category. The original closing date listed is 2022-09-19, and the opportunity record creation date is 2022-07-08. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided excerpt, so applicants would typically need to consult the full FOA text for budget guidance, project period expectations, and review criteria specifics.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as NIH and AMP PD investing in a specialized sequencing pipeline and dataset build-out that many labs can use. The funded team is expected to take on the technically demanding work of brain-derived extracellular vesicle RNA isolation from blood at scale, produce high-quality exRNA sequencing data from a large sample set tied to deeply characterized cohorts, and deliver the outputs in a form that can live inside the AMP PD Knowledge Platform as a durable, widely shared research resource.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Extracellular RNA Sequencing Research Resource for the Accelerating Medicines Partnership Parkinsons Disease (AMPPD) (R24 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-07-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-09-19. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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.

Apply for RFA NS 23 014

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