NIAID recently issued two new funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) as part of our continuing effort to support research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19):
The two FOAs are ideal for applicants proposing new coronavirus-related research projects. They feature rolling submission, meaning you can submit an application as soon as it is ready and NIAID will review it in an expedited fashion.
NIAID is prioritizing an extensive list of scientific topics related to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 including:
- Studies to understand critical aspects of viral infection, replication, and pathogenesis;
- Studies to understand critical aspects of viral transmission;
- Identification and characterization of the onset and duration of immunity in healthy and at-risk populations;
- Virologic and serologic surveillance studies and natural history studies to understand the origin of the virus, including the animal host reservoir, potential intermediate hosts, factors leading to spillover events, evidence of continued spillover events, and studies at the human-animal interface;
- Development of animal models for transmission experiments
- More....
The complete list and explanation
can be found here. Reviewers will consider whether you have immediate access to needed resources (e.g., patient samples, isolates) at sufficient quantities to achieve your Specific Aims.
The R01 provides up to five years of funding, although a shorter period of time may be more appropriate for certain projects. The R01 does not limit the allowable budget, although your budget request should reflect the actual needs of the project. The NIH policy for Big Grants applies, which could delay applications proposing budgets of $500,000 or more direct costs in any one year.
The R21 explicitly does not require preliminary research; it’s designed to support exploratory and developmental research projects. It provides up to two years of funding and limits budgets to $275,000 direct costs with no more than $200,000 requested for any single year.
For both FOAs, awardees are expected to rapidly share and disseminate research data, results, and analyses in accordance with NIAID’s Data Sharing and Release Guidelines.
Clinical trials are not allowed.
Resubmission (A1) applications are not allowed, though you may submit a subsequent new (A0) application if your first application is not funded.
NIH will accept applications on a rolling basis through April 30, 2021. You can apply at any time before then.