ADRD Risk and Disease Following Nervous System Exposures at Biological Interfaces with the Environment (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 24 270

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 24 270

The NIH funding opportunity PAR-24-270, titled "ADRD Risk and Disease Following Nervous System Exposures at Biological Interfaces with the Environment (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)," supports research aimed at clarifying how environmental exposures contribute to Alzheimerapos;s disease-related dementias (ADRD). The central idea is that a growing body of evidence points to external environmental factors as meaningful drivers of health and disease, and this program specifically targets the pathways by which those exposures may influence ADRD biology and outcomes. The mechanism is an NIH R01 research project grant, focused on hypothesis-driven work that can connect specific exposures to measurable changes in disease mechanisms and phenotypes.

This NOFO is centered on "exogenous environmental risk factors" (ERFs), meaning hazards that originate outside the body and reach tissues that directly interface with the environment. Examples called out in the announcement include toxins and toxic chemicals, pathogens, and other environmental exposures. A key emphasis is on exposures that contact or enter the body through innervated surfaces, meaning surfaces rich in nerve supply and capable of signaling directly to the nervous system. The announcement names the gut, mouth, throat, lungs, nasal passages, and skin as major interfaces of interest, while also allowing other relevant body-environment interfaces. The program is looking for research that goes beyond describing associations by determining how exposures at these interfaces influence ADRD-related disease mechanisms, such as biological cascades that plausibly affect neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.

Mechanistic work is a core requirement of fit. Projects are expected to investigate how ERFs operating at these biological interfaces can shape ADRD pathophysiology and phenotypic outcomes, which may include measurable clinical or functional manifestations short of interventional trials. Human studies are allowed when they are designed to identify exposures at these interfaces, but they must also include a mechanistic component in the overall research plan. In other words, purely observational exposure identification without linking the exposure to biological mechanisms relevant to ADRD would be less responsive than studies that tie exposure measurements to mechanistic endpoints. At the same time, this opportunity explicitly does not allow clinical trials, so applicants need to ensure their proposed human research does not involve prospective assignment of participants to an intervention intended to change health-related outcomes.

The NOFO also emphasizes that successful applications will likely require team-based, cross-disciplinary collaboration. The intent is to bring together neuroscientists with deep ADRD expertise and environmental health or environmental science experts who understand neurotoxicology and how exposures affect the nervous system. This team-science expectation reflects the complexity of linking real-world exposures at the bodyapos;s environmental interfaces to downstream nervous system effects and dementia-related outcomes, and it signals that proposals should be structured to integrate exposure science, biology, and ADRD-relevant neuroscience rather than treating them as separate silos.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations and governmental entities. 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; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also highlights participation from a range of institution types and community-linked organizations, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISISs, Hispanic-serving institutions, HBCUs, tribally controlled colleges and universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign organizations are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; however, foreign components (as defined in NIH policy) are allowed, which typically means a U.S.-based applicant may include certain foreign collaborations or performance sites if they meet NIH requirements.

From an administrative standpoint, the program is run by the National Institutes of Health under CFDA numbers 93.853 and 93.866. The original closing date listed is 2024-11-19. The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $500,000, indicating the upper bound shown in the posting, and it is categorized as a discretionary grant. Overall, this NOFO is designed for projects that can credibly connect environmental exposures encountered at nerve-rich interfaces like the gut, airway, and skin to ADRD mechanisms, using rigorous mechanistic approaches and well-integrated expertise across neuroscience and environmental health, while staying clearly outside the definition of a clinical trial.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "ADRD Risk and Disease Following Nervous System Exposures at Biological Interfaces with the Environment (R01 - 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): 93.853, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-08-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-11-19. (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 $500,000.00 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.

Apply for PAR 24 270

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