Interdisciplinary Research to Understand the Complex Biology of Resilience to Alzheimers Disease Risk (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA AG 18 029

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 18 029

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Interdisciplinary Research to Understand the Complex Biology of Resilience to Alzheimers Disease Risk (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number: RFA-AG-18-029; CFDA: 93.866) supports research projects that explain why some people who are clearly at high risk for Alzheimers disease never go on to develop dementia. The central idea is to study "cognitive resilience" and to do it in a way that goes beyond any single discipline, bringing together teams that can integrate biology, data science, and clinical or population-based knowledge. The work is framed around building predictive molecular models of resilience, meaning applicants are expected to use large, complex datasets to identify biological signatures and mechanisms that help preserve cognition even when risk factors are present.

The scientific emphasis is on high-dimensional molecular data, such as multi-omics or similarly rich molecular profiling, collected from individuals who remain dementia-free despite elevated risk. Rather than focusing only on Alzheimers pathology, the opportunity encourages approaches that can capture the complex biology that might protect the brain, compensate for damage, or delay clinical symptoms. A key deliverable implied by the announcement is a model or set of models that can predict resilience from molecular patterns, ideally robust enough to inform future research directions, target identification, or biomarker development. Because it is an R01 mechanism, the expectation is a substantial, hypothesis-driven research plan with strong analytic rigor and a clear path to producing generalizable knowledge.

Clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement, so proposals should not be designed as interventional studies that prospectively assign human participants to treatments or behavioral conditions to measure outcomes. The intent is better aligned with observational human studies, analysis of existing cohorts, secondary analysis of previously collected biospecimens and datasets, computational modeling, systems biology, and other non-trial research designs that can still directly address resilience biology. Applicants would typically be expected to justify cohort selection, define what "high risk" means in their context (for example, genetic risk, biomarker risk, family history, or other validated indicators), and clearly define how they will operationalize and measure resilience.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations: state, county, and 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; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other eligible entities. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicants, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American, Native American, and 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; U.S. territories or possessions; and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). This wide eligibility reflects an interest in drawing expertise and participant populations from many settings, which can be important for studying resilience across diverse groups.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by NIH in the health funding activity category. The original closing date listed is March 26, 2018, and the opportunity was created on December 15, 2017. The award ceiling is listed as $750,000, indicating the upper bound NIH expected to support per award under this announcement (typically interpreted in line with NIH budgeting conventions as total costs unless otherwise specified in the full FOA). The listing shows "ExpectedAwards:" without a number, so the public summary does not specify how many awards NIH planned to make.

In practical terms, competitive applications under this FOA would be expected to show real integration across fields (for example, neurodegeneration expertise paired with advanced statistics, machine learning, network biology, and careful phenotype definition), access to well-characterized participant data and biospecimens, and a credible plan for handling complex molecular datasets. The overall goal is to move toward biologically grounded, predictive understanding of why some high-risk individuals stay cognitively intact, laying a foundation for future strategies that could mimic or enhance those protective processes.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Interdisciplinary Research to Understand the Complex Biology of Resilience to Alzheimers Disease Risk (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): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-12-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-03-26. (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 $750,000.00 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 RFA AG 18 029

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