Targeted Prevention for Tickborne Diseases (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA AI 19 037

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AI 19 037

The Targeted Prevention for Tickborne Diseases (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-AI-19-037) is a discretionary NIH grant program in the health category (CFDA 93.855) designed to push forward new ways to prevent Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. The main focus is on developing vaccines as well as other prevention strategies, meaning the program is geared toward research that can stop infections from occurring in the first place rather than treating disease after exposure. Because it is an R01 mechanism, it is generally intended to support substantial, hypothesis-driven research projects that can generate strong preclinical or translational evidence to move a prevention approach closer to real-world use, while still fitting within the limits specified by the announcement.

A key restriction in the title is "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," which signals that applications should not propose clinical trials as defined by NIH. In practice, this typically means the work should stay on the discovery, design, optimization, and non-trial evaluation side of vaccine or prevention development, such as antigen discovery, immunogen design, platform optimization, laboratory and animal model testing, identification of correlates of protection, development of delivery systems or adjuvants, and other non-clinical-trial studies that strengthen the scientific and technical basis for prevention. The emphasis is on targeted prevention, so proposals are expected to be directly connected to preventing Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases rather than broadly studying ticks or pathogens without a clear prevention endpoint.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. governmental entities and academic institutions, along with nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including small businesses). Specifically, eligible applicants listed include state, county, city or township, and 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 governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories). For-profit organizations (other than small businesses) are eligible as well, in addition to small businesses, and the listing also includes an "Others" category that NIH sometimes uses to capture additional eligible entity types.

The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories beyond the standard list, reflecting NIH interest in broad participation and diverse institutional engagement. These include 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 government agencies; regional organizations; U.S. territories or possessions; Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized; and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). That combination suggests the program is open to a wide range of partners, including international groups, which can be relevant given that tick-borne diseases and tick vectors occur across many regions and prevention solutions may benefit from cross-border scientific collaboration.

The sponsor is the National Institutes of Health, and the award is structured as a grant under an R01 research project format. The source information provided shows the original closing date as 2019-08-06 and a creation date of 2019-04-02, indicating this was a time-bound solicitation released in 2019. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided data, which usually means applicants would need to consult the full FOA text for budget limits, project period expectations, and any programmatic priorities or scientific scope details that NIH often includes in the full announcement.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as NIH support for research that can lead to practical, science-backed prevention tools against Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, with a strong emphasis on vaccine and prevention strategy development, broad eligibility across sectors and institution types, and a clear boundary that proposed work should not include clinical trials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Targeted Prevention for Tickborne Diseases (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): 93.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-04-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-08-06. (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 AI 19 037

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