Development of Collaborative Research Facilities or Research-Resource Facilities (C06 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications that seek funding to develop shared-use research facilities or research resource facilities. These facilities are expected to meet the ongoing and future biomedical research needs, enable cutting-edge biomedical research or research on emerging health concerns, promote interdisciplinary collaborative research, cultivate the next generation of the biomedical research workforce, and sustain critical biomedical research resources for long-lasting impact.

The NOFO supports two existing congressionally appropriated construction programs: the Biomedical Research Facilities (BRF) program and the HIV/AIDS Research Facilities (HRF) program. NIH is obliged to conduct the scientific merit review of the applications, oversee the design technical review and the construction of the facilities, and monitor the post-occupancy usage of the facilities for the 10-year federal oversight period.

NIH encourages applications from institutions across all geographic regions of the country, including Institutions of Emerging Excellence (IEE) in biomedical research, to strengthen the nation's research capacity.

Facility Details

With this NOFO, ORIP invites applications to respond to both BRF and HRF programs. The BRF program supports the construction or modernization of biomedical research facilities that advance biomedical research in all areas. Intended facilities are shared research spaces, core facilities, biorepositories, or other shared-use resource facilities that serve a broad scientific community with a significant, long-term impact on biomedical research. Examples include multi-disciplinary collaborative research spaces, biosafety-level laboratories, dedicated facilities that support emerging nonanimal or human-based research technologies, core laboratories, state-of-the-art facilities housing advanced imaging equipment, biorepositories, clean rooms or GLP-compliant spaces for compound synthesis.

The HRF program funds the development of HIV/AIDS research or research-supporting resources that the empowered research activities must align with the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) priorities, as outlined at OAR HIV/AIDS Research Priorities, including research focusing on the long-term health consequences of HIV infection. Examples of HIV/AIDS research areas include humanized non-primate small animal models for HIV/AIDS with accuracy and translatability comparable to nonhuman primates; facilities for manufacturing safe HIV vaccines with more effective viral eradication for viruses in their latent reservoirs, or vaccines more potent to suppress viruses with high mutational potential.

All supported facilities must serve a wide research community, locally (within the applicant institution), regionally (across several institutions), or nationally, demonstrating value beyond a single research group or department.