Emergency Awards: RADx-rad Wastewater Detection of SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) (U01 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

As one of the programs within the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Radical (RADx-rad) program (https://www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/radx/radx-programs#radx-rad), the RADx-rad Wastewater Detection of SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) FOA will support wastewater-based testing (WBT) surveillance which can provide detailed mapping of the extent and spread of COVID-19. Wastewater testing has been shown to be orders of magnitude less expensive and faster than clinical screening, albeit serving as a complementary approach rather than substituting individual-level testing and screening. The purpose of this FOA is to solicit cooperative agreements both for field studies and for technology research and development projects capitalizing on partnerships with small business entities in the field of WBT, to address topics such as: investigation and demonstration of specific approaches aiming to inform and optimize sample collection; implementation and development of optimized approaches to extrapolate estimation of population-level data within the community; development of optimized intervention strategies, and incorporation of computational, statistical, and mathematical models to facilitate early detection of hotspots of virus spread. The funding for this initiative is provided from the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, 2020.