Kidney Precision Medicine Project Central Hub (U2C) | RFA DK 16 028

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 16 028

The Kidney Precision Medicine Project Central Hub (U2C) funding opportunity (RFA-DK-16-028) is an NIH cooperative agreement designed to stand up and operate the coordinating centerpiece of the broader Kidney Precision Medicine Project (KPMP). The central idea is to create a single, well-supported hub that can bring together all of the project inputs (participant clinical information, biopsy-derived data, and associated samples), turn those inputs into standardized and analyzable resources, and then make the resulting information usable through analysis and visualization tools. Rather than being a standalone research grant, this mechanism supports a central, program-wide function that enables multiple collaborating sites to work as one integrated network.

The Central Hub is expected to provide end-to-end coordination for aggregating, analyzing, and visualizing KPMP data and samples. In practical terms, that means building and maintaining the informatics and data infrastructure needed to collect, harmonize, store, and share information coming from the KPMP Recruitment Sites (where participants are enrolled and biopsies are obtained) and the KPMP Tissue Interrogation Sites (where advanced molecular and cellular analyses are performed on kidney tissue). Beyond data handling, the hub is also expected to provide scientific coordination support, operational infrastructure, and administrative management for the entire consortium, functioning as the organizing backbone that keeps protocols aligned, timelines coordinated, and outputs consistent across institutions.

Scientifically, the opportunity is framed around obtaining and evaluating kidney biopsies from people with acute kidney injury (AKI) or chronic kidney disease (CKD), then using those tissues and linked participant data to build a kidney tissue atlas. The atlas concept implies a high-resolution map of kidney cell types and states, molecular signatures, and structural features tied to disease context. By integrating these detailed tissue-level findings with participant-level clinical information, the consortium aims to define more precise disease subgroups (in other words, categories that reflect underlying biology rather than broad clinical labels) and to identify key cells, pathways, and potential therapeutic targets that could guide future treatment development. The Central Hub is positioned as the place where these diverse streams of evidence are assembled into coherent, interpretable outputs for the project as a whole.

This FOA is listed as a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument, which generally indicates substantial NIH program involvement in the execution and coordination of the funded activities. It falls under the Health category (CFDA 93.847) and is administered by the National Institutes of Health. The posting indicates an award ceiling of $1,700,000, with an original closing date of 2016-12-06 and a creation date of 2016-08-17.

Eligibility is broad across public and private sectors and includes state, county, and local 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; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; 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); small businesses; and other entities. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized ones, regional organizations, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it clarifies that non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply; however, foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, which typically means a U.S. applicant may include certain clearly justified foreign activities or collaborations under NIH rules even though a foreign institution cannot serve as the applicant organization.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Kidney Precision Medicine Project Central Hub (U2C)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-08-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-12-06. (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 $1,700,000.00 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.

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