NIH-CASIS Coordinated Microphysiological Systems Program for Translational Research in Space (UG3/UH3)
Participating Organization(s): National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Components of Participating Organizations: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: RFA-TR-16-019
Funding Opportunity Purpose
The purpose of this FOA is to promote the development of in vitro microphysiological systems in modeling human diseases and conditions that mimic the pathology in major organs and tissues in the human body, when exposed to the extreme environments of space, and the use of these models at the International Space Station-U.S. National Laboratory (ISS-NL) to facilitate the assessment of biomarkers, bioavailability, efficacy, and toxicity of therapeutic agents prior to entry into clinical trials.
Funds from the NIH will be made available through the UG3/UH3 cooperative agreement mechanism. During the initial two-year UG3 phase, support will be provided to develop robust models that recapitulate the progression and pathology of human diseases and conditions exposed to prolonged microgravity environment. Following administrative review, the two-year UH3 phase will build upon successful UG3 models to demonstrate the functional utility of the models for more defined experiments at the ISS-NL. It is anticipated that these studies will lead to identification of novel treatment mechanisms through better understanding of disease biology, drug screening, assessment of candidate therapies for efficacy and safety assessments, and establishing the pre-clinical foundation that will inform clinical trial design on Earth.
Application Due Date(s): December 15, 2016, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on this date.
Earliest Start Date: July 2017
