Age-related Microbiota Changes and their Implications in Chronic Disease Prevention, Treatment and Progression (R01 Clinical Trial Optional). | PA 18 738

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 738

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Age-related Microbiota Changes and their Implications in Chronic Disease Prevention, Treatment and Progression (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PA 18-738) supports research aimed at understanding how the human microbiome changes over the course of aging and what those changes mean for health, disease risk, and disease outcomes in older adults. The central focus is the role of the microbiota (for example, gut, oral, skin, or other microbial communities) in shaping health trajectories during later life, including how shifts in microbial composition and function may contribute to the prevention, development, progression, or treatment response of chronic diseases common in aging populations.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is to encourage studies that look at microbiota changes across the lifespan and connect those changes to measurable differences in health status among elderly individuals. This includes research that examines whether particular microbial patterns are linked to resilience, healthy aging, or reduced risk of chronic conditions, as well as studies that explore how age-associated microbiome alterations might worsen inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, immune decline, frailty, cognitive changes, or other age-related clinical outcomes. The FOA also explicitly highlights the importance of including elderly individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups and other underserved populations, reflecting NIH priorities around health disparities and ensuring that findings are relevant across diverse communities rather than limited to narrow or unrepresentative cohorts.

The FOA is broad in the types of research approaches it will consider, as long as the proposed work is aligned with the state of the science and is designed to clarify mechanisms or clinically relevant relationships. It allows basic mechanistic work, which may include studies exploring biological pathways that explain how microbes and their metabolites interact with host tissues during aging. It also supports preclinical studies using animal models to test hypotheses about causality and mechanism, such as whether transferring microbiota from young to old animals changes disease susceptibility or whether diet, drugs, or other exposures alter microbial communities in ways that influence aging phenotypes. In addition, the announcement allows human clinical trial proposals, but in an optional way, meaning applicants may propose clinical trials if appropriate to their research questions, rather than being required to do so. This flexibility enables the program to fund everything from foundational mechanistic experiments to translational or interventional human studies aimed at improving prevention or treatment strategies for chronic disease in older adults.

In practical terms, projects responsive to this FOA would typically aim to do more than just describe which microbes are present. Competitive applications often move toward understanding function and mechanism, such as microbial gene pathways, metabolite outputs, host immune responses, and bidirectional interactions between microbiota and host physiology that shift with age. The underlying goal is to build evidence that can inform real-world strategies for chronic disease prevention and management in aging, potentially including microbiome-targeted interventions, personalized nutrition approaches, or risk stratification tools based on microbial signatures, while still grounding those ideas in rigorous biology.

This opportunity uses the NIH R01 grant mechanism, which is generally intended for well-developed, hypothesis-driven research projects with a clear plan, strong scientific rationale, and feasible methods. The funding instrument type is a grant, and the activity category is listed under education and health, with CFDA numbers 93.121, 93.361, 93.393, and 93.866. The source record lists an original closing date of 2021-05-07 and a creation date of 2018-04-03. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided data, which typically means budgets and award counts depend on NIH institute priorities, available appropriations, and the merit of applications received.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations as well as certain non-U.S. entities. Eligible applicants include 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; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses, among others. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American 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 agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and foreign organizations (non-domestic entities). This wide eligibility scope is meant to encourage participation from a diverse research ecosystem, including institutions and communities that serve populations disproportionately affected by chronic disease and health inequities in aging.

Overall, the grant opportunity is designed to accelerate microbiome and aging research that can connect age-related microbial shifts to chronic disease prevention, treatment, and progression, while pushing the field toward deeper mechanistic understanding and broader representation of older adults, including those from underserved and minority populations.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Age-related Microbiota Changes and their Implications in Chronic Disease Prevention, Treatment and Progression (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)." and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.121, 93.361, 93.393, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-04-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-07. (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 PA 18 738

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: