Human Islet Research Enhancement Center for the Human Islet Research Network (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DK 18 012

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 18 012

The funding opportunity titled "Human Islet Research Enhancement Center for the Human Islet Research Network (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (RFA-DK-18-012) is a discretionary National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement administered by the Department of Health and Human Services through NIH, with involvement from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). It was created on July 25, 2018, with an original application deadline of November 8, 2018. The announcement supports a single primary purpose: establishing and operating a Human Islet Research Enhancement Center that provides shared infrastructure to strengthen how the NIDDK-funded Human Islet Research Network (HIRN) works together, coordinates activities, and communicates progress and findings. The focus is not on running clinical trials; the mechanism explicitly states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," which signals that the award is meant to enable research support functions and network-wide enablement rather than interventional human studies.

The award mechanism is a U24 cooperative agreement, which generally means the funded center would not operate as an isolated, investigator-driven project in the traditional grant sense. Instead, it would function as a structured resource and service hub for the network, with substantial programmatic involvement from NIH staff. In practical terms, this kind of center is expected to help unify multi-site efforts, reduce duplication across participating groups, improve consistency in how work is performed and reported, and accelerate the pace at which discoveries and methods are shared across the network and out to the broader research community. The activity category is listed under food and nutrition and health, and the opportunity is associated with CFDA number 93.847, reflecting NIDDK-related research and infrastructure support.

Financially, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $1,200,000 and an expectation of one award, indicating a single, central coordinating and enhancement center rather than multiple parallel centers. With only one anticipated award, the competition is structured to select one organization capable of serving as the network-wide backbone for coordination, collaboration, and dissemination functions. The center would be expected to build and maintain the infrastructure needed for HIRN to operate efficiently, which typically includes elements like administrative coordination, shared governance support, meeting and workshop planning, cross-site communication systems, data and resource sharing processes, and outward-facing dissemination channels that keep both participating investigators and the wider community informed about advances coming out of HIRN.

The stated mission of the center is to support "research coordination, collaboration and dissemination of advances" made by HIRN. Coordination and collaboration support usually implies organizing network activities, enabling interactions across research groups, facilitating working groups or committees, and ensuring that materials, protocols, and updates move smoothly across teams. Dissemination implies making the network's progress accessible in clear and timely ways, such as through network websites or portals, newsletters and announcements, standardized reporting, curated resource listings, and events that share new tools, methods, or results. Because this is an enhancement center rather than a discovery project, the value is in making it easier for the network to function as a coherent whole and for its outputs to reach relevant scientific audiences faster.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations that can credibly operate a national-scale coordinating center. 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 and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and additional entities as described in the announcement's eligibility text. This wide eligibility reflects that the core requirement is less about institutional type and more about demonstrated capacity to provide reliable infrastructure, manage complex collaborations, and support dissemination and coordination at network scale.

In short, this opportunity funds a single, NIH-partnered infrastructure center designed to keep the Human Islet Research Network operating smoothly and productively by providing centralized coordination, collaboration support, and dissemination capacity. It is not a clinical trial award and is structured to produce network-level efficiencies and broader sharing of advances in human islet research by strengthening the connective tissue between HIRN investigators, activities, and outputs.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Human Islet Research Enhancement Center for the Human Islet Research Network (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" 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 Jul 25, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 08, 2018. (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 $1,200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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