Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 816
The NIH funding opportunity PA 18-816, titled "Better Defining Growth Medium to Improve Reproducibility of Cell Culture (STTR) (R41/R42 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)," is aimed at fixing a common and widely recognized problem in basic and applied biomedical research: the poor reproducibility that can result from variability in cell culture conditions. The focus is specifically on fetal bovine serum (FBS), which is routinely added to cell culture media because it is relatively inexpensive and broadly effective at promoting cell survival and proliferation across many different cell types and cell lines. Even though FBS is convenient and widely used, it is not a well-defined reagent. Its composition can vary substantially from lot to lot, and those changes can alter biological activity and the way cells behave in culture. That variability can quietly introduce differences in experimental outcomes between labs, between studies, or even between different runs in the same lab, making it harder to compare results and replicate findings.
This FOA supports Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) projects that create practical tools to help researchers either standardize serum use or replace serum altogether with more defined and consistent alternatives. In other words, the NIH is looking for technologies that reduce reliance on an unpredictable component of the cell culture workflow and make cell culture conditions more controlled, measurable, and reproducible. The emphasis is on solutions that are not only scientifically sound but also reliable in routine use and cost-effective enough to be adopted broadly. The goal is not simply to study serum variability, but to develop products, methods, or platforms that help laboratories obtain more consistent cell culture performance and outcomes.
The mechanism is STTR, using the R41/R42 phased approach. That typically means an early, feasibility-focused phase (R41) followed by a development and commercialization-oriented phase (R42), with the expectation that a small business will work in formal partnership with a research institution to move an innovation from proof-of-concept toward a deployable research tool. The activity category is health, and the funding instrument is a grant. Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed under this announcement, which signals that the intended scope is technology development for research use rather than testing interventions in human participants.
Eligibility is limited to small businesses, consistent with STTR rules. Foreign institutions and other non-U.S. entities cannot apply as applicants, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components may be allowed under NIH policy definitions, meaning certain aspects of the work might be performed abroad if they meet NIH requirements and are justified, but the applicant organization itself must be an eligible U.S. small business. The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health, and the CFDA (assistance listing) number associated with this opportunity is 93.859. The opportunity was created on 2018-06-05, and the original closing date listed in the provided source data is 2021-04-05.
In practical terms, the opportunity is designed to seed and accelerate commercially relevant innovations that make cell culture media more defined and consistent. By improving how researchers standardize or replace serum, the NIH is aiming to reduce hidden experimental variability, strengthen the comparability of results across laboratories, and ultimately improve the reliability of downstream biomedical research that depends on cell culture models.Apply for PA 18 816
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Better Defining Growth Medium to Improve Reproducibility of Cell Culture (STTR) (R41/R42 - 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): 93.859.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2018-06-05.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-04-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
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| Funding Opportunity |
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| Lab to Marketplace: Tools for Brain and Behavioral Research (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PA 18 819 Funding Number: PA 18 819 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $450,000 |
| Alzheimer's Drug-Development Program (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 820 Funding Number: PAR 18 820 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Roybal Centers for Translational Research on Aging (P30 - Clinical Trial Required) Apply for RFA AG 19 006 Funding Number: RFA AG 19 006 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Roybal Centers for Translational Research on Dementia Care Provider Support (P30 - Clinical Trial Required) Apply for RFA AG 19 007 Funding Number: RFA AG 19 007 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Collaborative Activities to Promote Cancer Cachexia Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 821 Funding Number: PA 18 821 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Approaches for Understanding Disease Mechanisms and Improving Outcomes in TB Meningitis (TBM) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 18 822 Funding Number: PAR 18 822 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Exploratory Analyses of CALERIE Data and Biospecimens to Elucidate Mechanisms of Caloric Restriction (CR)-Induced Effects in Humans (R21 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 824 Funding Number: PA 18 824 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging (K76 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA AG 19 017 Funding Number: RFA AG 19 017 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $225,000 |
| Analyses of Adherence Strategies and Data Sets from CALERIE to Explore Behavioral and Psychosocial Aspects of Sustained Caloric Restriction in Humans (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 825 Funding Number: PA 18 825 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Exploratory Analyses of Adherence Strategies and Data Sets from CALERIE to Investigate Behavioral and Psychosocial Aspects of Sustained Caloric Restriction in Humans (R21 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 826 Funding Number: PA 18 826 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging (K76 Independent Clinical Trial Required) Apply for RFA AG 19 018 Funding Number: RFA AG 19 018 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $225,000 |
| Analyses of CALERIE Data and Biospecimens to Elucidate Mechanisms of Caloric Restriction (CR)-Induced Effects in Humans (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PA 18 823 Funding Number: PA 18 823 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Data Management and Coordinating Center (DMCC) for Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) (U2C Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA TR 18 021 Funding Number: RFA TR 18 021 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $3,500,000 |
| Sustained Release Innovation for HIV (SRI) (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA AI 18 006 Funding Number: RFA AI 18 006 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $800,000 |
| NCCIH Natural Product Early Phase Clinical Trial Award (R33 Clinical Trial Required) Apply for PAR 18 828 Funding Number: PAR 18 828 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $1,050,000 |
| NCCIH Natural Product Early Phase Clinical Trial Phased Innovation Award (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required) Apply for PAR 18 829 Funding Number: PAR 18 829 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Orphans and Vulnerable Children II (OVC II) Activity Apply for 72052118R00016 Funding Number: 72052118R00016 Agency: Haiti USAID-Port Au Prince Category: Health Funding Amount: $19,950,000 |
| Developmental AIDS Research Center on Mental Health and HIV/AIDS (P30 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 833 Funding Number: PAR 18 833 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $750,000 |
| AIDS Research Center on Mental Health and HIV/AIDS (P30 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 18 832 Funding Number: PAR 18 832 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $1,500,000 |
| Modeling and Simulation to Optimize HIV Prevention Research (MS OPR) (R01 Clinical Trial not allowed) Apply for RFA AI 18 026 Funding Number: RFA AI 18 026 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $400,000 |
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