Selectively Target Technology Development to Understand How Changes or Dysfunction at the Capillary, Arterioles, and Small Lymphatic Vessels Level Can Have Long-term Impact on AD/ADRD (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 22 026

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 22 026

This NIH funding opportunity (PAR-22-026) is an R01 grant program focused on technology development to better understand how dysfunction in the brain's smallest vessels can drive long-term cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). The scientific emphasis is on small vessel vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID), specifically at the level of capillaries, arterioles, small lymphatic vessels, and the perivascular spaces that surround and interface with these structures. Projects are expected to push beyond descriptive observations by enabling mechanistic insight, meaning the tools or methods developed should help explain how and why small-vessel changes occur and how those changes translate into downstream effects on brain health and cognition over time.

A central goal of the announcement is to stimulate the creation or refinement of new technologies and innovative methods that can image and/or functionally assess these small vascular and lymphatic components in the brain. In practical terms, this points to advances that improve the ability to visualize microvascular structure, measure microvascular function (such as flow dynamics, reactivity, permeability, or integrity), and characterize perivascular spaces and related clearance pathways in ways that were not previously feasible or sufficiently sensitive. The FOA is positioned around the idea that limitations in current measurement approaches are a bottleneck for the field; by enabling better imaging or functional readouts of microvessels and lymphatic pathways, researchers can more directly connect small-vessel pathology to cognitive outcomes and dementia progression.

The mechanism is an NIH R01, and clinical trials are not allowed under this specific opportunity, signaling that the intended scope is technology and method development and mechanistic studies rather than testing interventions in a clinical trial framework. While human data could potentially be relevant depending on NIH policy and the structure of the study, the explicit "clinical trial not allowed" designation means applicants need to ensure their proposed work does not meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial and should be framed accordingly, focusing on tool development, validation, and mechanistic investigation rather than prospective assignment of participants to interventions to assess health-related outcomes.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that commonly participate in NIH research funding. Eligible applicants span public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and multiple levels of government entities (state, county, city/township, special district governments), as well as independent school districts and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. The announcement also explicitly highlights a wide range of other eligible applicants, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and tribal governments and organizations (including those other than federally recognized). It also allows non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign organizations, regional organizations, faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions, reinforcing that the program is open to diverse institutional settings capable of contributing to technological and methodological advances.

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the health area under NIH, with CFDA numbers 93.853 and 93.866. The source data lists an award ceiling of $499,000 and an original closing date of 2021-11-08, with a creation date of 2021-08-19. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted push by NIH to accelerate innovation in microvascular and lymphatic brain measurement tools so the research community can more precisely map the links between small-vessel dysfunction, impaired clearance or perivascular changes, and the development and progression of cognitive impairment and dementia.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Selectively Target Technology Development to Understand How Changes or Dysfunction at the Capillary, Arterioles, and Small Lymphatic Vessels Level Can Have Long-term Impact on AD/ADRD (R01 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): 93.853, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-08-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-08. (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 $499,000.00 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.

Apply for PAR 22 026

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