The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is offering funding for the Animal and Biological Material Resource Centers (P40) program. This funding opportunity is managed by the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP), under the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives. The purpose of this initiative is to provide support for specialized colonies of laboratory animals and other essential biomedical research resources such as informatics tools, reagents, cultures, and genetic stocks. The goal of the program is to optimize scientific rigor, transparency, and experimental reproducibility in biomedical research. This initiative is a reissue of the previous funding opportunity RFA-OD-20-002.

The funding opportunity is open to applications for the development and maintenance of new or existing resource centers. Centers funded under this program must serve the needs of multiple NIH Institutes and Centers, ensuring broad national availability of their resources. The funding can support activities such as the creation, characterization, preservation, and distribution of high-quality laboratory animals and related models, as well as the development of informatics tools and data curation. Proposals focused solely on specific diseases, species repositories, or wild-type specimens exposed to environmental factors will not be considered. A critical component of the program includes the Applied Research Component, which must enhance the resources and services offered while ensuring compliance with NIH policies for data management and sharing.

Eligibility for this funding opportunity extends to institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses, and various local, state, and tribal government entities. Foreign institutions and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. Applicants must complete multiple registrations, including SAM.gov and Grants.gov, before submission. While cost sharing is not required, applicant organizations must demonstrate institutional commitment to the proposed center, such as financial support and infrastructure provision.

Applications are subject to strict submission and review guidelines. Proposals must follow the NIH SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and adhere to all specified formatting and documentation requirements. Submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process based on significance, investigator qualifications, innovation, approach, and research environment. Special emphasis will be placed on the ability of the centers to serve a national research community, maintain high-quality animal models, and ensure financial sustainability through program income.

The NIH intends to commit approximately $1.3 million per year from FY 2023 to FY 2025, funding at least two awards per year. There is no maximum budget limit, but proposed budgets must align with the actual needs of the project. Any applicant requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any single year must obtain prior approval. The maximum project period is five years, with renewal applications subject to a funding increase cap of five percent.

The application deadline follows a recurring cycle, with upcoming due dates on May 29, 2024; September 26, 2024; January 28, 2025; May 28, 2025; and September 26, 2025. Applications must be submitted via NIH ASSIST or an institutional system-to-system (S2S) submission process. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to consult NIH scientific and program staff before submitting their proposals to ensure alignment with program objectives and competitiveness. Inquiries can be directed to Dr. Oleg Mirochnitchenko (oleg.mirochnitchenko@nih.gov, 301-435-0748) for scientific or research-related questions, and Kenneth Holiness (holinessk@nih.gov, 301-480-6854) for financial and grants management inquiries.