Development of Valid Reliable Markers of Aging-Related Biologic Mechanisms for Human Studies (U01) | RFA AG 18 018

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 18 018

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released this grant opportunity, RFA-AG-18-018, to support the development of valid and reliable biomarkers (or other measurable indicators) that reflect the activity of core biological mechanisms of aging in humans. The main goal is to create and improve tools researchers can use to measure how specific aging mechanisms are operating in people, because those mechanisms can shape both the risk of developing multiple age-related conditions and how those conditions progress over time. Rather than focusing on a single disease outcome, the emphasis is on fundamental processes that cut across many aging-related disorders, with the idea that better markers of those processes can strengthen human aging research and, down the road, improve prevention and intervention studies.

Projects under this FOA are expected to pick one or more aging-related mechanisms that plausibly drive age-associated change and then take a rigorous approach to marker development and evaluation. Applicants are encouraged to examine multiple candidate markers for the chosen mechanism(s), compare them, and determine which perform best. A major priority is measurement quality: teams should test and refine methods to improve properties like validity (whether the marker truly reflects the mechanism), reliability and reproducibility (whether it gives consistent results across time, labs, operators, or platforms), sensitivity and specificity (whether it detects meaningful differences and is not easily confounded), and feasibility for use in human studies. The FOA also highlights the importance of characterizing how these markers vary across individuals of different ages, as well as how they vary among people within the same age group, since aging trajectories can differ substantially from person to person.

A key expectation is that applicants connect the proposed markers to real-world human biology and function. In practical terms, the FOA is pushing teams not only to measure a biomarker in isolation, but also to evaluate how the marker relates to in vivo functions influenced by the underlying mechanism being studied. That could mean linking a marker to physiological performance, organ function, resilience, or other functional outcomes that are relevant to aging biology. The intention is to ensure that the resulting markers are not just technically measurable, but also biologically meaningful in living humans and useful for interpreting aging-related changes.

The funding mechanism is a U01 cooperative agreement, which typically means NIH staff may have substantial programmatic involvement compared with a standard research project grant. In other words, while the award supports investigator-led science, the cooperative structure often comes with greater coordination, milestone expectations, and collaboration with NIH program staff to keep the work aligned with the FOA goals. The opportunity falls under the Health activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.866. The listed award ceiling is $400,000, and the original closing date for applications was January 30, 2018 (with a creation date of September 21, 2017), indicating this is a time-limited solicitation from that period.

Because biomarker development for aging mechanisms often requires many specialized skills, the FOA strongly encourages interdisciplinary teams. The suggested expertise areas include the biology of the targeted mechanism(s), biomedical aging research, clinical pathology and lab assay development, imaging methods, human cohort study design and execution, tissue banking and biorepository management, and statistics. This reflects the practical reality that producing a marker that is both biologically grounded and analytically sound usually requires coordinated work across basic biology, clinical measurement, population-based study infrastructure, and quantitative methods.

Although the central focus is on markers for use in humans, the FOA allows the use of laboratory animal studies when they are necessary to develop or validate human markers. This could include using animal work to test mechanistic links, to evaluate assay performance under controlled conditions, or to develop parallel markers in animals that can be aligned with human measures. The point is not to shift the project into animal aging research, but to permit animal studies when they directly support robust human marker development.

Eligibility is broad and includes many common applicant types such as state, county, and municipal 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/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly notes additional eligible applicant categories, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, regional organizations, tribal governments other than federally recognized, and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). This wide eligibility reflects NIH interest in drawing on diverse scientific, clinical, and community-linked research capacity to accelerate progress on aging biomarker development.

Overall, this opportunity is designed to move the field toward dependable human measures of fundamental aging biology. By supporting systematic testing of candidate markers, improving how those markers are measured, documenting how they vary across people and age groups, and tying them to functional outcomes in living humans, the FOA aims to produce tools that can strengthen human aging studies and improve how researchers evaluate interventions, risks, and trajectories across multiple age-related conditions.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Development of Valid Reliable Markers of Aging-Related Biologic Mechanisms for Human Studies (U01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-09-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-30. (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 $400,000.00 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 RFA AG 18 018

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