Expert-Driven Small Projects to Strengthen Gabriella Miller Kids First Discovery (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA RM 21 011

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 21 011

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Expert-Driven Small Projects to Strengthen Gabriella Miller Kids First Discovery (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number: RFA-RM-21-011; CFDA: 93.310) supports small, targeted projects that make the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource more useful to the wider research community. Kids First is a major data-sharing effort focused on childhood cancer and structural birth defects, and it maintains a centralized portal where researchers can access curated genomic data, linked phenotypic information, and analysis tools. The main purpose of this opportunity is to bring in outside experts to contribute focused improvements that increase the value, usability, and downstream impact of Kids First datasets and related resources, ultimately helping the field move toward better diagnostics and therapies for children and families affected by these conditions.

This announcement is designed around practical, expert-led activities rather than large, multi-year research programs. The emphasis is on strengthening the future analysis potential of Kids First data by improving the surrounding ecosystem: the quality and usability of datasets, the ways phenotypic and genomic information can be connected and interpreted, and the supporting tools or resources that help other scientists work with the data more effectively. While the announcement is not a clinical trial mechanism (clinical trials are not allowed), it is still clinically relevant in the sense that it aims to accelerate discoveries that can translate into improved understanding, diagnosis, and treatment over time by making shared data easier to analyze correctly and consistently.

The funding mechanism is an NIH R03 small grant, which typically aligns with discrete, well-scoped projects that can be completed with modest budgets. The listed award ceiling is $100,000, reinforcing that applicants should propose narrowly defined deliverables with clear value to the Kids First research community. The announcement originally closed on 2021-06-18, and it was created on 2021-02-08, indicating it was a time-bound call aimed at quickly injecting expertise into the program to address specific needs or opportunities in the resource.

A notable feature of this opportunity is its broad eligibility. In addition to common public and private research and government entities (such as state, county, and city governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private universities; independent school districts; special district governments; and federally recognized Native American tribal governments), it also allows applications from a wide range of organizational types that can contribute meaningful technical or domain expertise. This includes nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and other eligible entities. The opportunity also explicitly welcomes applications from groups often underrepresented in federal research funding, 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 Indian/Native American Tribal Governments that are not federally recognized. Faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, eligible federal agencies, and even non-U.S. (foreign) organizations are also included as "other eligible applicants," which signals an interest in attracting the best expertise wherever it exists, as long as the proposed work directly strengthens Kids First resources.

In practical terms, the grant is meant to fund small projects that enhance the Kids First Discovery environment, such as improving how datasets are curated, harmonized, or annotated; strengthening methods for integrating phenotypic and genomic information; creating or refining analysis approaches that can be reused by others; or filling gaps that make existing Kids First datasets easier to find, access, interpret, and analyze responsibly. The throughline is community benefit: the work should make it easier for the broader scientific community to conduct high-quality analyses using Kids First data, which in turn supports the larger mission of accelerating discovery in childhood cancer and structural birth defects.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Expert-Driven Small Projects to Strengthen Gabriella Miller Kids First Discovery (R03 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): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-02-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-18. (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 $100,000.00 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 RM 21 011

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