Enhancing the Target and Biomarker Discovery Efforts of the AMP-AD and M2OVE-AD Consortia (R01) | RFA AG 17 054

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 17 054

The NIH grant opportunity "Enhancing the Target and Biomarker Discovery Efforts of the AMP-AD and M2OVE-AD Consortia (R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-AG-17-054; CFDA 93.866) supports research projects that directly strengthen and extend the work of two major Alzheimer’s disease research efforts: the Accelerating Medicines Partnership - Alzheimer’s Disease (AMP-AD) Target Discovery and Preclinical Validation program and the M2OVE-AD Consortium. The core idea is to fund R01 projects that make the consortia outputs more usable and more impactful by improving access to, integration of, and analysis of the large datasets these programs generate, while also pushing forward new discoveries and faster validation of promising leads. In practice, this means the opportunity is geared toward proposals that can turn existing consortium data and preliminary findings into clearer, more actionable targets and biomarkers, and that can help the broader research community use these resources more effectively.

A major emphasis of the announcement is on maximizing the usability of data and analytical results produced by AMP-AD and M2OVE-AD. Applicants are expected to propose work that increases the value of these shared resources, such as improving how datasets are organized, harmonized, annotated, and interpreted, or creating and applying analytic approaches that extract additional insights from what has already been collected. This can include efforts that integrate different data types (for example, genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, imaging, or clinical data when available through the consortia), refine analyses to reduce noise and improve reproducibility, or develop methods that help researchers connect molecular signals to disease mechanisms and potential intervention points. The underlying goal is to ensure that the significant investments already made by the consortia yield more discoveries and clearer next steps for therapeutic development and biomarker qualification.

The opportunity also explicitly encourages applicants to seize additional target and biomarker discovery opportunities emerging from these consortia. That points to projects that go beyond re-analysis for its own sake and instead identify new, testable hypotheses and candidates that could plausibly influence Alzheimer’s biology or track disease progression, risk, or treatment response. Targets generally refer to biological molecules or pathways that could be modulated for therapeutic benefit, while biomarkers refer to measurable indicators that can aid diagnosis, stratify patients, monitor progression, or serve as pharmacodynamic readouts in trials. Proposals are therefore expected to be discovery-oriented but anchored in the consortium context, using AMP-AD and M2OVE-AD data, tools, and findings as a springboard rather than operating in isolation.

Another central priority is accelerating validation of novel targets and biomarkers already being surfaced within AMP-AD and M2OVE-AD. Validation here implies moving from a candidate signal to evidence that it is real, robust, and meaningful, using independent datasets, replication analyses, orthogonal measurement approaches, or experimental and preclinical studies where appropriate. For targets, validation may involve confirming a target-pathway relationship, showing that modulating the target produces relevant biological effects, or strengthening evidence for causality. For biomarkers, validation may involve demonstrating consistent associations with disease state or trajectory, analytical robustness, and potential utility across cohorts or platforms. The opportunity is therefore designed to reduce the lag between computational or early discovery and the point where a candidate is credible enough to inform preclinical programs or clinical research.

Mechanistically, this is an R01 research project grant, meaning applicants are proposing multi-year, hypothesis-driven or milestone-driven research projects of a scope typical for an R01. The listed award ceiling is $750,000, and the original closing date for this specific announcement was February 3, 2017, with a creation date of November 16, 2016. While the notice reflects that historical cycle, the summary remains useful for understanding the kinds of projects NIH sought to fund under this initiative and the emphasis on leveraging consortium-generated resources for downstream impact in Alzheimer’s research.

Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types commonly allowed under NIH funding, such as state, county, city, township, and 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 other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The opportunity also highlights additional eligible applicants, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs); Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); eligible agencies of the federal government; faith-based or community-based organizations; regional organizations; U.S. territories or possessions; and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). This wide eligibility aligns with the large-scale, collaborative nature of consortium-enabled science and encourages participation from diverse institutions that can contribute analytic expertise, experimental validation capabilities, or specialized population and community perspectives.

Overall, the grant opportunity is best understood as an NIH effort to increase the return on investment from AMP-AD and M2OVE-AD by funding projects that make consortium data and results easier to use, generate additional credible targets and biomarkers from those resources, and speed the process of confirming which candidates are strong enough to justify further development. The focus is not just on producing new datasets, but on turning existing and emerging consortium outputs into validated, actionable discoveries that can support Alzheimer’s drug development and biomarker-enabled research.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Enhancing the Target and Biomarker Discovery Efforts of the AMP-AD and M2OVE-AD Consortia (R01)" 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 2016-11-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-02-03. (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 $750,000.00 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 17 054

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