Polycystic Kidney Disease Research and Translation Core Centers (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DK 19 010

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 19 010

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this funding opportunity, RFA-DK-19-010, to support the creation of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Research and Translation Core Centers (RTCCs) under the U54 cooperative agreement mechanism, with clinical trials not allowed. The overall idea is to build a set of coordinated, consortium-based centers that can accelerate PKD research by providing shared, high-value infrastructure rather than funding isolated, stand-alone projects. These RTCCs are intended to function as national resources for the broader PKD research community by generating, maintaining, and distributing tools, reagents, services, and specialized expertise that are difficult, inefficient, or too costly for individual laboratories to build and sustain on their own.

A key expectation in the announcement is that each RTCC will operate as part of a PKD Research Consortium and work closely with a Central Coordinating Site (CCS). In practical terms, this means awardees are not just running their own center in parallel; they are expected to collaborate, coordinate priorities, and align operations with consortium-wide goals. The cooperative agreement structure reinforces that NIH will have substantial involvement in the program, which typically includes active stewardship, coordination requirements, and shared decision-making around milestones, resource sharing, and consortium activities. The emphasis is on translation and broad utility: resources should be designed to be used by many investigators, enabling faster progress in understanding PKD biology and moving discoveries toward improved diagnostics, prevention strategies, or therapies, without the RTCC itself conducting clinical trials under this FOA.

The opportunity is explicitly open to new applications rather than renewals. Even institutions that previously held PKD center awards may apply, but they must do so as new centers rather than as renewal applications. This framing signals a competitive re-entry for prior awardees and also encourages new groups to propose fresh approaches to building impactful shared infrastructure. The program’s focus is less on supporting a single lab’s hypothesis-driven research plan and more on establishing durable, well-managed core capabilities that can serve the field over time, including the development and dissemination of standardized methods, data resources, reagents, models, tools, and other enabling technologies relevant to PKD research and translation.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations: state, county, and local 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; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it draws clear lines around foreign participation: non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S. applicant may include certain project elements performed abroad if they meet NIH’s criteria and are appropriately justified and approved.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement (U54), and the activity category is listed under Food and Nutrition, Health, with CFDA number 93.847. The original closing date shown is November 21, 2019, and the opportunity was created on July 26, 2019. The listing also shows an award ceiling of $600,000, indicating the maximum award amount referenced in the source data for this opportunity. The number of expected awards is not specified in the provided source text.

In summary, this FOA sought to establish PKD Research and Translation Core Centers that would collectively strengthen the national PKD research ecosystem by building and sharing specialized resources, services, and expertise. Awardees were expected to collaborate tightly with a Central Coordinating Site as part of a formal consortium and to prioritize deliverables that broadly enable and accelerate PKD research. The program welcomed a wide range of U.S.-based applicant organizations, allowed certain foreign components under NIH policy, and excluded direct applications from non-U.S. entities, while also clearly stating that clinical trials were not permitted under this particular funding announcement.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Polycystic Kidney Disease Research and Translation Core Centers (U54 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): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-07-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-11-21. (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 $600,000.00 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.

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