RESolution of InflammaTion in EnvirOnmentally Related diseasE (RESTORE) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA ES 20 013

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA ES 20 013

The RESolution of InflammaTion in EnvirOnmentally Related diseasE (RESTORE) funding opportunity (RFA-ES-20-013) is an NIH R01 grant program that supports research aimed at clarifying how the body normally turns off inflammation and returns tissues to a healthy baseline, and how environmental pollutant exposures disrupt those built-in "resolution" processes. The central idea behind RESTORE is that many chronic diseases are not only driven by inflammation starting, but by inflammation failing to properly resolve. This program is designed to move the science forward at the cellular and molecular level by identifying the pathways that actively shut down inflammation, the key cell types and mediators involved, and the specific ways environmental exposures interfere with those mechanisms. The long-term public health goal is to explain how pollutant-driven disruption of inflammation resolution contributes to chronic, systemic inflammation and eventually to chronic disease.

The initial emphasis of RESTORE is on chronic exposure to air pollution and its effects on inflammation resolution in three major domains: pulmonary (lungs and airway disease), cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel disease), and metabolic systems (processes tied to obesity, diabetes, and related metabolic disorders). Projects under this program are expected to dig into mechanisms, meaning they should go beyond describing associations and instead focus on how exposure alters resolution pathways, which molecular signals are affected, what happens to immune cell behavior, and how those changes translate into persistent inflammation and disease-relevant dysfunction across these organ systems. As stated in the title, this R01 is "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," so it is intended for mechanistic and preclinical style research (for example, basic, translational, observational, or experimental work that does not meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial).

Administratively, the opportunity is a discretionary grant with an environment and health focus (CFDA 93.113) administered by the National Institutes of Health. The listed award ceiling is $350,000 (as provided in the source data). The opportunity was created on 2020-08-24 with an original closing date of 2021-02-11, which indicates it was a time-limited solicitation rather than a permanently open mechanism.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes many types of domestic applicants: state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled universities; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly 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 (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign participation is clearly restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in its Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In practical terms, that means the applicant organization and the supported work must remain within allowable domestic boundaries as defined by NIH policy for this particular solicitation.

Taken together, RESTORE is best understood as a targeted NIH program meant to uncover actionable biological mechanisms connecting air pollution exposure to impaired inflammation shutdown and repair. By focusing on resolution pathways rather than only on inflammatory triggers, it aims to generate insights that can help explain why some exposures lead to long-lasting, body-wide inflammation and why that persistent inflammatory state is linked to chronic lung, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases.

• The National Institutes of Health in the environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "RESolution of InflammaTion in EnvirOnmentally Related diseasE (RESTORE) (R01 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): 93.113.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-08-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-02-11. (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 $350,000.00 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 ES 20 013

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