Cellular Senescence Network: Tissue Mapping Centers (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA RM 21 008

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 21 008

This NIH funding opportunity (RFA-RM-21-008) supports the creation of Tissue Mapping Centers (TMCs) that will operate as part of the Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet). The central scientific aim of SenNet is to identify and functionally characterize the diversity and heterogeneity of senescent cells across many human tissues, spanning different physiological states and the human lifespan, at single-cell resolution. The long-term deliverable is a multimodal, multidimensional Senescence Atlas: a high-resolution, searchable reference resource that maps where senescent cells are found, what molecular and phenotypic programs they exhibit, how they differ by tissue and context, and how they may change with age and health status.

The TMCs funded under this announcement are expected to be end-to-end, state-of-the-art centers that can produce high-content tissue maps and biomarkers of cellular senescence at multiple scales, including organ-level context, tissue architecture, and single-cell detail. A major emphasis is on building and optimizing the full data generation pipeline rather than focusing narrowly on a single assay. That pipeline includes obtaining appropriate human tissue, handling and preserving specimens in ways that protect downstream molecular and spatial readouts, applying complementary measurement approaches (for example, omics and imaging-based methods), and then performing rigorous data integration, analysis, and interpretation. In practice, this means TMCs are expected to generate standardized, high-quality datasets that can be compared across centers and ultimately combined into a coherent Atlas rather than remaining as isolated, lab-specific outputs.

SenNet is primarily focused on healthy human tissues, reflecting the goal of building a baseline understanding of senescent cell states in normal biology across the lifespan. Work involving diseased tissues or animal models is not the main target, but it can be included when it directly supports and strengthens the overarching objective of mapping and characterizing senescence in healthy human tissues. In other words, disease or model-system work is framed as supporting evidence or methodological development, not as a separate disease-focused program.

From a program structure standpoint, this is a cooperative agreement (U54), which typically signals substantial NIH involvement and a strong expectation of coordination across the network. The TMCs are not meant to operate independently; they are intended to collaborate within SenNet to generate interoperable data and collectively build a network-wide resource. The FOA also stresses community-facing outcomes: aggregating data into a searchable Atlas of Cellular Senescence, ensuring the resulting database is genuinely useful to researchers, and actively promoting collaboration and engagement with the broader scientific community.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes many government entities (state, county, city/township, special districts), public and private institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), and independent school districts. The announcement also highlights inclusion of organizations such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign organizations and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply directly, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, meaning a U.S. applicant may include certain international elements in the project when permitted under NIH policy and justified scientifically.

Key administrative details provided include the agency (National Institutes of Health), the opportunity category (discretionary), the activity category (health), and the CFDA number (93.310). The original application due date listed is March 22, 2021, and the FOA is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," indicating the supported work should be atlas-building, technology development, and tissue-based mapping rather than prospective interventional clinical studies.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cellular Senescence Network: Tissue Mapping 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): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-01-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-22. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 21 008

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