Telomeres as Sentinels of Environmental Exposures, Psychosocial Stress, and Disease Susceptibility: A Methods Comparison Study (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA AG 19 023

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 19 023

Telomeres as Sentinels of Environmental Exposures, Psychosocial Stress, and Disease Susceptibility: A Methods Comparison Study (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health funding opportunity that uses the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism to bring multiple research groups together around a very practical problem in population health research: telomere length measurement is widely used as a potential indicator of biological aging and cumulative stress or exposure, but results can vary substantially depending on the laboratory method, protocol details, and analytic approach. The announcement is designed to fund a small set of coordinated "methods comparison" projects (about 3 to 4 awards) that will directly compare telomere length assays, quantify variability, and produce shared guidance that makes telomere research more reliable and comparable across studies.

The core purpose of the program is threefold. First, the funded teams are expected to work jointly to clarify how different telomere length measurement methods relate to one another, with particular attention to inter-assay variability (how much measurements differ across methods and labs) and the technical or procedural factors that drive those differences. In practice, this means studying how choices like sample type, extraction and storage conditions, assay platform, quality control thresholds, and data normalization can influence measured telomere length and, ultimately, the conclusions drawn about associations with environmental exposures or psychosocial stress. Second, the projects are meant to contribute to concrete best-practice recommendations for telomere length measurement in different study contexts, especially population-based health research. The FOA explicitly emphasizes end-to-end standardization topics: how biological samples should be collected, stored, and processed; what laboratory protocols and quality control steps should be documented; and what analysis, reporting, and data handling practices should be used so results are interpretable and reproducible. Third, applicants are encouraged not only to compare existing approaches but also to strengthen the field by repurposing established methods or developing improved methods that make telomere measurement more useful, robust, or scalable for large human studies.

A defining feature of this opportunity is the required cross-validation and collaboration across the awardee group. Each U01 project is expected to perform cross-laboratory comparisons involving the other labs funded under the same cooperative agreement. This design is meant to move beyond single-lab optimization and instead test real-world reproducibility: whether measurements agree when samples, protocols, or analytic pipelines are transferred across independent sites. The combined output is expected to be a set of community-oriented recommendations for assay protocols suited to different types of telomere studies, along with best-practice guidelines tailored to population-based research where sample handling and batch effects can strongly influence results. Because this is a cooperative agreement, NIH staff will typically play a more active coordinating role than in a standard investigator-initiated grant, helping align methods, data sharing, and deliverables across sites.

The FOA is coordinated with a companion infrastructure award, the U24 Telomere Research Network/Collaboratory (referenced as RFA-AG-19-022). In effect, the U01 projects generate empirical comparisons and method improvements, while the broader network and collaboratory structure helps organize communication, harmonization, and dissemination of guidance to the field. Applicants are directed to monitor the National Institute on Aging (NIA) website for updates, FAQs, and related announcements connected to both this FOA and the companion effort, signaling that implementation details and community standards are expected to evolve as the network forms.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed as discretionary funding with a cooperative agreement funding instrument and falls under the environment and health activity category. The catalog numbers provided are 93.113 and 93.866. The opportunity number is RFA-AG-19-023, and the agency is the National Institutes of Health. The original closing date listed is December 3, 2018, and the posted award ceiling is $200,000 (as provided in the source data). Even though the closing date in the record is historical, the description captures the structure and intent of the program: coordinated, multi-site methods work focused on improving the reliability and interpretability of telomere length measurement in human research.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; special district governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other entities. The FOA also explicitly calls out 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, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, foreign organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. This wide eligibility reflects the program’s emphasis on building broadly applicable standards for population-based telomere research and encouraging participation from diverse institutions and research environments.

Overall, this funding opportunity is less about testing a single biological hypothesis and more about strengthening the measurement foundation of an entire area of research. By funding coordinated comparisons, formal cross-validation across multiple laboratories, and the creation of best-practice guidance for protocols and reporting, the FOA aims to make studies linking telomere length to environmental exposures, psychosocial stress, and disease susceptibility more consistent, more reproducible, and more useful for large-scale human health research.

• The National Institutes of Health in the environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Telomeres as Sentinels of Environmental Exposures, Psychosocial Stress, and Disease Susceptibility: A Methods Comparison Study (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-08-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-12-03. (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 $200,000.00 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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