Limited Competition for the Data Coordinating Center (DCC) for the NIDDK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (IBDGC) (U24 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DK 21 502

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 21 502

This funding opportunity is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement to support a Data Coordinating Center (DCC) for the renewed NIDDK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (IBDGC). The IBDGC has been operating since 2002 to uncover genetic variation that increases risk for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In partnership with the International IBD Genetics Consortium, it has already helped identify more than 250 susceptibility loci, but most of these signals still have not been resolved to the actual causal variants, the genes they affect, or the biological pathways through which they shape IBD development, subtypes, and outcomes. The overall emphasis of the renewal is to push beyond locus discovery into deeper genetic and functional understanding, with a particular focus on expanding and improving genomic research in populations that have been under-represented in prior IBD studies. The longer-term goal is to translate improved genetic and mechanistic insight into better prediction of disease course and better treatment decisions.

The DCC is positioned as the operational hub of the consortium. It is responsible for coordinating the day-to-day and cross-site work among the consortiums Genetic Research Centers (GRCs), which are funded under a companion announcement (RFA-DK-21-022). A major part of the DCC role is ensuring that participant enrollment activities across sites are aligned and that biospecimens and data move smoothly through the pipeline: the DCC helps coordinate subject enrollment into consortium studies, the submission of DNA and other biological samples to centralized repositories, and the processing of blood samples for DNA extraction and isolation of other components. In parallel, it oversees the submission of clinical, genetic, and molecular datasets into central databases and supports consortium-wide data analysis so results can be harmonized, comparable, and usable across studies rather than siloed at individual sites.

Beyond logistics and data flow, the DCC is also expected to run the collaborative machinery that makes a multi-center consortium work. That includes managing operations for the IBDGC Steering Committee and other operational committees, scheduling and organizing meetings, maintaining documentation and shared procedures, and keeping progress coordinated across the participating centers. The DCC also serves as a key connector between the NIDDK IBDGC and the International IBD Genetics Consortium, helping align standards and facilitate collaboration, and it coordinates interactions with external investigators who want to conduct ancillary studies using consortium resources or data. Another explicit responsibility is coordinating the development of pilot projects designed for rapid follow-up of emerging findings, allowing the consortium and outside collaborators to quickly test promising leads as new genetic or molecular signals appear.

Administratively, the opportunity is a discretionary NIH cooperative agreement (U24; clinical trial optional), which typically means NIH will have substantial involvement in project oversight and coordination compared with a standard grant. The funding opportunity number is RFA DK 21 502, under CFDA 93.847, with an award ceiling listed at $1,000,000. The original closing date shown is 2021-12-21, and the posting (creation) date is 2021-09-02. Eligibility is limited: public and state-controlled institutions of higher education are listed as eligible applicants, and the announcement notes that non-U.S. (foreign) institutions and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, foreign components (as NIH defines them in policy) are allowed, meaning a U.S.-based applicant could potentially include certain foreign elements in the work if they meet NIH requirements and are justified scientifically.

In practical terms, this is a limited competition to select a single coordinating center that can manage consortium governance, standardize and oversee biospecimen and data handling, support multi-site analysis, and keep the U.S. consortium tightly linked to international efforts and outside collaborators. The scientific motivation is to convert the field’s long list of IBD-associated loci into actionable biological insight, while correcting representation gaps by emphasizing studies in populations that have not historically been well captured in IBD genomics.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition for the Data Coordinating Center (DCC) for the NIDDK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (IBDGC) (U24 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-09-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-12-21. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for RFA DK 21 502

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