Alcoholic Hepatitis Clinical and Translational Network Data Coordinating Center (U24) | RFA AA 18 004

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AA 18 004

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced a cooperative agreement funding opportunity to support a Data Coordinating Center (DCC) for an Alcoholic Hepatitis (AH) Clinical and Translational Network. The broader purpose is to build on and continue a previously funded translational research program in alcoholic hepatitis, with a practical emphasis on speeding up the discovery, testing, and validation of better diagnostic tools and more effective treatments for patients with AH. Rather than funding isolated projects, NIAAA’s approach is to consolidate and strengthen an organized network so that clinical studies, translational efforts, and preclinical research can operate in a coordinated way, share common standards, and produce results that are more comparable and easier to replicate.

This opportunity sits within a larger set of five related funding announcements intended to form a unified AH Network with four major parts: a clinical component, a Data Coordinating Center, a translational component, and a basic/pre-clinical component. The DCC is the hub that keeps the network functioning smoothly and credibly from an operations and data standpoint. Under this announcement, applicants are asked to propose a DCC that can provide expert, centralized support for the network’s studies, including data management systems, statistical design and analysis support, coordination of biospecimen collection activities, and day-to-day logistical and administrative coordination across participating sites and projects.

In practical terms, the DCC role is to make sure the network collects high-quality, consistent data that can be pooled and analyzed across studies, that protocols and reporting practices are harmonized, and that investigators have the infrastructure needed to run multi-site research efficiently. This typically includes building and maintaining databases and data submission pipelines, establishing data standards and quality control procedures, supporting randomization and trial monitoring where relevant, helping define endpoints and analysis plans, producing interim and final statistical reports, and coordinating communication, timelines, and deliverables across the network. The mention of biospecimen collection support signals that the DCC is also expected to help organize and track biological samples linked to clinical data, which is essential for translational research that connects patient outcomes with biomarkers, mechanisms, or therapeutic response.

The award mechanism is a U24 Resource-Related Research Projects Cooperative Agreement, meaning it is designed to support shared research infrastructure and coordination functions rather than a single hypothesis-driven research project. Because it is a cooperative agreement, NIH (and NIAAA specifically) expects substantial scientific and/or programmatic involvement during the award, with NIH staff collaborating with the awardees on network coordination, priorities, and performance. The funding opportunity is categorized as discretionary, uses the cooperative agreement funding instrument, and falls under the health funding activity category (CFDA 93.273).

Eligibility is broad and includes many domestic U.S. organization types that can operate a national research coordination center. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses, along with other categories identified by NIH. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant types 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, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Despite the broad eligibility across U.S.-based entities, foreign participation is tightly restricted: non-U.S. (foreign) organizations and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply; non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; and foreign components, as NIH defines them, are not allowed.

Key administrative details from the source include the funding opportunity title “Alcoholic Hepatitis Clinical and Translational Network Data Coordinating Center (U24),” funding opportunity number RFA-AA-18-004, an original closing date of October 23, 2017, and an expected number of awards of 2. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided listing. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as NIH/NIAAA funding for a central coordinating infrastructure that enables a multi-component alcoholic hepatitis research network to operate with shared data systems, consistent methods, strong statistical oversight, coordinated biospecimen handling, and reliable network-wide logistics, all aimed at accelerating clinically meaningful progress for patients with alcoholic hepatitis.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Alcoholic Hepatitis Clinical and Translational Network Data Coordinating Center (U24)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-08-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-10-23. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• 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 AA 18 004

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