Common Mechanisms and Interactions Among Neurodegenerative Diseases (R01) | PAS 17 028

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the title and funding opportunity number for this NIH grant?

The opportunity is titled "Common Mechanisms and Interactions Among Neurodegenerative Diseases (R01)" and the Funding Opportunity Number is PAS-17-028.

What type of funding mechanism does this opportunity use?

This opportunity uses the NIH R01 grant mechanism, which is commonly used for hypothesis-driven, multi-year research projects with clearly defined aims and rigorous analysis plans.

Is this a discretionary grant program?

Yes. The listing describes it as a discretionary grant program supporting health-related research under the R01 mechanism.

What is the central purpose of this funding opportunity?

The central purpose is to move beyond studying neurodegenerative diseases in isolation and directly investigate whether different neurodegenerative disease processes interact with each other and, if so, how those interactions may trigger disease onset, accelerate neuropathology, and/or speed the onset and progression of dementia.

What kind of scientific approach is this FOA trying to encourage?

The FOA encourages research that looks at overlapping disease pathways, mixed pathologies, and biological "cross-talk" among conditions that are often treated as separate categories in research and clinical care.

Does the FOA support both preclinical and clinical research?

Yes. The scientific scope explicitly welcomes both preclinical and clinical research.

What types of preclinical studies are considered responsive to this FOA?

Examples include mechanistic studies using cellular systems, animal models, human biospecimens, or other experimental platforms that can test causal hypotheses about interactions among disease processes (for example, interactions between proteinopathies and immune processes, or converging mitochondrial and lysosomal pathways).

What types of clinical research are aligned with this FOA?

Aligned clinical studies include research in human cohorts using tools such as imaging, biomarkers, neuropathology, genetics, and longitudinal outcomes to understand how multiple disease processes may co-occur and jointly shape cognitive decline and dementia trajectories.

Is the FOA focused on comorbidity descriptions, or on something more specific?

The emphasis is on understanding interaction and influence among disease processes, not simply documenting that comorbidity exists.

What kinds of biological mechanisms or pathways are specifically mentioned as examples?

The FOA references interactions involving proteinopathies, inflammatory or immune processes, vascular contributions, synaptic dysfunction, mitochondrial pathways, lysosomal pathways, and other shared or converging mechanisms.

What is the broader long-term goal of funding this research?

The opportunity aims to improve understanding of dementia biology and potentially inform future diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies that account for mixed and interacting pathologies rather than single-disease models.

Which CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?

The FOA is listed under CFDA numbers 93.853 and 93.866.

What do the CFDA numbers suggest about the research areas?

Based on the listing description, the CFDA numbers indicate alignment with NIH programs supporting research in aging, neuroscience, and related neurological disorders.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations and institutions, such as U.S. governmental entities, higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations (including small businesses), tribal entities, and non-U.S. (foreign) organizations, among others described in the listing.

Are U.S. state and local government entities eligible?

Yes. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and special district governments.

Are colleges and universities eligible?

Yes. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education.

Are school districts eligible applicants?

Yes. Independent school districts are listed as eligible applicants.

Are public housing authorities eligible?

Yes. Public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities are listed as eligible applicants.

Are tribal governments and tribal organizations eligible?

Yes. The FOA includes federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations.

Are nonprofit organizations eligible, and is 501(c)(3) status required?

Nonprofit organizations are eligible, and the listing indicates eligibility both with and without 501(c)(3) status.

Are for-profit organizations eligible?

Yes. For-profit organizations (other than small businesses) are listed as eligible, and small businesses are also listed as eligible.

Are institutions that serve specific communities (for example, HBCUs or Hispanic-serving institutions) called out as eligible?

Yes. The FOA explicitly highlights eligibility for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).

Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. Faith-based or community-based organizations are explicitly listed as eligible applicants.

Are regional organizations eligible?

Yes. Regional organizations are included in the list of eligible applicants.

Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?

Yes. U.S. territories or possessions are explicitly included as eligible applicants.

Are federal agencies eligible to apply?

Yes. Eligible federal agencies are listed as eligible applicants.

Are non-U.S. organizations eligible to apply?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign organizations.

Does the listing provide an award ceiling or the number of expected awards?

No. The source information provided does not specify an award ceiling or the number of expected awards.

What does the listing suggest about typical R01 support?

While the listing does not provide specific dollar amounts, it notes that the R01 mechanism generally implies substantial project-level support depending on project scope, budget justification, and NIH institute policies.

What are the key dates provided for this opportunity?

The listing includes a creation date of 2016-10-21 and an original closing date of 2018-05-07.

Is this opportunity framed within a specific historical application window?

Yes. The creation date and original closing date place the FOA within a defined historical application window.

What types of outcomes or endpoints are implied for clinical studies?

The description emphasizes outcomes related to cognitive decline, dementia trajectories, and how multiple disease processes jointly shape onset and progression over time (including longitudinal outcomes).

What makes a project a good fit based on the description?

A strong fit would be a study designed to test whether and how neurodegenerative disease processes influence each other (for example, whether interactions can initiate disease, accelerate neuropathology buildup, or speed dementia progression), rather than treating each condition as fully separate.