Funding Opportunities for Test Method Developers

NIEHS is offering funding for small businesses developing technologies of interest to the Tox21 program. These technologies include:

• Tools for exposure assessment, including assessment of exposure to nanomaterials.
• Improved or expanded testing methods for toxicity screening.
• Computational approaches for predictive toxicology.
• Technologies such as alternative or improved methods for fixing and preserving tissues.

The funding is being offered as part of the 2022 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and Food and Drug Administration. This funding is available for small business grant applications to support development and commercialization of innovative technologies. View more information on the NIEHS website.

SBIR/STTR Omnibus Solicitations and Accompanying Resources

• Solicitation notices on NIH website (posted June 24, 2022)
  • Small Business Innovation Research Grants
  • Small Business Technology Transfer Grants
• Program Descriptions and Research Topics
  • View NIEHS section of funding announcement
• Application Guide for SBIR/STTR Grant Applications

Next due date: April 5, 2023

For more information about this opportunity, contact:

The NIEHS SBIR/STTR Program Staff encourages applicants to submit grants at least one week before the deadline and to take advantage of the following resources:

• NIH "All About Grants" Podcast on the Office of Extramural Research website.
• NIH RePORTER Matchmaker – useful for an initial screen for matching your technology to an institute and a relevant study section for review. It is also a great place to better understand what types of technologies NIH institutes fund.
• NIH Grants Policy Statement – rules for applying for and accepting a grant.
• Frequently Asked Questions about SBIR and STTR grants on the NIH website.
• Frequently asked questions about SBIR/STTR grants in general.
• Annotated SBIR/STTR SF424 application forms.
• Webinar series for funding opportunities for environmental technologies.
• NIH study section identifier – allows you to search your topic of interest.
• Application cover letters are optional but provide you an opportunity to designate an institute or study section.
• Rules for calculating number of employees.
• Registration and application instructions (this process can take six to eight weeks and should be initiated well before the deadline).

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) sponsors the Next Generation Humane Science Award to acknowledge and encourage early-career researchers who focus on replacing animal experiments. The 2023 award will provide a prize of up to $5,000 to recognize the outstanding work of one young scientist. Depending on the number and quality of the applications, a second award of $4,000 may be presented. Factors considered in the evaluation of applications include the potential of the work to replace animal experiments and be used in a regulatory context. Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents working at U.S.-based institutions and have received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees no earlier than 2013. Applications are due May 31.

NIEHS is offering funding to develop resources, new methods, and approaches that can be applied in testing strategies to better understand the role of environmental chemicals in the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. Specifically, this funding opportunity will support the development and application of novel and innovative approaches including new approach methodologies (NAMs) that expand the framework to evaluate environmental chemicals with neurodevelopmental toxicity potential. Specific objectives to be addressed by the funding include:

• Approaches using human cells or alternative model systems modeling neurodevelopment.
• Focus on one or more developmental neurotoxicity-relevant endpoints to gain reliable knowledge.

Only U.S. small business concerns are eligible for this funding. Letters of intent are due June 7, with funding applications due July 7 by 5:00 p.m. EDT local time of applicant organization.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will provide up to $9 million in FY 2024 to establish Bioinformatics Resource Centers for Infectious Diseases. Components of the envisioned centers will include:

• Interactive knowledgebase(s) for relevant omics-based data and analysis.
• Research and development of innovative bioinformatics tools, software, and algorithms.
• Access to leading-edge expertise in bioinformatics services for the infectious diseases community for complex or unique situations.
• Cutting-edge informatics support during a public health emergency, outbreak, or pandemic.

NIAID anticipates making one or two awards, with awardees being funded for up to five years. For-profit and nonprofit organizations and government entities both within and outside the U.S. are anticipated to be eligible for this funding. Availability of this funding is being announced in advance to allow potential applicants time to develop meaningful collaborations, interdisciplinary teams, and responsive applications. More information about the funding opportunity, including anticipated opening and due dates, is available on the NIH Grants website.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are offering Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants to support development of neuromuscular junction tissue chips to replace the mouse lethality assay for testing potency of botulinum toxin. The goal is to position the “Botulinum Toxin Potency Assay using Tissue Chips” as an alternative test method that can be used to replace the mouse assay.

Applications are due August 21. Only U.S. small businesses are eligible for this funding. Applicants are encouraged to contact FDA and the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to ensure their study design, qualification plan, and objectives are in line with the goals of the funding opportunity. Grantees will be expected to work with FDA and NCATS post-award to develop and implement the final validation plan for the proposed alternative test method. Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date. Application instructions are available on the NIH Grants website.

PETA Science Consortium International e.V., the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation are offering grants for free recombinant antibodies for use in research and testing. Awardees will receive commercially available recombinant antibodies to test in applications that currently use animal-derived antibodies. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and a proposal describing in detail the how the antibody will be used. Awardees will be expected to provide updates to grant sponsors on the progress of their work and publish their results. The offering has a rolling deadline, and grant amounts will vary based on details of the projects.

The National Cancer Institute is offering grants to support the development and characterization of state-of-the-art biomimetic tissue-engineered technologies for cancer research. Projects supported by this funding will become part of the Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative (TEC) Research Program. The goals of the Cancer TEC Program are to (1) catalyze the advancement of innovative, well-characterized in vitro and ex vivo systems available for cancer research, (2) expand the breadth of these systems to several cancer types, and (3) promote the exploration of cancer phenomena with biomimetic tissue-engineered systems.

Applications for funding were accepted beginning in May 2022, with applications due quarterly through February 2025. Grants of up to $400,000 will be awarded to fund projects that can continue up to five years. Eligibility for these grants is open to for-profit and nonprofit institutions within and outside the United States.