Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA AG 25 013

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 25 013

The Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center (NSC3) funding opportunity (RFA-AG-25-013) is a National Institutes of Health cooperative agreement (U24; clinical trial not allowed) focused on building a central coordinating hub for the Nathan Shock Centers (NSCs). Rather than funding new bench or clinical research projects, the award is intended to support the infrastructure, organization, and coordination functions that help the existing NSC network operate more effectively as a national resource for aging biology research. Applicants are expected to understand what the Nathan Shock Centers do and how they serve the research community, but they do not need to be an institution that currently houses an NSC to apply.

The core purpose of the NSC3 is to provide logistical and organizational support across the NSC program, with an emphasis on strengthening the network as a whole. The NOFO highlights several major activity areas: raising the visibility of the NSCs nationally and internationally; improving collaboration and coordination among centers; enhancing and aligning NSC training activities; making it easier for investigators to learn about, access, and share NSC resources; and working closely with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the centers to develop strategies and plans that guide the program’s future development. A competitive application would lay out practical mechanisms for how the coordinating center will convene the network, track and communicate offerings, reduce duplication, and help the NSCs present a coherent, user-friendly interface to the broader scientific community.

A notable requirement is a clear plan to improve transparency and strengthen interactions between the NSCs and the research community. In practice, this implies that the NSC3 should help standardize how resources, services, expertise, and access pathways are described and advertised, and should create feedback loops so external researchers can understand what is available and how decisions are made. The NOFO also signals that applicants should leverage existing bioinformatics resources, meaning the coordinating center is expected to build on established data platforms, informatics tools, or community standards rather than creating redundant systems from scratch. The NSC3 director will also participate in the NIA Research Centers Collaborative Network, underscoring that this role is expected to be integrative and highly interactive with NIA and other center-based programs.

Eligibility is broad and includes many domestic U.S. organization types, such as state, county, city, and special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other eligible entities. The NOFO explicitly notes additional applicant categories that NIH often emphasizes for inclusion, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies.

Foreign participation is restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components as defined by NIH policy are not allowed. This keeps the coordinating center’s operations and supported activities fully within eligible domestic organizational structures, even though one of the goals is to increase international visibility of the NSCs.

Key administrative details from the opportunity listing include an original application due date of 2024-06-15, a health-related activity area, and CFDA number 93.866 (associated with NIA/aging-related NIH assistance). An award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data. Overall, this NOFO is best understood as a program-level capacity and coordination award designed to amplify the reach, consistency, and usability of the Nathan Shock Centers as a shared national infrastructure for aging biology research, training, and resource dissemination, rather than as a mechanism to fund independent research studies.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 AG 25 013

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