Catalyze: Enabling Technologies and Transformative Platforms for HLBS Research (R33 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed) | RFA HL 23 010

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 23 010

The National Institutes of Health, through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is offering the Catalyze: Enabling Technologies and Transformative Platforms for HLBS Research (R33 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed) funding opportunity (RFA-HL-23-010). This is a discretionary grant mechanism designed to push promising technology-driven projects in heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) research past key remaining development hurdles so they are ready for broader demonstration, real-world utilization, and eventual adoption. The focus is not on basic discovery or hypothesis-driven biology alone, but on building and validating tools, methods, and platforms that can materially change what researchers and clinicians are able to do in HLBS-related prediction, diagnosis, and therapy.

This FOA specifically supports R33 applications where the biggest feasibility risks have already been reduced, meaning applicants should come in with credible preliminary data showing the core concept works. The remaining work is expected to be substantial and rigorous: further development, optimization, and validation that meaningfully de-risks the technology and positions it for downstream translational steps. In practical terms, NHLBI is looking for projects that are beyond early tinkering but not yet at the stage where they are fully mature, widely usable products. The end goal is to catalyze next-generation predictive, diagnostic, and therapeutic products by strengthening the enabling technology or platform that those products will rely on.

Projects are expected to have clear potential to accelerate or transform one or more parts of the HLBS pipeline. The FOA highlights areas such as early detection and screening, model development, clinical diagnosis, treatment, disease control, prevention, and epidemiology. What matters is that the proposed technology or platform is itself the innovation and the driver of impact. As a result, proposals that mainly apply an already-established technology to a new biological question or clinical target, where the novelty sits primarily in the disease context rather than in the technology, are explicitly considered out of scope and will not be reviewed. In other words, this is a technology and platform advancement opportunity, not a call to repurpose standard tools for a new dataset, disease cohort, or target.

This R33 opportunity is part of the broader NHLBI Catalyze program, a suite of funding paths intended to move promising projects toward product-like readiness. The stated intent is to advance projects to the point where they can meet the entry criteria for later-stage NHLBI Catalyze funding opportunities, such as the Product Definition or Preclinical FOAs. Applicants should therefore treat this FOA as a mid-stage development step and frame their milestones, validation plans, and deliverables in a way that demonstrates readiness for the next translational phase.

The opportunity is open to a wide range of applicant organizations across government, academia, nonprofit, and industry. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; small businesses and other for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education). It also includes Native American tribal governments (federally recognized), tribal organizations that are not federally recognized, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. The FOA also calls out additional eligible organization 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, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

On the international side, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as applicants. However, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations may participate, and foreign components are allowed as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement. This structure supports international collaboration where scientifically justified, while keeping the prime award anchored to an eligible U.S.-based organization.

Key administrative details include an original closing date of December 20, 2024, and an award ceiling listed at $300,000. The opportunity is categorized under health-related federal assistance (CFDA numbers 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840) and uses the grant funding instrument. Clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA, so projects must be structured to stay on the technology/platform development and validation side rather than enrolling participants in a clinical trial as defined by NIH.

Overall, this FOA is best suited for teams that have already demonstrated a working prototype or strong proof-of-concept for an enabling technology or transformative platform relevant to HLBS, and that can now present a disciplined plan for engineering refinement and rigorous validation. Competitive applications will make a convincing case that the technology itself is novel and enabling, that remaining risks are clearly identified and can be systematically addressed during the project, and that successful completion would position the work for subsequent Catalyze stages and real-world uptake in HLBS research or clinical pathways.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Catalyze: Enabling Technologies and Transformative Platforms for HLBS Research (R33 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-01-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-20. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• 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 HL 23 010

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: