Single Source: Molecular Atlas of Lung Development Program (LungMAP) Phase 3 - Human Tissue Core (U01- Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HL 24 012

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 24 012

The funding opportunity "Single Source: Molecular Atlas of Lung Development Program (LungMAP) Phase 3 - Human Tissue Core (U01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement aimed at supporting a specialized Human Tissue Core that contributes to LungMAP Phase 3. LungMAP is a large, multi-institution effort designed to produce a detailed, high-resolution atlas of the human lung across development and in relevant disease contexts. The central goal is to create a reference resource that helps researchers better understand how the lung forms and functions in normal biology, what changes as disease develops, and which cellular and molecular mechanisms might be targeted for future therapies.

This program is focused on building an integrated "molecular and cellular atlas" of the lung, meaning it is not limited to one data type or one level of analysis. Instead, it seeks to define lung cell types and states using rich molecular measurements (for example, gene expression profiles), while also mapping those cells into their 3-dimensional tissue context and tracking how they change over time. The resulting atlas is intended to capture developmental trajectories (how cell populations emerge and mature) as well as pathological trajectories (how those populations and pathways shift in disease). The overall product is meant to be a research platform that can be used broadly to identify critical cell populations, key molecular pathways, and novel therapeutic targets relevant to lung disorders.

A defining feature of LungMAP is that it is built as an open access resource. In practical terms, the expectation is that data and associated outputs generated through the program are organized so they can be shared and reused by the wider scientific community, supporting transparency, reproducibility, and accelerated discovery. The resource is described as multi-scale and high-content, indicating an emphasis on combining multiple layers of biological information and capturing fine-grained detail, including high-resolution spatial context within lung tissue.

This specific opportunity uses the U01 mechanism, which is a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant. That usually signals a more collaborative funding structure where NIH program staff have substantial involvement in coordinating milestones, integration, and programmatic priorities across funded components. The opportunity also explicitly states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning the funded activities must be non-clinical-trial research and infrastructure work (such as biospecimen acquisition, processing, quality control, annotation, and distribution activities) rather than prospective interventional studies in human participants.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number RFA-HL-24-012 and the NIH activity category of Health, with CFDA number 93.838. The award ceiling is listed as $300,000, and the original closing date is September 6, 2023, with a creation date of July 14, 2023. The instrument type is a cooperative agreement, aligning with the program-wide goal of coordinated data generation and integration. Eligibility information in the provided summary lists small businesses among eligible applicants, while also noting that additional eligible applicant types exist and are described in the full Notice of Funding Opportunity, implying that the complete eligibility criteria may extend beyond what is shown in the brief excerpt.

Overall, this grant opportunity supports a core function within LungMAP Phase 3 that is essential for assembling a robust atlas: access to well-characterized human lung tissues that can feed the program's multi-omics and spatial mapping pipelines. By strengthening the tissue foundation and ensuring that samples are suitable for high-resolution molecular and cellular profiling, the Human Tissue Core helps enable the larger LungMAP mission of producing a comprehensive, community-accessible reference map of lung development and disease-relevant biology.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Single Source: Molecular Atlas of Lung Development Program (LungMAP) Phase 3 - Human Tissue Core (U01- 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): 93.838.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-07-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-09-06. (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: Small businesses.

Apply for RFA HL 24 012

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