A Community Research Resource: Characterization of the Resident Ocular Microbiome. (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA EY 22 001

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the title and FOA number of this NIH grant opportunity?

The funding opportunity is titled "A Community Research Resource: Characterization of the Resident Ocular Microbiome (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and the FOA number is RFA-EY-22-001.

What is the main purpose of this funding opportunity?

The purpose is to create a shared, community-focused research resource that characterizes the resident microbial communities on the front of the eye in healthy people. The emphasis is on building a foundational dataset and related tools that other researchers can use to understand what a "healthy" ocular microbiome looks like and how it may influence ocular physiology.

Is this opportunity intended to fund a clinical trial?

No. The FOA is explicitly marked "Clinical Trial Not Allowed." The central goal is to build a research resource rather than to conduct a clinical trial.

What does it mean that this is a U24 cooperative agreement?

A U24 cooperative agreement is a funding mechanism used for coordinated, collaborative resource efforts. It implies substantial involvement from the funding institute and an expectation that the project will function as a community resource rather than as a standalone investigator-driven study.

What is meant by a "community research resource" in this context?

It refers to an organized, shared infrastructure or dataset intended to benefit the broader research community. Here, it means generating standardized information about the healthy ocular microbiome and delivering data and related tools that other researchers can use as a baseline for future investigations.

What part of the eye is the focus of the microbiome characterization?

The focus is the anterior segment, described broadly to include the ocular surface and nearby structures such as the cornea, conjunctiva, eyelids, periocular skin, iris, ciliary body, and lens. A major emphasis is on the ocular surface and related front-of-eye niches.

What population is primarily being studied under this FOA?

The FOA emphasizes characterizing the ocular microbiome in healthy individuals to establish baseline patterns of microbial community composition, stability, and functional signals associated with ocular surface health.

What scientific questions is the FOA trying to address?

The FOA aims to define the core microbial constituents of the anterior segment and clarify their functional relationships with the host. This includes understanding how stable or variable these microbial communities are across individuals and identifying biological signals they produce that might influence human physiology.

Does the FOA focus only on identifying which microbes are present?

No. The FOA pushes beyond cataloging organisms and emphasizes understanding functional relationships, including links between microbial profiles and host immune and neural interactions that maintain ocular surface homeostasis.

What types of host interactions are highlighted in the FOA?

The FOA highlights immune and neural interactions, including local immune defenses and sensory and autonomic pathways, as important components for understanding how microbial communities may support or influence ocular surface stability and resilience.

What deliverables are envisioned by the announcement?

A key envisioned deliverable is an integrated resource that combines microbiome measurements with broader "omics" and clinical information to identify patterns associated with ocular surface health. The output is intended to be usable by other researchers as a reference and foundation.

What does "integrated resource" mean here?

It means bringing together multiple data streams, including microbiome data and additional "omics" and clinical information, to allow identification of profiles that promote or reflect healthy ocular surface conditions.

What kinds of "omics" or functional readouts are suggested by the FOA?

The FOA signals interest in factors produced or elaborated by microbial communities that can affect human physiology. This points toward functional readouts such as microbial metabolites, proteins, or other molecular products, and how they may shape local biology at the eye.

Why is building a baseline resource for healthy individuals important?

The stated long-term value is that a well-characterized baseline can help future studies recognize meaningful deviations linked to disease, treatment effects, environmental influences, or risk factors. This FOA itself is focused on healthy individuals to establish what "healthy" looks like at the microbial level.

Which NIH institute is associated with this FOA based on the identifier?

The FOA identifier includes "EY," and the topic is eye-focused, indicating the opportunity is associated with NIH eye research. (The provided information describes it as an NIH funding opportunity and does not name an institute explicitly beyond the context of eye research.)

What is the CFDA number listed for this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed is 93.867.

When was this opportunity created and what was the listed closing date?

The opportunity was created on 2022-04-06, and the original closing date listed in the provided information was 2022-07-06.

Is the award ceiling or expected number of awards provided in the listing?

No. The award ceiling and the expected number of awards are not specified in the provided listing. Applicants would typically consult the full FOA text for budget expectations, project period, and any caps or cost-sharing details.

What type of funding opportunity is this administratively?

It is described as a discretionary grant opportunity from the National Institutes of Health, categorized under health research, and funded through a cooperative agreement mechanism (U24).

What kinds of organizations are eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses.

Are minority-serving institutions and community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. The FOA explicitly highlights additional eligible categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISISs, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and faith-based or community-based organizations.

Are federal agencies or regional organizations eligible to apply?

Yes. The FOA explicitly lists eligible federal agencies and regional organizations among eligible applicant categories.

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

Yes. The FOA explicitly includes non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations) as eligible applicants, and also includes U.S. territories or possessions.

What kinds of expertise might be relevant for a competitive application?

Based on the described scope, relevant expertise could include microbiology, immunology, neuroscience, ophthalmology, bioinformatics, and data integration, consistent with building a multidisciplinary community resource.

How is this opportunity best understood in terms of its overall goal?

It is best understood as infrastructure-building for the eye research community: generating and organizing high-quality, standardized microbial and related molecular/clinical data from healthy anterior segment sites, interpreting host-microbe interactions relevant to ocular surface homeostasis, and delivering an integrated resource that others can use.