Limited Competition: Knockout Mouse Phenotyping Project Data Coordination Center and Database (UM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HG 21 037

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HG 21 037

The Limited Competition: Knockout Mouse Phenotyping Project Data Coordination Center and Database (UM1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) funding opportunity (RFA HG 21 037) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement intended to support the central informatics hub for the Knockout Mouse Phenotyping Project (KOMP2). KOMP2 is an NIH-backed effort to generate a broad, community resource of null-mutant (knockout) mouse lines and the corresponding phenotype data, with the larger scientific aim of clarifying what each protein-coding gene does in a mammalian system. In practical terms, the program exists to help researchers link gene disruption to measurable biological and disease-relevant traits, creating a standardized dataset that can be reused across many areas of biomedical research.

The core purpose of this specific award is to operate the Data Coordination Center and Database (DCCDB) that receives phenotype data produced by NIH-funded high-throughput mouse phenotyping centers (referenced in the companion effort RFA-HG-21-036). The DCCDB is expected to serve as the central pipeline and repository that makes these datasets usable at scale. That includes validating submitted data for quality and consistency, performing analysis steps appropriate for broad-based phenotyping, and applying standardized annotation so results can be compared across genes, assays, and studies. Beyond basic storage, the opportunity emphasizes visualization and dissemination, meaning the awardee is expected to provide user-facing ways for the community to explore results, download data, and interpret findings without needing to reconstruct context from scratch.

A major emphasis of the announcement is alignment with international standards and data integration through the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC). The DCCDB is expected to coordinate with international partners so that KOMP2-derived data can be integrated into a common database framework under IMPC oversight. This requirement signals that the funded center is not just building a standalone NIH database, but is responsible for ensuring harmonization with global efforts, including consistent metadata, standardized phenotyping terms, and interoperable formats that support cross-project and cross-country analyses.

The DCCDB responsibilities also explicitly include curation that requires integration with other data sources. In the context of mouse functional genomics, this typically means connecting phenotype results to external biological and biomedical knowledge bases (for example, gene identifiers, ontologies, strain information, existing mouse resources, and other reference datasets). The goal is to make the phenotyping results more interpretable and more discoverable, so users can move from a phenotype signal to gene function hypotheses and potential relevance to human biology.

This is a limited competition request for applications, which significantly narrows who can apply. Eligibility is restricted to recipient organizations previously funded under RFA-RM-15-016. While the notice lists many general categories of eligible applicants (including various levels of government, higher education institutions, nonprofits, for-profits, small businesses, and a range of mission- or population-serving institutions such as HBCUs, HSIs, TCCUs, AANAPISIs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, tribal governments and organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. entities), the controlling constraint is the limited competition rule tied to prior funding under RFA-RM-15-016. In other words, the broad applicant list does not override the specific limitation; only those prior recipients are eligible for this competition.

The funding mechanism is a cooperative agreement (UM1), which generally indicates substantial scientific or programmatic involvement by NIH staff compared with a standard grant. The opportunity is also marked “Clinical Trial Not Allowed,” signaling that the supported activities must remain within informatics, data coordination, and related research infrastructure functions rather than enrolling human participants or conducting clinical intervention studies. The original closing date listed for this opportunity was 2021-11-01, and the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding with activity areas spanning health and related public benefit domains (reflected in the multiple CFDA program numbers associated with NIH institutes and centers).

Overall, this opportunity funds the operational backbone that makes KOMP2 phenotyping outputs coherent, comparable, and accessible: a central coordinating center that can take high-throughput knockout mouse phenotype data, enforce quality control and standardization, integrate it with broader biomedical knowledge, and deliver it through a database and tools that support the international IMPC ecosystem and the wider research community.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: Knockout Mouse Phenotyping Project Data Coordination Center and Database (UM1 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): 93.113, 93.121, 93.172, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.273, 93.279, 93.313, 93.351, 93.396, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.847, 93.853, 93.855, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-08-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-01. (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 HG 21 037

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