NIH Funding Opportunities

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program Office has released the following Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs), available on the NIH ECHO website:

Funding Opportunities

• RFA-OD-24-008 Clinical Sites for the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network – 3 (UG1 Clinical Trial Required)
• RFA-OD-24-009 Data Coordinating and Operations Center for the ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network – 3 (U24 Clinical Trial Required—Infrastructure)

Applications are due by April 15, 2024. Letters of Intent are not required but are requested by April 1, 2024.

 ECHO is a program funded by the NIH to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO’s Institutional Developmental Award (IDeA) States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) conducts clinical trials in 18 states with historically low rates of NIH funding.

The purpose of both these NOFOs is to invite applications from entities/institutions in IDeA‑eligible states* to participate in the ECHO ISPCTN, as Clinical Sites and the Data Coordinating and Operations Center (DCOC), respectively. The clinical sites and the DCOC, together, will form the ECHO ISPCTN.  The awards will support pediatric clinical trial research in the five focus areas of ECHO Program including: pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes; obesity; upper and lower airways; neurodevelopment; and positive health.

The DCOC will support the Clinical Sites as they:

• Develop, conduct, and disseminate findings from multicenter clinical trials research, assuring the participation of children living in rural or underserved communities in IDeA states.
• Build pediatric clinical trial research capacity in IDeA states funded by the ECHO ISPCTN.
• Engage interested parties such as community members, nonprofit organizations, and professional societies to enhance ECHO ISPCTN clinical trial impact, transferability, rigor, and feasibility.

NIH encourages applications supporting candidates from diverse backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups as described in the  Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031).

Again, applications are due by April 15, 2024 by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.  Letters of Intent are not required but are requested by April 1, 2024.

The Letter of Intent should be sent to:

Lisa Steele, PhD
Chief, Epidemiology and Population Health Branch
Division of AIDS, Behavioral and Population Sciences (DABP)
Center for Scientific Review, NIH
Phone: 301-257-2638
Email: lisa.steele@nih.gov (mailto:lisa.steele@nih.gov)

The ECHO Program Office will post Frequently Asked Questions and pre-recorded informational webinars on the NIH ECHO website as soon as they are available.

If you have questions, please reach out to ECHO ISPCTN Program Officer Tonse Raju at tonse.raju@nih.gov.

*The 23 IDeA-eligible states are Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is also eligible.