NIMHD Specialized Centers of Excellence for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities (U54) | RFA MD 17 005

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MD 17 005

The NIMHD Specialized Centers of Excellence for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities (U54) grant opportunity (RFA-MD-17-005) is a National Institutes of Health funding announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services that supports the creation of Centers of Excellence focused on minority health and health disparities research. It uses a cooperative agreement mechanism (U54), which generally means the NIH expects an active partnership with awardees during the life of the project, rather than operating strictly as a hands-off grant. The overall aim is to strengthen and accelerate the science needed to understand, prevent, and reduce health disparities by building well-organized research centers at eligible institutions of higher education.

A core expectation of the program is that each proposed center conducts transdisciplinary and multi-level research organized around a defined thematic area. In practice, that means applicants are expected to bring together investigators from multiple disciplines and design research that can address health disparities across more than one level of influence, such as individual biology and behavior, clinical care, family and social networks, community contexts, and broader policy or structural factors. The thematic focus requirement also implies that a center should not be a loose collection of unrelated studies; it should be a coordinated program where projects and shared resources reinforce each other and build a coherent body of knowledge in a specific area of minority health and health disparities.

In addition to producing research findings, the FOA emphasizes capacity building and workforce development. A major component is providing research opportunities and support for post-doctoral fellows, junior faculty, and other investigators. This focus reflects an intent to expand and sustain the pipeline of researchers who are prepared to lead minority health and health disparities studies over the long term. Centers are therefore expected to function as environments that mentor and develop early-career scholars and help them establish competitive research trajectories, while also supporting broader participation in health disparities research across the institution.

The opportunity is classified under the Health funding activity category (CFDA 93.307) and was posted with a creation date of March 2, 2017, with an original application closing date of May 15, 2017. The award ceiling listed is $950,000, and the program anticipated making approximately 15 awards. While the ceiling sets the upper limit cited in the source information, applicants would typically be expected to align their proposed budgets with the scope of the center, the planned research activities, and the required infrastructure and training elements implied by a Centers of Excellence model.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants listed include public and private institutions of higher education (including public or state-controlled institutions), federal recognized Native American tribal governments and certain tribal organizations, state and local governments (including counties, cities or townships, special districts, and independent school districts), public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those categories), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses, as well as other entities as described in the FOA’s additional eligibility information. Despite this wide eligibility list, the FOA’s description specifically highlights establishing centers within eligible institutions of higher education, signaling that the program is fundamentally oriented toward building academic research centers with strong training and mentoring capacity.

Taken together, this FOA supports the establishment of NIH-partnered research centers designed to generate impactful, coordinated minority health and health disparities research while also building institutional infrastructure and developing the next generation of investigators in the field.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIMHD Specialized Centers of Excellence for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities (U54)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.307.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 02, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 15, 2017. (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 $950,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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