Research Projects to Improve the Predictive Value of Animal Models in Recapitulating Human Immunity to Influenza Infection and Vaccination (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 19 247

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 247

This National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity, PAR-19-247, supports exploratory research projects that improve existing animal models or create new animal models that more faithfully mirror how humans develop immunity to influenza through infection and vaccination. The core goal is to raise the predictive value of preclinical influenza models, meaning the model should do a better job forecasting what will happen in people when a new vaccine strategy is tested. A major emphasis is on enabling more reliable evaluation of next-generation and "universal" influenza vaccines, where traditional models may not adequately capture the complexity of human immune responses.

The award mechanism is an R21, which typically backs early-stage, proof-of-concept, or high-impact exploratory work rather than large, multi-year development programs. The opportunity is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," so funded work must remain non-clinical and cannot involve testing an intervention in human participants as a clinical trial. The focus is therefore on animal-based systems and the experimental, immunological, and methodological advances needed to make those systems more representative of human influenza immunity.

The FOA sits in the health research category (CFDA 93.855) and uses a grant funding instrument under NIH. The listed award ceiling is $200,000, indicating a relatively small but targeted budget intended to catalyze innovative approaches that could later be expanded through larger mechanisms if successful. The original closing date shown in the source data is 2021-06-18, and the opportunity record was created on 2019-04-11, which helps place it in time even if similar opportunities may be reissued or updated later.

A wide range of applicant types are eligible. Beyond the typical academic and nonprofit research organizations, eligibility includes federal, state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; federally recognized Native American tribal governments as well as other tribal organizations; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education; 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits (outside of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other applicants as allowed. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities/foreign organizations. In practical terms, NIH is signaling broad openness to applicants who can credibly contribute to improving influenza animal modeling, including institutions serving underrepresented communities and international groups with unique model systems or expertise.

In terms of what projects are trying to achieve, the scientific theme is about closing the gap between animal immune responses and human immune responses. Influenza immunity in humans is shaped by repeated exposures over a lifetime, prior infections, prior vaccinations, the diversity of influenza strains encountered, age-related immune changes, and other host factors. Many conventional animal models can be very useful for certain questions, but they often fall short in reproducing these human-like immune histories and immune correlates, which can lead to animal results that do not translate well to human vaccine performance. This FOA encourages work that makes models more human-relevant, which could include better ways to model pre-existing immunity, more realistic exposure histories, improved readouts that align with human immune markers, or species/model refinements that more closely match human immunology. The end result NIH is aiming for is a preclinical toolbox that can more accurately rank, de-risk, and optimize candidate universal influenza vaccines before they advance toward human studies.

Overall, PAR-19-247 is an NIH discretionary grant opportunity designed to push forward practical, high-value improvements in influenza animal modeling, with the specific intent of making preclinical findings more predictive of human immunity and more useful for guiding universal influenza vaccine development, while keeping the work strictly on the non-clinical side.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Projects to Improve the Predictive Value of Animal Models in Recapitulating Human Immunity to Influenza Infection and Vaccination (R21 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): 93.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-04-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-18. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• 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 PAR 19 247

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