Animal and Biological Material Resource Centers (P40) | PAR 17 006

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 006

The Animal and Biological Material Resource Centers (P40) funding opportunity (PAR 17-006) is an NIH grant program aimed at supporting national-scale resource centers that supply critical research materials and services to the broader biomedical community. The core idea is to keep high-value, widely used animal and biological resources available, well managed, and accessible so that investigators can rely on standardized, high-quality materials rather than recreating them independently. These centers are expected to serve researchers beyond a single institution, with reach that can be local, regional, national, and in some cases international, depending on the resource and demand.

Projects supported under this opportunity focus on building, operating, or expanding centralized resources such as specialized colonies of laboratory animals and animal models, along with other essential biological materials. In addition to animals, the program explicitly includes biological and technical resources like informatics tools and databases, reagents, cultures, and biological specimens such as cells, tissues, and organs, as well as genetic stocks. The emphasis is on resources that are broadly useful across multiple research areas and can enable or accelerate biomedical discovery by providing consistent materials, expert stewardship, and distribution capabilities.

A key eligibility and programmatic requirement is that the proposed resource center must span the interests of two or more categorical NIH Institutes, Centers, or Offices (ICOs). In practice, that means a resource should have demonstrated relevance across multiple NIH mission areas rather than being tailored to a narrow, single-disease or single-institute niche. This cross-cutting scope is central to the program and is used to distinguish which resource centers fit this ORIP-supported mechanism.

The FOA is designed for both continuity and development. It can support the continuation of established animal model or biological material centers that already serve the community, while also allowing the creation of new centers when there is a clear, justified need and the proposed resource fills a gap in existing national infrastructure. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIH scientific or research staff before preparing an application. This consultation is positioned as an important step to confirm that the proposed resource concept aligns with ORIP priorities, fits the intent of the program, and is likely to be competitive.

The opportunity is offered by the National Institutes of Health as a discretionary grant in the health funding activity category (CFDA 93.351). A broad range of applicant organizations may be eligible, including state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and eligible federal agencies, as well as U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign participation is restricted in specific ways. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, meaning a U.S.-based applicant may include certain international collaborations or activities as part of the project when justified and compliant with NIH policy.

The posting shows an original closing date of January 7, 2020, and it does not list an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided excerpt. In practical terms, that means applicants typically need to rely on the full FOA text and NIH program guidance to understand budget expectations, award sizes, and competition details, and the recommended pre-application consultation becomes even more important for confirming fit and feasibility.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Animal and Biological Material Resource Centers (P40)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.351.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-10-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-01-07. (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 PAR 17 006

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