Pilot Projects to Enhance the Human Virome Program (R03 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) | RFA RM 27 024

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 27 024

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the Common Fund, is soliciting small pilot project applications under the funding opportunity titled "Pilot Projects to Enhance the Human Virome Program (R03 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-RM-27-024; CFDA 93.310). This opportunity sits within the broader Human Virome Program (HVP), which is focused on building a detailed, comprehensive picture of the "healthy" human virome, meaning the viruses that commonly live in and on the human body without clear evidence of causing disease. The larger program goal is not only to catalog what is there, but to produce practical tools, models, assays, and methods that help researchers understand how the virome varies across people and contexts, how it relates to host factors, and how it may influence health and disease.

This R03 pilot mechanism is meant to fund targeted, early-stage projects that directly extend and strengthen what the HVP is already doing. In practical terms, NIH is looking for small, well-defined studies that validate, improve, complement, or help translate tools coming out of the HVP. A key emphasis is on leveraging resources tied to the program, such as human specimens from HVP-supported cohorts and, where relevant, animal samples that can support tool refinement or biological interpretation. The intent is for these projects to make the overall HVP toolkit more robust and usable by the community, while also filling gaps that remain after the initial HVP investments.

The NOFO lays out several example directions that fit the scope. One is expanding existing cohorts and/or biospecimen sampling sites to improve virome characterization, which could include broadening the diversity of sampling locations or adding new specimen types that strengthen coverage of the virome across body sites or populations. Another is developing or improving tools, assays, and methods to study the human virome, which may involve better viral enrichment approaches, more sensitive detection pipelines, improved classification and annotation strategies, standardized workflows, or other methodological advances that make virome research more accurate and comparable. A third area is defining functional interactions between the human virome and the host, meaning studies that go beyond detection to ask what viruses are doing, how they interact with immune or metabolic pathways, and what host features correlate with virome composition and dynamics. Although these projects are pilots, the expectation is that they are clearly aligned with HVP priorities and produce outputs that the consortium can use.

A notable programmatic point is that these awards are expected to expand the HVP consortium, and collaboration across HVP is explicitly encouraged. NIH is also signaling that researchers who are not currently part of the HVP should feel welcome to apply, which is important because it opens the door to new teams with relevant technical strengths. At the same time, pilot projects are not supposed to duplicate or overlap with existing HVP-supported work. Applicants are expected to check current funded projects (via the Common Fund website list of funded research) and propose something additive rather than redundant.

The administrative and eligibility rules around international involvement are strict and worth highlighting. Non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations) cannot apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, "foreign components" as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning certain project elements may occur outside the U.S. if they meet NIH's definition and are justified and compliant. The most consequential restriction is NIH's policy that it will not issue awards to domestic or foreign entities that include foreign subawards or subcontracts unless the application is submitted under a NOFO specifically designated for funded international collaborations. As a result, any application to this NOFO that proposes foreign subawards/subcontracts will be considered noncompliant and will not be reviewed for funding. This restriction applies to monetary international collaborations that would route NIH funds to a foreign institution through a subaward/subcontract. It does not prevent unfunded collaborations with international partners, does not prohibit foreign components where allowed, and does not prohibit paying foreign consultants or purchasing unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors.

From a funding and timeline perspective, this is an R03 grant (small grant mechanism) with an award ceiling of $100,000. NIH anticipates making about 13 awards. The original application closing date listed is November 10, 2026, and the opportunity was created on October 8, 2026. The funding instrument is a grant, the opportunity category is discretionary, and it is listed under the Health funding activity category.

Eligible applicants are broad and include many U.S.-based organization types, such as state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions in those nonprofit categories as stated); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. Because the NOFO is "Clinical Trials Not Allowed," proposed work must not include clinical trials as defined by NIH, which generally means the research should avoid prospective assignment of human participants to interventions to evaluate health-related outcomes. For detailed eligibility nuances and compliance expectations, NIH directs applicants to consult Section III of the NOFO.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pilot Projects to Enhance the Human Virome Program (R03 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2026-10-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-11-10. (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 $100,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 13 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.

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