Chronic Kidney Diseases of UnceRtain Etiology (CKDu) in Agricultural Communities (CURE) Research Consortium Renal Science Core (U01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DK 20 018

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 20 018

This NIH funding opportunity (RFA-DK-20-018) supports a cooperative agreement (U01; clinical trial not allowed) to establish and run the Renal Science Core, also referred to as the Renal Analytic Core (RAC), within the larger CURE Research Consortium focused on Chronic Kidney Disease of UnceRtain Etiology (CKDu) in agricultural communities. The central purpose is to bring strong renal and discovery-science leadership to a coordinated, multi-site effort aimed at figuring out what causes CKDu, how it progresses, and how the resulting evidence can point toward practical public health actions and future therapeutic targets. The emphasis is on building shared scientific infrastructure and analytic capability across the consortium rather than funding independent, stand-alone projects.

The RAC is expected to serve as the consortiums kidney-focused scientific engine. Its main responsibilities include assessing kidney function in study participants, performing and interpreting analyses of kidney biopsies, and developing a coherent scientific strategy for discovering disease mechanisms and potential causal factors. A key deliverable is an organized biological sampling plan that Field Sites can implement consistently, so that biospecimens and related clinical measures are collected in a way that supports high-quality downstream analyses. In practice, that means helping define what to collect (and when), how to process and store specimens, what renal phenotyping should look like, and what analytic approaches will best connect clinical findings with pathology and exposure information.

The opportunity sits inside a deliberately collaborative consortium structure. Alongside the RAC, the consortium includes Field Sites (where participants are evaluated and samples are collected), a Scientific Data Coordinating Center (which supports harmonized data systems, coordination, and shared analyses), and the NIEHS Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR), which provides specialized exposure assessment capacity. A major goal is to develop and follow common protocols across all components: standardized evaluation of people with early manifestations of CKDu and appropriate control participants; shared biosampling procedures; consistent environmental assessment strategies; and agreed-upon analytic plans to maximize what can be learned from the combined sample sets. The intent is that discoveries emerge from integrated clinical, pathology, biospecimen, and exposure data rather than from fragmented efforts.

This FOA is explicitly limited to human studies. Applications that include animal work or model systems are considered nonresponsive, meaning they do not fit the scope of what will be funded. It also does not support intervention trials aimed at preventing or treating CKDu; the work is designed around characterization, discovery science, and analytic approaches that can inform future interventions, not testing interventions within this award. The activity category is listed under environment, food and nutrition, and health, underscoring the expectation that CKDu in agricultural settings may involve complex interactions among occupational, environmental, and biologic factors.

Eligibility is broad and includes many domestic organization types such as state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories, including minority-serving institutions (for example HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, TCCUs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign institutions (non-U.S. entities) are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, but foreign components of U.S. organizations are allowed under NIH policy, meaning specific parts of the work can be carried out internationally if they meet NIH requirements and are justified within a U.S.-led application.

Administratively, the sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health, using a cooperative agreement mechanism, which typically implies substantial NIH involvement in coordination, milestone setting, and consortium governance compared with a standard research project grant. The original posting date in the provided record is July 24, 2020, with an original closing date of November 10, 2020, and the CFDA numbers listed are 93.113 and 93.847. The listing does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the provided fields, but the design strongly suggests support for a central core function that serves multiple sites and partners rather than funding multiple unrelated awards.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as funding a specialized renal-science hub that can standardize and elevate kidney phenotyping, biopsy interpretation, and biospecimen-driven discovery across a coordinated, multi-partner effort in agricultural communities affected by CKDu. The RACs success would be measured by how well it enables consistent, high-quality renal and pathology data collection and analysis across field sites, how effectively it integrates with exposure and data coordination resources, and how much it advances credible, testable hypotheses about CKDu causes and progression that can guide future preventive and therapeutic strategies.

• The National Institutes of Health in the environment, food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Chronic Kidney Diseases of UnceRtain Etiology (CKDu) in Agricultural Communities (CURE) Research Consortium Renal Science Core (U01 - 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): 93.113, 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-07-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-11-10. (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.

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