Hubs of Interdisciplinary Research and Training in Global Environmental and Occupational Health (GEOHealth) Research (Collaborative U01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA TW 21 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA TW 21 001

The funding opportunity "Hubs of Interdisciplinary Research and Training in Global Environmental and Occupational Health (GEOHealth) Research (Collaborative U01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (RFA TW 21 001) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement designed to strengthen environmental and occupational health research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The central idea is to help selected LMIC institutions grow into durable regional hubs that can lead and sustain high-quality, locally relevant research while also building the workforce and systems needed to turn evidence into practice and policy. The program is structured to create a networked platform, the GEOHealth Network, where multiple regional hubs can coordinate, share approaches, and collectively advance environmental and occupational health research and training.

A defining feature of this FOA is that it supports "linked hubs" through two coordinated awards that function as a single collaborative unit. One award goes to an LMIC institution to carry out the core research activities, and the other goes to a United States institution to coordinate research training. This paired structure is meant to ensure that research and training develop together rather than in parallel silos. In practice, the LMIC partner anchors the scientific agenda in local and regional priorities, while the U.S. partner focuses on strengthening research training systems and competencies in ways that are aligned with the research being conducted. Because this is a U01 mechanism, it is a cooperative agreement, meaning NIH expects to have substantial involvement during the project, often through ongoing programmatic coordination, milestones, and active stewardship to keep the research and training objectives on track.

The overall objective of GEOHealth is not only to fund individual studies, but to build institutional capability in LMIC settings to function as a long-term resource for the region. The FOA emphasizes several hub functions beyond generating publications or datasets: collaborative research across disciplines, robust data management capacity, development of training programs and research curricula, creation of outreach materials, and support for evidence-informed policy related to high-priority environmental and occupational health threats. The intent is for hubs to become convening and coordinating centers that can connect researchers, trainees, communities, and decision-makers, and to develop systems that outlast the grant period, such as standardized data practices, training pathways, and partnerships with public health or labor stakeholders.

The scope of supported work is framed broadly around environmental and occupational health threats that are locally, nationally, or regionally important. While the FOA text provided does not list specific topics, the design signals that applicants should target issues with clear public health relevance and plausible pathways to prevention or mitigation, and that benefit from interdisciplinary approaches. Interdisciplinary in this context usually means combining expertise across areas such as exposure science, epidemiology, clinical or public health outcomes, toxicology, industrial hygiene, environmental engineering, biostatistics, implementation science, and policy analysis. The "clinical trial optional" designation indicates that proposed projects may include clinical trials if scientifically appropriate, but a clinical trial is not required. This gives teams flexibility to propose observational research, intervention studies, method development, surveillance enhancements, or training-and-capacity efforts paired with research, as long as the overall hub goals are met.

In addition to research, the FOA places heavy weight on workforce development and research training coordination. The U.S.-based linked award is specifically described as coordinating research training, which implies structured training plans, mentorship systems, and potentially formal coursework, workshops, or credentialed programs that are tightly connected to the hub's research agenda. The training component also aligns with the stated emphasis on curriculum and outreach material development, suggesting that hubs should produce reusable learning products and practical guidance that can be deployed within institutions and across the region. Because hubs are intended to serve as regional resources, training often extends beyond a single lab group to include broader institutional strengthening, such as research administration, ethics review capabilities, data stewardship, and sustainable mentorship and career development structures.

Eligibility is aimed at higher education institutions, including public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. The FOA also clarifies participation rules for international entities. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are eligible to apply, reflecting the LMIC-centered focus of the program. At the same time, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as applicants, which is an important distinction for U.S. universities that operate overseas branches. The FOA notes that foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, meaning U.S. applicants may include certain foreign components in their projects when permitted under NIH policy, but they cannot use an overseas branch as the applicant entity. For full details, the FOA directs applicants to the complete eligibility section, which would typically specify how the linked LMIC and U.S. applications are submitted and how they are reviewed together.

Administratively, this opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the cooperative agreement funding instrument. It falls under activity categories spanning education, environment, and health, reflecting the combined research-and-training mission. The CFDA numbers listed (93.113, 93.313, 93.399, 93.866, 93.989) indicate that multiple NIH-related program authorities or participating institutes/centers may be involved. The FOA was created on 2021-03-26, with an original closing date of 2021-07-08. The source excerpt does not provide an award ceiling, expected number of awards, or other budget specifics, implying those details would need to be pulled from the full announcement text or NIH guide notice.

Taken together, this grant opportunity is best understood as a capacity-building and network-forming initiative rather than a one-off research project. It aims to develop LMIC institutions into regional leaders in environmental and occupational health by funding a paired research-and-training collaboration between an LMIC institution and a U.S. institution. The expectation is that each funded hub contributes to a broader GEOHealth Network, enabling coordinated research, shared training resources, stronger data management practices, and more direct links between scientific evidence and policy or public health action in regions facing significant environmental and workplace-related health risks.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Hubs of Interdisciplinary Research and Training in Global Environmental and Occupational Health (GEOHealth) Research (Collaborative U01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.313, 93.399, 93.866, 93.989.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-03-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

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