ForecastedResearch announcementOpportunity FOR-MD-25-004

Forecast to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) (U54 - Clinical Trial Optional)

National Institutes of Health · Department of Health and Human Services

At a glance

Forecast to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) (U54 - Clinical Trial Optional) is a forecasted federal cooperative agreement opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (Department of Health and Human Services). The agency's forecast estimates an application due date of November 26, 2025; forecast dates can change. Total estimated funding is $22M across about 5 awards. Applicant types listed as eligible include public colleges & universities, private colleges & universities and others (see notice). Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 93.307 (Minority Health and Health Disparities Research).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Jun 10, 2025Forecast posted
Sep 24, 2025 (est.)Full notice expected
Nov 26, 2025 (est.)Application deadline
Mar 25, 2026 (est.)Est. award date

Posted: Jun 10, 2025
Est. close date: Nov 26, 2025
Est. award date: Mar 25, 2026
Award floor: Not specified
Award ceiling: Not specified
Est. total funding: $22,000,000
Implied average award: $4,400,000 calculated
Expected awards: 5
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Cooperative Agreement
Opportunity category: Discretionary
Fiscal year: FY2026

Typical awards for this program (SAM.gov listing for ALN 93.307, not this notice): (1) Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research (P50) 3 total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $1,359,847 to $1,513,011; average $1,433,333; (2) Endowment grants (S21): 2 total awards made by the NIMHD for $2,000,000 each; (3) Specialized Centers of Excellence (U54): 12 total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $970,271 to $1,929,905; average $1,455,792; (4) NIMHD Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Training (MHRT, T37) grants: 12 total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $197,856, to $283,553; average $265,097; (5) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants: 25 total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $228,344 to $818,132; average $459,022; (6) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Grants: 4 total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $316,117 to $502,559 average $424,999; (7) Health Disparities Research Project grants and cooperative agreements (RPG): 309 total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $1 to $1,867,461; average $524,008; (8) Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI, U54/U24): 22 total awards made ranged from $1,306,265 to $6,473,264; average $3,826,584; (9) Research Centers in Minority Institution Clinical and Translational Research (RCTR) (U24): $0; (10) Research Centers in Minority Institutions Translational Research Network (RCTN) (U24): $1,306,265; (11) Clinical Research Education and Career Development (CRECD) Awards (R25): 4 total awards ranged from $526,358 to $540,000; average $534,207; (12) Pathway to Independence and Career Development Awards (Ks): 56 total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $97,272 to $316,822; average $147,746; (13) NIH Research Conference Grants: one award, $50,000; (14) Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers (U54): one award, $618,864; (15) Ruth L Kirschstein NRSA Individual Fellowships; 23 total awards ranged from $31,736 to $70,890; average $41,974; (16) NRSA training grants (T32): 2 total awards ranged from $209,346 to $209,830; average $209,588; (17) RADx emergency awards: 16 total awards ranged from $708,970 to $49,397,223; average $4,335,795; (18) NIH Directors New Innovator Award Program (DP2): one award, $1,449,000; (19) Centers for Multiple Chronic Diseases associated with Health Disparities (P50/U24): 12 total awards ranged from $2,415,592 to $5,055,281; average $3,900,708; (20) Building Population Health Research Capacity in the US Affiliated Pacific Islands (U24:): one award, $246,550; (21) NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program (U24): one award, $1,229,873.

Implied average = estimated total funding ÷ expected number of awards, calculated by GrantsJunction. Actual awards vary.

Who can apply

Public colleges & universities
Private colleges & universities
Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

To be eligible for this NOFO, the applicant institution must be a domestic institution located in the United States and its territories which: Has received an average of less than $50 million per year or less than $25 million per year of R01 total costs of NIH support for the past three fiscal years; Awards doctorate degrees in the health professions, or the sciences related to health

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications to expand the national capacity for research in the health sciences. NIH established the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program in 1985 in response to Congressional interest to provide support to less research-intensive institutions that offer doctorate degrees in the health professions or in a health-related science.

The primary goals of RCMI Specialized Center awards are to: (1) enhance institutional research capacity to conduct world-class basic biomedical, behavioral, population and/or clinical patient-centered or health services research; (2) enable all levels of investigators at the recipient institution to compete successfully for extramural support, especially from NIH, for research on diseases and conditions that disproportionately impact populations that experience health disparities; (3) facilitate research career development and enhancement for post-doctoral fellows, junior faculty members, and other early-stage investigators; (4) enhance the tools for, and conduct of, biomedical research; and (5) establish sustainable partnerships with community-based organizations to promote research efforts and the dissemination of research findings.

The RCMI program allows flexibility at the applicant institution with respect to the types of research resources required to accomplish research and investigator development goals. The most important criterion for any component in the proposed Center is the extent to which the activity or resource will enable the institution to achieve the stated goals and objectives.

The following components are required for each RCMI Center:

Overall
Administrative Core
Research Capacity Core
Investigator Development Core`
Community Engagement Core
Research Project(s): Maximum three projects

Centers are expected to support up to three research projects with an explicit focus on one or more of the following scientific areas: 1) basic biomedical research, and/or 2) behavioral or social science research or population science, and/or 3) clinical or health services research. Successful projects will emphasize research that directly interacts with participants. To receive the maximum Center budget, applicants must propose one research project in each of the three scientific focus areas.

Applications are not being solicited at this time. Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

In addition, collaborative investigations combining expertise in multiple scientific disciplines ranging from basic, behavioral, as well as clinical research will be encouraged.

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Watch for the full noticeThe agency estimates posting it around September 24, 2025. Save this grant to track changes.
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyNathan Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) · stinsonn@mail.nih.gov Open ↗
Submit before November 26, 2025Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

93.307Minority Health and Health Disparities ResearchProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 93.307

Historical data · not a prediction

FY20

$334M

FY21

$899M

FY22

$421M

FY23

$540M

FY24

$489M est.

FY25

$489M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 93.307. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Agency contact (as published)

Nathan Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
stinsonn@mail.nih.gov
301-594-8704

Quick answers

Is this opportunity open for applications yet?

Not yet. It is a forecast — an agency's advance notice of an expected opportunity. The agency estimates posting the full notice around September 24, 2025. Forecast details and dates can change.

Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: Public colleges & universities, Private colleges & universities and Others (see notice). Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through this opportunity?

Per the notice, total estimated program funding is $22,000,000 and the agency expects to make about 5 awards.

How do I apply for this opportunity?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity FOR-MD-25-004), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

ForecastedResearchALN 93.307