ForecastedOpportunity RFA-TR-25-016

Intramural - Extramural Collaboration for Advanced 3-D Tissue Models for Drug Screening (Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

National Institutes of Health · Department of Health and Human Services

At a glance

Intramural - Extramural Collaboration for Advanced 3-D Tissue Models for Drug Screening (Clinical Trial Not Allowed) 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 June 16, 2026; forecast dates can change. Total estimated funding is $1.6M across about 2 awards. Applicant types listed as eligible include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts and 10 more. Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 93.350 (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences).

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

Key facts

Posted: Sep 29, 2025
Est. close date: Jun 16, 2026
Est. award date: Apr 15, 2027
Award floor: Not specified
Award ceiling: Not specified
Est. total funding: $1,600,000
Expected awards: 2
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Cooperative Agreement
Opportunity category: Discretionary
Fiscal year: FY2027

Who can apply

State governments
County governments
City or township governments
Special district governments
Independent school districts
Public colleges & universities
Federally recognized tribal governments
Public & Indian housing authorities
Native American tribal organizations
501(c)(3) nonprofits
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status
Private colleges & universities
For-profit organizations (not small businesses)
Small businesses
Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

Other Eligible ApplicantsIndian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized);Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government;U.S. Territory or Possession;Faith-based or Community-based Organizations;Regional Organizations;Non-Eligible ApplicantsNon-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

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.

NIH intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications that will develop, validate and demonstrate the utility of advanced 3-D tissue models for testing the efficacy of various therapeutic modalities, including small molecules and biologics and accelerate the discovery and development of new therapeutics across different diseases.

The initiative will develop advanced 3-D drug screening models adaptable to high throughput assays. These non-animal models are expected to mimic structural, biochemical and mechanical properties of tissue that are representative of a drug’s behavior in a body, resulting in improved predictive accuracy. This is an expansion upon the work conducted under previous NOFOs, RFA-TR-17-007, RFA-TR-19-020 and RFA-TR-21-015, that have focused on development of 3-D skin and other tissue models for drug screening. The applicants are required to utilize the 3-D modeling/drug screening expertise and infrastructure available at the NCATS 3-D Bioprinting laboratory. 3-D tissue models in a well-based drug screening platform should be as complex as necessary to achieve physiological/pharmacological relevance, and as simple as possible to make the models robust, reliable and amenable to drug screening. Grant authorities that allow NCATS to forecast this opportunity are as follows: 42 U.S. Code § 287a - Cures Acceleration Network.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

93.350National Center for Advancing Translational SciencesProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 93.350

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$596M

FY25

$626M

FY26

— est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 93.350. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Agency contact (as published)

Dobrila D. Rudnicki, Ph.D.
dobrila.rudnicki@nih.gov
240-535-6621

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 January 16, 2026. Forecast details and dates can change.

Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?

The official notice lists these applicant types as eligible: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public colleges & universities, Federally recognized tribal governments, Public & Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, Private colleges & universities and 3 more. Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through this opportunity?

Per the notice, total estimated program funding is $1,600,000 and the agency expects to make about 2 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 RFA-TR-25-016), 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.

ForecastedALN 93.350