Leveraging Existing Resources for Research on Lewy Body Dementia (R03) | RFA NS 17 016

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the funding opportunity called and what is its number?

The opportunity is titled "Leveraging Existing Resources for Research on Lewy Body Dementia (R03)" and the Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-NS-17-016.

Which agency is offering this grant?

This is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant opportunity.

What type of funding instrument is this?

The funding instrument type is a grant.

What grant mechanism does this opportunity use?

This opportunity uses the NIH R03 mechanism, which is designed for small, focused projects such as exploratory or pilot-style work and targeted secondary data analyses.

What is the main purpose of this FOA?

The FOA is intended to accelerate Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) research by leveraging large, established datasets to generate practical, near-term scientific returns, rather than launching new data collection efforts.

Does this opportunity support new data collection?

No. Applicants are not expected or encouraged to collect new data. The goal is to extract new insights from previously collected measurements, records, and biospecimen-derived results available through designated programs (and, where appropriate, aligned external sources).

What datasets are applicants expected to use?

Projects are expected to rely on previously collected data drawn from at least one of the following repositories: the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and/or the Parkinson's Disease Biomarker Program (PDBP).

Can a project use other datasets in addition to ADNI or PDBP?

Yes. Investigators may incorporate other existing datasets, but only when those data are scientifically relevant and of comparable quality to ADNI or PDBP.

Is using at least one named repository required?

Yes. The opportunity states that projects are expected to rely on previously collected data from at least one of ADNI and/or PDBP.

What kinds of data are expected to be analyzed?

The FOA emphasizes analysis of already-collected clinical, imaging, and physiological information on people with dementia and parkinsonism, including biospecimen-derived results already available through the referenced programs.

What scientific topics and priorities does the FOA emphasize?

The FOA prioritizes research that identifies clinical or biological attributes that can support (1) earlier diagnosis of LBD, (2) improved differential diagnosis of LBD versus related conditions, and (3) identification of attributes that could point toward therapeutic targets.

What does "earlier diagnosis" mean in the context of this FOA?

It refers to identifying markers or patterns that could enable earlier recognition of LBD, particularly at stages where symptoms overlap with other neurodegenerative diseases.

What does "differential diagnosis" mean in this funding opportunity?

It refers to improving the ability to distinguish LBD from related conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease dementia, and other dementias or movement disorders that can share cognitive, motor, sleep, psychiatric, or autonomic features.

What kinds of outputs or analyses are implied as a good fit?

Examples described include analyses connecting symptom profiles with imaging results, evaluating candidate biomarkers, and developing predictive models that distinguish subgroups or disease trajectories using multimodal data.

How does the FOA relate to therapeutic target discovery?

The FOA encourages identification of attributes that could point toward therapeutic targets, such as biological pathways, imaging signatures, or physiologic changes that might be actionable for treatment development or useful for stratifying patients in future clinical trials.

What is the maximum award amount listed for this opportunity?

The posted award ceiling is $50,000, consistent with the R03 small grant approach.

What is the relevant CFDA listing for this grant?

The opportunity is supported under CFDA numbers 93.853 and 93.866.

When was the opportunity created and when did it close?

The opportunity record shows a creation date of 2016-12-02 and an original closing date of 2017-02-10.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and multiple levels of government (including state, county, city/township, and special district governments), as well as independent school districts and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities.

Are minority-serving institutions specifically included as eligible applicants?

Yes. The announcement explicitly highlights eligibility for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (other than federally recognized).

Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. Faith-based or community-based organizations are explicitly listed among eligible applicant categories.

Are non-U.S. (foreign) organizations eligible to apply?

Yes. The eligibility list includes non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations).

Are U.S. territories or possessions included in the eligibility list?

Yes. U.S. territories or possessions are listed among eligible applicants.

Is this opportunity limited to academic applicants?

No. While institutions of higher education are eligible, the eligibility list also includes nonprofits, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, government entities, school districts, housing authorities, and other organizational types.

What kind of expertise is this opportunity particularly suited for?

The opportunity is particularly suited to teams that can generate meaningful advances efficiently using existing national research infrastructure, including expertise in areas such as biostatistics, neuroimaging, biomarker science, clinical phenotyping, and computational modeling.

What is the overarching "boundary condition" for project design?

The key boundary condition is that the project should strongly leverage existing, high-value datasets (at minimum ADNI and/or PDBP) and should not be designed around collecting new data.

What diseases or patient populations are most relevant to the proposed analyses?

The FOA focuses on Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), with analyses drawing on data from people with dementia and parkinsonism, and with comparisons relevant to related neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia.