Understanding Chronic Conditions Understudied Among Women (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA OD 23 014

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA OD 23 014

The NIH funding opportunity "Understanding Chronic Conditions Understudied Among Women (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (RFA-OD-23-014) supports research projects that improve scientific understanding of chronic conditions that have historically been overlooked in womens health research, as well as chronic conditions that disproportionately affect groups of women who are themselves understudied, underrepresented, or underreported in biomedical research. The intent is to move the field beyond gaps created by uneven research attention and to generate stronger evidence that can ultimately inform prevention, diagnosis, treatment, symptom management, and health outcomes for women across the lifespan. Applications are expected to align with Goal 1 of the 2019-2023 Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Womens Health Research, "Advancing Science for the Health of Women," which signals that the work should be clearly grounded in womens health relevance and advance the science base rather than treating sex or gender as an afterthought.

This announcement uses the NIH R01 mechanism, meaning it is designed for substantial, hypothesis-driven or well-justified research programs that can deliver meaningful advances in knowledge. The "clinical trial optional" designation means applicants may propose studies that include a clinical trial if that is the right approach for the research question, but they are not required to run a trial to be responsive. In practice, this allows a wide range of study types, including observational studies, mechanistic work, intervention development, pragmatic or explanatory trials, and other rigorous designs that fit the NIH definition of clinical trials when applicable. Projects should be framed around chronic conditions, with a strong justification for why the condition is understudied among women and/or why certain populations of women experience disproportionate burden, barriers to care, worse outcomes, or insufficient representation in existing datasets and prior studies.

The program is administered by NIH Institutes and Centers using funds provided through the Office of Research on Womens Health (ORWH) in partnership with participating NIH components, which is important because it reflects a trans-NIH commitment and may allow a broad set of chronic-condition topics to be considered as long as they fit the womens health emphasis. The opportunity is listed under multiple CFDA numbers (93.233, 93.310, 93.313, 93.393, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.865, 93.866), indicating that multiple NIH program areas may be involved in funding depending on scientific fit.

Eligibility is broad and includes many typical NIH applicant types: state, county, city, and special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories that NIH encourages, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies. Regional organizations and U.S. territories or possessions are also included. At the same time, the FOA places clear limits on non-U.S. participation: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. However, foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, meaning a U.S.-based applicant can incorporate specific foreign elements when scientifically justified and compliant with NIH policy.

Key administrative details provided include the original closing date of June 20, 2024, and a listed award ceiling of $350,000. While the summary does not specify whether that ceiling reflects direct costs, total costs, or a per-year amount, applicants typically need to review the full FOA text and NIH budget guidance for the precise interpretation and any institute-specific constraints. The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the health and social services domain, and it was created on March 8, 2023.

Overall, this FOA is aimed at strengthening the evidence base for chronic conditions affecting women by targeting areas where research has been thin or where certain groups of women have not been adequately represented. Competitive applications will usually make a clear case for the unmet need, define the womens health relevance precisely, describe how the research addresses underrepresentation or underreporting (for example through recruitment, measurement, analysis plans, or community-engaged approaches), and present a rigorous design capable of producing results that meaningfully advance womens health science.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Understanding Chronic Conditions Understudied Among Women (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.233, 93.310, 93.313, 93.393, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.865, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-03-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-20. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• 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.

Apply for RFA OD 23 014

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