[National Institutes of Health (NIH)](https://www.nih.gov/)

June 19, 2025 | June 18, 2026

Up to $275,000 in direct costs over 2 years; no more than $200,000 in any single year.

Supports early-stage, high-risk/high-reward technology development to address barriers and bottlenecks in translational science, particularly for therapeutic development.

--- ## Description The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at NIH invites applications for projects focused on the development of highly innovative, early-stage technologies that can address significant challenges in translational science, especially those relevant to therapeutic development. This program is designed to support investigator-initiated, proof-of-concept, and exploratory technology development studies that are high-risk but have the potential for transformative impact. The goal is to catalyze new approaches or extend current technologies in ways that could significantly improve the efficiency of the therapeutic development pipeline, ultimately leading to more treatments reaching patients more quickly. Projects should be disease-agnostic and applicable to broader use in translational research, with an emphasis on platform-based approaches rather than incremental advances or disease-specific solutions. This opportunity is not intended for clinical trials or studies focused on a single disease mechanism. --- ## Due Dates - June 19, 2025 (by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization) - June 18, 2026 (by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization) Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow time for corrections during the submission process. All applications must be submitted electronically. --- ## Funding Amount - Maximum direct costs: $275,000 over a 2-year project period - No more than $200,000 in direct costs may be requested in any single year - The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications --- ## Eligibility Eligible applicants include: - Public and private institutions of higher education - Nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education) - For-profit organizations, including small businesses - State, county, city, township, and special district governments - Independent school districts - Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities - Native American tribal governments (federally recognized and other) - Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions - Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) - Hispanic-serving Institutions - Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) - Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) - Faith-based or community-based organizations - Regional organizations - U.S. territories or possessions - Eligible agencies of the Federal Government **Note:** Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed. --- ## Application Process - Applications must be submitted electronically via [NIH ASSIST](https://public.era.nih.gov/assist/), an institutional system-to-system solution, or [Grants.gov Workspace](https://www.grants.gov/). - Follow the [NIH How to Apply - Application Guide](https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html). - Applications must include three required 1-page attachments: Feasibility, Validation Plan, and Future Plans. Missing any of these will result in the application not being reviewed. - No clinical trials are allowed under this opportunity. - All applicants must have appropriate institutional registrations (SAM, eRA Commons, Grants.gov) and individual eRA Commons accounts for PD/PI. --- ## Additional Information - The focus is on technology development, not on answering biological questions or disease-specific research. - Technologies must be broadly applicable to translational science and therapeutic development. - Examples of relevant technology areas include: platform technologies, data-driven solutions, biomarker development, synthetic biology tools, nanotechnology, drug delivery platforms, and computational modeling tools. - Incremental improvements or projects focused on a single disease are not responsive. - Cost sharing is not required. - Applicants may submit more than one application, provided each is scientifically distinct. --- ## External Links - [Full Program Announcement and Instructions](https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-157.html) - [Grants.gov Opportunity Listing](https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/357625) - [NIH How to Apply - Application Guide](https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html) - [NCATS Program Overview](https://ncats.nih.gov/) --- ## Contact Information | Contact Type | Name / Email | Phone | |----------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------| | General Grants Info | [grantsinfo@nih.gov](mailto:grantsinfo@nih.gov) | 301-480-7075 | | Scientific/Research Contact | Kihwa Kang, Ph.D. [kihwa.kang@nih.gov](mailto:kihwa.kang@nih.gov) | 301-827-5634 | | Financial/Grants Management | Rachel Renee Ratz [rachel.ratz@nih.gov](mailto:rachel.ratz@nih.gov) | 301-451-4765 | | eRA Service Desk (technical) | [eRA Help](https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help) | 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 | | Grants.gov Customer Support | [support@grants.gov](mailto:support@grants.gov) | 800-518-4726 |

Awards Supporting Cutting-Edge Technologies for Translational Science (ASCETTS) (R21 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

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