NIH RFA · OD · R21
RFA-OD-27-003: INCLUDE Project: Exploratory/Developmental Research Awards for Down syndrome (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Reviewed by Dr. Meng ZhaoLast reviewed October 16, 2026Data refreshed October 16, 2026Editorial standards
The NIH INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE (INCLUDE) Project seeks to improve health and quality-of-life for individuals with Down syndrome. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites researchers to submit applications for support of new exploratory and developmental research projects that address critical needs for Down syndrome projects, as articulated in the INCLUDE Project objectives. For example, such projects could assess the feasibility of a novel area of investigation or a new experimental system that has the potential to enhance health-related research. Another example could include the unique and innovative use of an…
- NOFO number
- RFA-OD-27-003
- Type
- RFA
- Activity code
- R21
- Primary institute
- OD · NIH Office of the Director
- Clinical trials
- Not Allowed
- Posted
- May 12, 2026
- Opens
- Sep 15, 2026
- Expires
- Jun 16, 2028
RFA-OD-27-003 due dates
2 application due dates remain before the NOFO expires. Dates marked * are NIH standard due dates. Check the related notices below for changes NIH made after posting.
| New | Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) | AIDS - New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision, as allowed | Scientific Merit Review | Advisory Council Review | Earliest Start Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 15, 2026 | October 15, 2026 | Not Applicable | March 2027 | May 2027 | July 2027 |
| June 15, 2027 | June 15, 2027 | Not Applicable | November 2027 | January 2028 | April 2028 |
| June 15, 2028 | June 15, 2028 | Not Applicable | November 2028 | January 2029 | April 2029 |
What its predecessor RFA-OD-21-007 funded
RFA-OD-27-003 reissues RFA-OD-21-007. Until awards appear under the new number, its funding history is the best guide to who wins under this program: 10 projects and $4.4M in FY2022–FY2026.
Projects funded
10
Distinct projects, FY2022–FY2026
New awards
10
Type 1 (new project) award records
NIH funding
$4.4M
Award dollars under RFA-OD-21-007, FY2022–FY2026
Funding by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Award records | New awards | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022 | 3 | 3 | $710K |
| FY2023 | 3 | 0 | $591K |
| FY2024 | 2 | 2 | $491K |
| FY2025 | 7 | 5 | $2.4M |
| FY2026 | 1 | 0 | $195K |
Institutions with the most funding
- University of Colorado Denver$857K · 2 projects
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai$462K · 1 project
- Massachusetts General Hospital$459K · 1 project
- UT Southwestern Medical Center$451K · 1 project
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign$446K · 1 project
- University of Texas at Austin$430K · 1 project
- University of Colorado$430K · 1 project
Funding institutes
- NICHD$1.3M · 3
- NHLBI$1.3M · 6
- NCI$462K · 1
- NIA$459K · 2
- NIDCD$430K · 2
- NIAID$429K · 2
Activity codes funded
- R2116 records
Most recent new awards
- Characterizing DNA Methylation Dynamics in Trisomy 21-Associated Hematopoiesis and Leukemia (opens NIH RePORTER)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · 1R21CA301237-01 · NCI · Notice Aug 7, 2025
$462KR21
- Developing and implementing community based participatory health research with young adults with Down syndrome (opens NIH RePORTER)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign · 1R21HD118449-01 · NICHD · Notice Aug 1, 2025
$446KR21
- Defining the association between trisomy 21 and placentation defects (opens NIH RePORTER)
University of Colorado · 1R21HD118444-01 · NICHD · Notice Jul 17, 2025
$430KR21
- Single cell analysis of dysregulated inducible DNA amplifications of immune response genes in Down syndrome (opens NIH RePORTER)
University of Colorado Denver · 1R21AI190900-01 · NIAID · Notice Jul 16, 2025
$234KR21
- CRISPR interference to identify HSA21 genes reducing neurogenesis (opens NIH RePORTER)
UT Southwestern Medical Center · 1R21HD118402-01 · NICHD · Notice Jun 17, 2025
$451KR21
- Imaging of Mitochondial Complex I function in Down Syndrome (opens NIH RePORTER)
Massachusetts General Hospital · 1R21AG086927-01 · NIA · Notice Jul 29, 2024
$251KR21
FY2026 closed on September 30, 2026, but NIH keeps posting that year's awards to RePORTER for several weeks. FY2026 figures reflect records available on October 16, 2026 and may rise slightly at the next refresh.
Participating institutes
12 NIH institutes and offices take applications under RFA-OD-27-003. Contact the program officer at the institute that fits your research before applying.
- OD · NIH Office of the Director
- NEI · National Eye Institute
- NHLBI · National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- NIA · National Institute on Aging
- NIAID · National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- NIAMS · National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
- NICHD · Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- NIDCD · National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- NIDCR · National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
- NLM · National Library of Medicine
- ORIP
- NCI · National Cancer Institute
Related notices
NIH lists no related notices for RFA-OD-27-003 yet.
Award terms
- Application types allowed
- New Resubmission Revision The OER Glossary and the How to Apply Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this NOFO.
- Award budget
- Application budgets are limited to a maximum of 275,000 direct costs for the two-year project period of the award. No more than 200,000 may be requested in any single year.
- Project period
- The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is 2 years. NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this NOFO.
- Funds available and number of awards
- NIH intends to commit an estimated 1,000,000 to fund up to 5 awards per year in FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029.The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Future year amounts will depend on annual appropriations.
Summarized from the NOFO text; the full NOFO governs eligibility, budget, and review.
Related NOFOs
- Reissue of RFA-OD-21-007.
Other open NOFOs for R21
- PAR-25-068Pilot Studies of Biological, Behavioral and Social Mechanisms Contributing to HIV Pathogenesis Within the Mission of NIDDK (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)NIDDK · next due Oct 16, 2026
- PAR-25-357NEI Research Grant for Vision-Related Secondary Data Analysis (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)NEI · next due Oct 16, 2026
- PA-25-304NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Project Grant (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)NIH · next due Oct 16, 2026
- PA-25-306NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Project Grant (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required)NIH · next due Oct 16, 2026
- PAR-25-346Exploratory/Developmental Bioengineering Research Grants (EBRG) (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)NCI · next due Oct 16, 2026
- PAR-25-321Exploratory/Developmental Bioengineering Research Grants (EBRG) (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)NCI · next due Oct 16, 2026
About this page
GotGrant gathers the NOFO, its participation and change notices, and its NOSIs from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, and counts funded projects from NIH RePORTER by the opportunity number each award was made under. Data refreshed October 16, 2026; the NIH Guide is the authoritative source. See our data methodology.