Research to Action: Assessing and Addressing Community Exposures to Environmental Contaminants (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), invites applications under the reissued Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) PAR-22-210 titled “Research to Action: Assessing and Addressing Community Exposures to Environmental Contaminants (R01 Clinical Trial Optional).” This FOA encourages multidisciplinary, community-engaged research that investigates environmental exposures of concern to a community and develops actionable public health interventions based on the research findings. The initiative is rooted in the mission to support community-university partnerships in environmental public health, build trust, and foster bi-directional communication that enables effective, evidence-based interventions. This funding opportunity aligns with NIH's ongoing commitment to addressing environmental health disparities and promoting health equity. It supports projects that are community-driven and focused on real-world exposures, emphasizing inclusivity and participatory methods. Applicants must integrate three core elements: authentic community engagement, scientific research on environmental exposures, and public health action plans. An optional fourth element, evaluation, is recommended to assess the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions. Eligible applicants include higher education institutions, non-profits, for-profit organizations, state and local governments, tribal entities, housing authorities, and more. Applicants must register with multiple federal systems including SAM, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. Foreign institutions are not eligible. Applications must involve established community-university partnerships and cannot solely focus on capacity building or research on social conditions without environmental co-exposure. The program particularly encourages collaboration with community-based organizations (CBOs) serving health-disparity populations. Applications may propose new projects, renewals, resubmissions, or revisions. Budgets are capped at $500,000 in direct costs annually, with a maximum project period of five years. The grant is not offered on a rolling basis, but follows standard NIH due dates with the next application cycles including July 5, 2025, and November 5, 2025. The final application deadline is May 24, 2025. Application components must include detailed research strategies, a public health action plan, evidence of authentic community partnerships, and may include evaluation plans. Applicants must comply with NIH policy on data management and sharing, and all applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov, NIH ASSIST, or institutional systems. Contact points for questions include Liam O Fallon at NIEHS (ofallon@niehs.nih.gov) and Gabriel Lai at NIMHD (gabriel.lai@nih.gov) for scientific/research questions, and Jenny L. Greer and Priscilla Grant for grants management.