Research Innovation for Scientific Knowledge (RISK) for Skin and Rheumatic Diseases (R61/R33) | RFA AR 17 008

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AR 17 008

The Research Innovation for Scientific Knowledge (RISK) for Skin and Rheumatic Diseases (R61/R33) funding opportunity (RFA-AR-17-008) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant initiative run through NIAMS, aimed at pushing the field toward genuinely new directions in skin and rheumatic disease research. Its central purpose is to fund bold, unconventional ideas that sit outside the usual comfort zone of standard NIH mechanisms. The program is explicitly built for projects that may look premature on paper, carry substantial technical or conceptual risk, or challenge prevailing assumptions, but that could open up entirely new ways of understanding disease if they succeed. In practical terms, NIAMS is signaling that they want applicants to chase unusual observations, test imaginative hypotheses, and develop creative concepts that could reshape how these diseases are studied or treated, rather than simply extending existing models in small, incremental steps.

The award uses the R61/R33 phased innovation structure, which is designed for high-risk projects where early feasibility needs to be demonstrated before larger support continues. While the detailed milestone language is not included in the text you provided, the intent of this mechanism is typically that the initial phase supports proof-of-concept work and the second phase supports expanded development once clearly defined early goals are met. The scientific scope emphasized here is disease-focused translational research that moves discoveries toward relevance for human skin and rheumatic conditions, but stops short of first-in-human studies. In other words, this program supports translational work up to, but not including, the point where a new intervention is tested in people for the first time. NIAMS also draws a bright line around what they do not want to fund under this announcement: it is not intended to support clinical trials.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary NIH grant opportunity in the health category (CFDA 93.846). The listed award ceiling is $250,000, indicating the maximum funding level per award under the source data provided. The original application closing date shown is April 7, 2017, and the opportunity was created on August 1, 2016, which places it as a time-limited announcement from that period rather than an open-ended standing mechanism.

Eligibility is broad across many U.S.-based organization types and includes government entities and a wide range of research-performing institutions. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and both federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations not classified as federally recognized tribal governments. The FOA also allows nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses. It further highlights additional eligible categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian 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, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the announcement is restrictive regarding foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities or foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible. In addition, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. Taken together, these restrictions indicate NIAMS intended this program to be carried out fully within eligible U.S.-based institutional structures, without foreign organizational applicants or foreign project components.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as NIAMS making room for creative scientific bets in skin and rheumatic disease research that might otherwise be turned away for being too speculative or disruptive. It prioritizes transformative potential over conventional feasibility, supports translational disease-focused studies prior to first-in-human work, and excludes clinical trials, while offering broad U.S.-based organizational eligibility alongside clear prohibitions on foreign applicant organizations and foreign components.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Innovation for Scientific Knowledge (RISK) for Skin and Rheumatic Diseases (R61/R33)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.846.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-08-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-04-07. (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 $250,000.00 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 AR 17 008

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