Part 1. Overview Information

Key Dates

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. 

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the How to Apply - Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the How to Apply - Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

There are several options available to submit your application through Grants.gov to NIH and Department of Health and Human Services partners. You must use one of these submission options to access the application forms for this opportunity.

1. Use the NIH ASSIST system to prepare, submit and track your application online.
2. Use an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution to prepare and submit your application to Grants.gov and eRA Commons to track your application. Check with your institutional officials regarding availability.
3. Use Grants.gov Workspace to prepare and submit your application and eRA Commons to track your application.

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description

Background and Purpose of SenNet
Senescence is a cell state characterized by a durable cell-cycle arrest in response to stressors, often accompanied by a pro-inflammatory senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). While senescent cells (SnCs) have beneficial roles in tumor suppression and tissue repair, they also accumulate during normal aging and drive the pathology of multiple age-associated diseases.

The NIH established the Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet) in 2021 to identify and characterize how SnCs differ across the human body. Stage 1 of the program revealed extensive SnC variability, establishing that researchers must identify them using sets of markers that define distinct "senotypes" rather than single, traditional markers. The current portal https://sennetconsortium.org/ provides further details around both experimental and software engineering details adopted in Stage 1.

Stage 2 Objectives and Consortium Structure
The purpose of SenNet Stage 2 is to build upon Stage 1 discoveries to understand the biological consequences of SnCs in pathophysiological conditions. Stage 2 will guide the broader scientific community by creating publicly available, curated Senescence Atlases.

The NIH Common Fund supports SenNet as a goal-driven strategic investment comprising three initiatives:

• Data Coordination and Integration Center (DCIC): [This NOFO]: The central hub responsible for ingesting all consortium data, curating searchable Senescence Atlases, and developing a public data portal with analytical tools for the research community.
• Discovery and Validation Centers (DVCs): [Companion NOFO RFA-RM-27-016]: Will define organ-specific senotypes in disease, advance preclinical models, and generate the primary data for the network.
• Senescence Technology Projects (SenTecs): [Companion NOFO RFA-RM-27-007]: Will develop multi-scale models and novel technologies to predict the in vivo outcomes of modulating SnC levels.

A central administrative hub, the SenNet Organization and Outreach Component (SOOC), coordinates activities across the entire Consortium. NIH will select and fund the SOOC role for only one awardee across SenNet. The DCIC's success is inherently dependent on close alignment with the scientific scope and data outputs of the companion DVC and SenTec programs; familiarity with those NOFOs is essential context for understanding the priorities described below.

DCIC Research Scope and Scientific Priorities
The DCIC will serve as the data and informatics backbone of the SenNet Consortium. The DCIC requires deep domain expertise in cellular senescence biology, preclinical validation, and high-throughput spatial assays, and actively designs pipelines for specific biological data, metadata, and provenance models generated by the companion DVC and SenTec programs. Four core scientific and technical priorities guide this work:

Priority 1: Data Ingestion, Provenance, and FAIR Assay Standards
This priority centers on the development of flexible, robust data analysis pipelines tailored to the specific assays and experimental designs executed by the DVCs, including:

• Processing complex multi-omic datasets, such as multiplexed immunoassays (spatial proteomics), spatially resolved transcriptomics, and high-resolution lipid/metabolite imaging.
• Capturing and tracking full experimental provenance–including tissue-resident senotypes, cell-type-specific susceptibilities, and the diverse biological variables arising from advanced preclinical validation models (e.g., human ex vivo models, improved animal models, microphysiological systems, and virtual organs).
• Capturing the metadata associated with in vitro and ex vivo induction and perturbation protocols (e.g., senolytic and senomorphic treatments).
• Developing standardized, machine-readable data formats and common data elements using ontologies to ensure all incoming data meets FAIR standards.
• Establishing a SenNet-wide data quality assessment standard.

Priority 2: Stage 1 Data Curation and Stage 2 Integration
A primary goal is ensuring continuity with Stage 1 SenNet data, encompassing:

• Managing and ensuring continued community access to all SenNet Stage 1 data and maps (see: data.sennetconsortium.org).
• Developing innovative methods to integrate Stage 1 data (from healthy tissues) with new Stage 2 data (from diseased tissues) to enhance the discovery of organ- and disease-specific senotypes.

Priority 3: Senescence Atlas, 2D/3D Mapping, and Public Data Portal
The DCIC will create and maintain the public face of the SenNet program. The portal reflects the complex biology of tissue-resident senescent cells and will:

• Enable users to search, filter, and download curated 2D/3D spatial maps and tissue-specific Senescence Atlases.
• Support query capabilities for specific senescence-biology endpoints and biological annotations.
• Provide robust API capabilities for programmatic data access.
• Feature analysis and visualization tools that allow users to query senescence-biology endpoints and integrate their own datasets with SenNet resources.

All sensitive data subject to controlled-access requirements, such as EHR-derived phenotypic data, will not be hosted for public download and must be submitted by the DCIC to an appropriate NIH-designated repository along with molecular data that falls within NIH GDS policy.

Priority 4: Community Engagement and Usability
To maximize the value of SenNet resources, the DCIC actively engages the research community through:

• Organizing hackathons and focused user-feedback sessions to improve portal functionality.
• Developing user manuals and tutorials.
• Tracking and reporting usage statistics to monitor the impact of SenNet resources.

Pre-Application Webinar

NIH will host an open pre-application webinar to discuss the scientific scope and technical details of this NOFO. Participation is not required to apply. Prospective applicants should email CS2@nih.gov to submit questions in advance and receive scheduling details.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Section II. Award Information

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this NOFO.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Higher Education Institutions - Includes all types

• Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
• Private Institutions of Higher Education

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

• Small Businesses
• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Local Governments

• State Governments
• County Governments
• City or Township Governments
• Special District Governments
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)

Federal Governments

• Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
• U.S. Territory or Possession

Other

• Independent School Districts
• Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
• Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
• Regional Organizations

Foreign Organizations/Foreign Collaborations

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. 

NIH will no longer issue awards (i.e., new, renewal, or non-competing continuation) to domestic or foreign entities that involve foreign subawards/subcontracts. All NIH-funded research involving foreign subawards/subcontracts must be submitted in response to a NOFO that is specifically designated for funded international collaborations. See NIH Grants Policy Statement 16.8 Collaborative International Research Awards.

Applications involving foreign subawards/subcontracts submitted in response to this NOFO will be deemed noncompliant and will not be considered for funding. This policy applies to all monetary international collaborations resulting in foreign subawards/subcontracts, however, it does not preclude unfunded international collaborations or foreign components, funding for foreign consultants, or procurement of unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors.

Applicant Organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. Failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications for additional information

• System for Award Management (SAM) – Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code. Foreign organizations must obtain a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)- A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
• eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their Grants.gov registrations; all registrations must be in place by time of submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
• Grants.gov – Applicants must have an active SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account.  PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons.  Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

All PD(s)/PI(s) must be registered with ORCID. The personal profile associated with the PD(s)/PI(s) eRA Commons account must be linked to a valid ORCID ID. For more information on linking an ORCID ID to an eRA Commons personal profile see the ORCID topic in our eRA Commons online help.

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support. 

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the How to Apply - Application Guide.

2. Cost Sharing

This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. This means that the NIH will not accept:

• A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.
• A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.
• An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.9.4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications).

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package

The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed in this notice of funding opportunity to do otherwise (in this NOFO, in a policy notice, or other notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to the requirements in the How to Apply - Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the How to Apply – Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

For this specific NOFO the Research Strategy page limits are below.

Specific Aims

Briefly describe the aims for the entire application across all Elements. 1 page limit.

Research Strategy

The Research Strategy for a DCIC application must consist of the following sections with the indicated page limits:

1. Element A: Vision and Management Component, up to 5 pages.
2. Element B: SenNet Stage 1 Data Component, up to 10 pages.
3. Element C: Consortium Data Portal and Webpages Component, up to 10 pages.
4. Element D: SenNet Organization and Outreach Component (SOOC), up to 5 pages. 

Note: The maximum overall page limit for the Research Strategy is 30 pages, and individual sections may not exceed the limits described above.

The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply – Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

R&R Budget

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

The UM1 applications submitted in response to this NOFO must be submitted by a single applicant organization with the option of subawards to one or more collaborating organizations.

Note: Applications that fail to include a complete proposal for the SenNet Organization and Outreach Component (SOOC) will be considered incomplete.

Level of Effort

Effective management requires a significant, dedicated commitment. Applicants must meet the following minimum Level of Effort (LOE) requirements. Note: If an individual serves as both a PD/PI and an Element Leader, the effort committed to the PD/PI role cannot count toward the Element Leader requirement.

• PD(s)/PI(s): Minimum 2.4 calendar months. If using a Multiple PD/PI model, the combined LOE must be at least 2.4 months, with at least one PD/PI committing a minimum of 1.2 months.
• Element Leaders: Minimum 1.5 calendar months per Element. If proposing a Leader and Co-Leader(s), the combined LOE must be at least 1.5 months, with the designated Leader committing a minimum of 1.0 month. Individuals may lead multiple Elements provided they meet the minimum LOE for each.

Budget Justifications

Applicants must submit a single budget, but the budget justification must be strictly delineated by Program Element (A through D). Subaward budgets must follow this same format. Each Element must have its own budget covering all activities required to complete its specific goals.

• Must include funds for strategic management, planning, and portal/website operations.
  • Travel: Support participation for up to 5 site members at the Annual Program Meeting (additional attendees require explicit justification).
  • Cross-Consortium Validation Set-Aside: Applicants must set aside approximately 10% of their total budget starting in Year 2 to work across the consortium. These funds will support the validation of newly developed visualizations and other cross-consortium analytical goals. These funds are restricted; their use or reallocation requires NIH prior approval post-award.
• Must request exactly $600,000 per year in direct costs for the SenNet Organization and Outreach Component (SOOC).
  • Logistics: Support consortium communication tools, software, outreach, and travel for Program Consultants to the Annual Meeting.
  • Educational Set-Aside: Dedicate 40–45% of this Element's budget each year to support SenNet educational programs (junior investigator fellowships, summer undergraduate research internships). Reallocating these funds constitutes a change in scope and requires NIH prior approval.
• Subaward Budgets: Follow standard Application Guide instructions. Do not provide subaward budget forms unless explicitly required by standard NIH policy.

R&R Subaward Budget

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Research Plan

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Specific Aims

Briefly describe the aims for the entire application across all UM1 components.

Note: Applications that fail to include a complete proposal for the SenNet Organization and Outreach Component (SOOC) will be considered incomplete.

Letters of Support: Provide letters demonstrating the commitment of the parent organization and pertinent departments. The parent institution must provide documented evidence of dedicated space, protected time for staff, equipment, and financial support for the proposed center.

Research Strategy

Do not duplicate information provided in the SF424 Other Attachments. Applicants must address the following within the respective Elements:

• Element A: Vision and Management Component
  • Vision & Science: Describe the Center's vision for ensuring SenNet data is accessible, downloadable, and queryable. Demonstrate domain expertise in senescence biology, including a clear understanding of the preclinical models and high-throughput spatial assays used by the DVCs.
  • Adaptability: Since data production and storage needs will change over the project period, describe the team's willingness and strategy to implement flexible modifications to workflows and deliverables.
  • IT & Informatics Infrastructure: Describe the IT system administration and database framework. Detail how the database will manage and integrate multiple spatial and single-cell datasets (e.g., spatial proteomics/transcriptomics, sequencing, metabolomics, pathology, and validation data).
  • Consensus & Collaboration: Detail plans to coordinate with DVC data producers and NIH staff. Specifically, outline strategies to:
    • Establish standardized, machine-readable data formats and common data elements using controlled vocabularies and ontologies.
    • Define required experimental and clinical metadata.
    • Implement data submission, processing, and QC pipelines.
    • Establish regular data freezes and public release policies.
  • Milestones & Metrics: Provide explicit yearly milestones and quantitative metrics for data processing and timely public release.
• Element B: SenNet Stage 1 Data Component
  • Continuity: Describe the strategy and timeline for the temporary maintenance and transition of the existing Stage 1 data portal (data.sennetconsortium.org) to ensure uninterrupted community access.
  • Accessibility: Detail specific improvements to enhance Stage 1 data accessibility for the senescence research community.
  • Integration: Describe plans and methods to integrate Stage 1 (healthy) and Stage 2 (diseased) datasets to accelerate the discovery of disease-specific senotypes. Provide specific milestones and quantitative metrics.
• Element C: Consortium Data Portal and Webpages Component
  • Architecture & Pipelines: Detail the technical plans for the outward-facing portal and web pages. Describe the deployed data-processing pipelines and the consensus-generation process.
  • Handling Non-Consensus Data: Propose strategies to handle derived datasets where a consortium consensus pipeline cannot be generated (e.g., one-off or emerging assays), ensuring their biological endpoints remain queryable.
  • Data Segregation and Controlled-Access Data Handling: The portal's architecture must strictly segregate open-access data from controlled-access data. The DCIC is responsible for securely processing all controlled-access data–including any data subject to the NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) policy and any EHR-derived human phenotypic data–and submitting it to an appropriate NIH-designated Controlled Access Data Repository (CADR), such as dbGaP while maintaining provenance. The DCIC is not expected to make this sensitive data available for direct download from the public portal. Describe the security and data handling protocols for this process, as well as the system for providing expedited, pre-publication access to Consortium members for approved pilot projects.
  • User Experience: Describe plans to integrate and deploy tools developed outside the DCIC. Detail plans for user surveys, hackathons, user manuals, and tutorials to promote and monitor SenNet resource usage. Provide specific milestones and metrics.
• Element D: SenNet Organization and Outreach Component (SOOC)
  • Capabilities: Describe prior experience managing large consortia. Identify strategies to ensure efficient execution of joint activities, Steering Committee meetings, Working Groups, and the Annual/Virtual All-Hands meetings.
  • Execution: Detail the strategy for utilizing the educational set-aside funds (fellowships/internships). Describe plans to implement and enforce SenNet policies across all awardees. Include specific milestones and quantitative metrics for consortium administration.

Note: The required attachment detailed in Section IV. Application and Submission Information, 2. SF424 (R&R) Other Project Information: Other Attachments support the narrative information requested below. Applicants should reference or describe the attachments in the Research Strategy but not repeat the information provided in the attachments.

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

Note: Applications that fail to include a detailed Resource Sharing Plan will be considered incomplete.

Open-Source Software: NIH strongly encourages open-source publication of all software tools, experimental and computational pipelines, and standards generated by the DCIC (such as on GitHub).

Access Policies: The DCIC must manage protocols, tools, and software in a manner that ensures rapid, open access once validated. Sharing practices that restrict, block, or delay access to these resources for research purposes are considered non-responsive.

Consortium Standards: The DCIC, as a member of the Steering Committee, will collaboratively develop and implement resource-sharing standards in concert with NIH staff.

Negotiation: Prior to funding, NIH Program Staff may negotiate modifications to the Resource Sharing Plan with the applicant.

Other Plan(s): 

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

• A Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMS Plan) is required for any NIH-funded or conducted research that will generate scientific data. Applicants must submit the DMS Plan at the time of application using the NIH DMS Plan Format Page. The DMS Plan must address the elements in the structured format. Where the DMS Plan Format Page requires a "Yes or No" response, no additional narrative is allowed.

• Consortium Compliance: Applicants must explicitly state their willingness to abide by all data deposition, quality control, standardization, metadata requirements, and public copyright license policies developed by SenNet and approved by NIH.

• Repository Preservation: All resulting scientific data must be curated and submitted to appropriate public repositories. The DCIC is responsible for identifying established repositories and ensuring plans for long-term preservation and access.

• Human Subjects Data: Where human biospecimens are studied, the DCIC must ensure that data is mapped according to the informed consent parameters.

  • Genomic Data: The DCIC must ensure the portal supports controlled access (e.g., dbGaP) or unrestricted access based on participant consent.
  • Consent Restrictions: Ensure the portal's security infrastructure can enforce varying levels of access restrictions without adding unnecessary administrative barriers to legitimate researchers.

• Community Feedback: Applicants are encouraged to seek feedback from participating communities regarding how individual-level data will be shared. Integrate any recommendations for data access, patient privacy, and health information management directly into the project's DMSP. Note that any project collecting identifiable, sensitive information is automatically issued a Certificate of Confidentiality (CoC).

Appendix: Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

• No publications or other material, with the exception of blank questionnaires or blank surveys, may be included in the Appendix.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the How to Apply - Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered "Yes" to the question "Are Human Subjects Involved?" on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start). All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

PHS Assignment Request Form

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

See Part 2. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov

4. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH's electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time.  If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the How to Apply – Application Guide.

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 7.9.1 Selected Items of Cost.

7. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the How to Apply - Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit How to Apply – Application Guide. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile form. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this NOFO for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the unique entity identifier provided on the application is the same identifier used in the organization's profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by components of participating organizations, NIH. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed. 

Recipients or subrecipients must submit any information related to violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the federal award. See Mandatory Disclosures, 2 CFR 200.113 and NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4.1.35.

Send written disclosures to the NIH Chief Grants Management Officer listed on the Notice of Award for the IC that funded the award and to the HHS Office of Inspector Grant Self Disclosure Program at grantdisclosures@oig.hhs.gov. 

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process.  Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

For this particular NOFO, note the following: all applicants must propose a Consortium Organization and Outreach Component–only one award with this Component (across this and the DVC companion NOFO) will be funded. 

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by CSR, in accordance with NIH peer review policies and practices, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.

Applications may undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact score.

Requests for reconsideration of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this NOFO. 

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this NOFO. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the appropriate National Advisory Council or Board.The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

• Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
• Availability of funds.
• Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.These include:
  • Program balance, meaning the need for this program to include multiple tissues, pathologies, conditions and diseases and scientific perspectives to enhance the likelihood that program goals will be met.
  • Potential to work effectively in large collaborative efforts or research consortia which may be based on previous experience with NIH-funded research consortia, if applicable.
  • Adequacy of data, software, and analysis sharing and resource sharing plans.
  • Institutions that have not received substantial funding from NIH in the past.
  • Inclusion of new investigators and experienced investigators that are new to Common Fund consortia.

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.5.1. Just-in-Time Procedures. This request is not a Notice of Award nor should it be construed to be an indicator of possible funding.

Prior to making an award, NIH reviews an applicant's federal award history in SAM.gov to ensure sound business practices. An applicant can review and comment on any information in the Responsibility/Qualification records available in SAM.gov.  NIH will consider any comments by the applicant in the Responsibility/Qualification records in SAM.gov to ascertain the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and performance record of managing Federal awards per 2 CFR Part 200.206 "Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants."  This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons. Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.4.4 Disposition of Applications.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

A Notice of Award (NoA) is the official authorizing document notifying the applicant that an award has been made and that funds may be requested from the designated HHS payment system or office. The NoA is signed by the Grants Management Officer and emailed to the recipient's business official.

In accepting the award, the recipient agrees that any activities under the award are subject to all provisions currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions.

Recipients must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions. Any pre-award costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the applicant's own risk.  For more information on the Notice of Award, please refer to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 5. The Notice of Award and NIH Grants & Funding website, see Award Process.

Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the recipient must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

The following Federal wide and HHS-specific policy requirements apply to awards funded through NIH:

• The rules listed at 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.
• All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the terms and conditions in the Notice of Award (NoA). The NoA includes the requirements of this NOFO. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Recipients, and Activities.

All federal statutes and regulations relevant to federal financial assistance, including those highlighted in NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4 Public Policy Requirements, Objectives and Other Appropriation Mandates.

By applying for or accepting federal funds from HHS, recipients certify compliance with all federal antidiscrimination laws and these requirements and that complying with those laws is a material condition of receiving federal funding streams. Recipients are responsible for ensuring subrecipients, contractors, and partners also comply.

Applicants and recipients are strongly encouraged to refer to the NIH Director's Statement of Priorities, entitled "Advancing NIH's Mission Through a Unified Strategy." 

Recipients are responsible for ensuring that their activities comply with all applicable federal regulations. Pursuant to 2 CFR 200.340, by accepting an NIH award, the recipient agrees that continued funding for the award is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds, recipient satisfactory performance, compliance with the Terms and Conditions of the award, and may also otherwise be terminated, to the extent authorized by law, if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities, in line with 2 CFR 200.340(a)(4).

Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, Div. N, § 405, Pub. Law 114-113, 6 USC § 1533(d), the HHS Secretary has established a common set of voluntary, consensus-based, and industry-led guidelines, best practices, methodologies, procedures, and processes.

Successful recipients under this NOFO agree that:

When recipients, subrecipients, or third-party entities have:

• ongoing and consistent access to HHS owned or operated information or operational technology systems; and
• receive, maintain, transmit, store, access, exchange, process, or utilize personal identifiable information (PII) or personal health information (PHI) obtained from the awarding HHS agency for the purposes of executing the award.

Cybersecurity plans and procedures must at minimum include the following:

• Develop cybersecurity plans and procedures, modeled after the NIST Cybersecurity framework, to protect HHS systems and data:
  • Identify:
    • Develop an inventory of all assets and accounts with access to HHS owned and operated information or operational technology systems or which obtain PII or PHI for the purposes of the award.
  • Protect:
    • Limit access to HHS owned and operated systems to only those in need of access to complete reward activities.
    • Require all staff to complete annual cybersecurity and privacy awareness training. Visit 405(d): Knowledge on Demand (hhs.gov) to obtain free trainings, if needed.
    • Enable multifactor authentication for all employees, subrecipients, and third-party entities to access HHS owned and operated information or operational technology systems.
    • Regularly backup sensitive data and test backups.
  • Detect:
    • Install anti-virus or anti-malware software on all devices, servers, and accounts used to connect to HHS owned and operated systems.
  • Respond:
    • Develop an incident response plan. See Incident-Response-Plan-Basics_508c.pdf (cisa.gov) to learn about developing incident response plans.
    • Have cybersecurity incident reporting procedures that ensure the relevant HHS awarding agencies are notified of a cybersecurity incident within 48 hours of discovery. A cybersecurity incident is defined as an unplanned interruption to a technology service or reduction in the quality of a technology service, or an occurrence that actually or potentially jeopardizes the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an information system or the information the system processes, stores, or transmits.
  • Recover:
    • Investigate incidents and plug any security gaps identified. 

All activities proposed in your application and budget narrative must align with applicable law, including but not limited to statutes, executive orders, federal regulations and applicable judicial holdings.  Accordingly, discretionary awards shall not be used to fund, promote, encourage, subsidize, or facilitate; racial preferences or other forms of racial discrimination by the recipient, including activities where race or intentional proxies for race will be used as a selection criterion for employment or program participation; denial by the recipient of the sex binary in humans, or the belief that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic; illegal immigration; or any other initiatives that compromise public safety.  If an application does not align, the application will not receive funding to the extent permitted by law and applicable court orders.

For applications involving substance abuse, the application must not support harm reduction. Please see Updated Funding Guidance for Recipients on Supplies and Services.

For applications involving funding Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) or medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), this funding should be used to provide comprehensive treatment and recovery support services rather than medication-only models for opioid use disorder. Services should include medications, where clinically indicated, in conjunction with psychosocial and other treatment and recovery support services. Funding can also be used to support individualized tapering and discontinuation of medications when clinically indicated. Please see Updated Funding Guidance for Recipients on  MAT/MOUD.

As of October 1, 2025, HHS has adopted 2 CFR Part 200, with some modifications included in 2 CFR Part 300. These regulations replace those in 45 CFR Part 75. However, for NIH, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2026, (P.L. 119-75, Division B, Title II, Sec. 224), the provisions relating to indirect costs in 45 CFR 75 continue to apply to NIH awards. Consistent with the statute, NIH will not apply updated thresholds outlined within 2 CFR Part 200, at this time.

In administering programs under this and all funding announcements, NIH prioritizes: 

• Research involving rigorous scientific methods, including for studies related to children and adolescents, where NIH is committed to approaches that reflect the highest standards of clinical care and child safety. 
• Biological and physiological integrity: Recognizing the relevance of biological sex to health outcomes, NIH encourages applicants to account for sex-based health factors in program design, data collection, and service delivery where scientifically appropriate.
• NIH will implement these priorities consistent with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, and all required administrative procedures. Applicants are encouraged to describe how their proposed programs align with these priorities in their project narratives. Funded activities must advance NIH's vision of protecting and improving the health and well-being of Americans. The particular focus is on those who are medically vulnerable, or live in areas with limited access to care. NIH's duty is to serve wisely, effectively, and with measurable results that justify every taxpayer dollar invested. 

The following special terms of award are in addition to, and not in lieu of, otherwise applicable U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) administrative guidelines, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant administration regulations at 2 CFR Part 200, and other HHS, PHS, and NIH grant administration policies.

The administrative and funding instrument used for this program will be the cooperative agreement, an "assistance" mechanism (rather than an "acquisition" mechanism), in which substantial NIH programmatic involvement with the recipients is anticipated during the performance of the activities. Under the cooperative agreement, the NIH purpose is to support and stimulate the recipients' activities by involvement in and otherwise working jointly with the recipients in a partnership role; it is not to assume direction, prime responsibility, or a dominant role in the activities. Consistent with this concept, the dominant role and prime responsibility resides with the recipients for the project as a whole, although specific tasks and activities may be shared among the recipients and NIH as defined below.

The PD(s)/PI(s) will have the primary responsibility for:

• Recipients will retain custody of and have primary rights to the data and software developed under these awards, subject to Government rights of access consistent with current HHS, PHS, and NIH policies.
• Planning and conducting the operations as described in the proposal and defined by the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement award.
• Overseeing the scientific development of the Consortium Organization and Outreach Center, reporting results to the scientific community, and disseminating approaches, methods, models, software, tools, and tissue maps, senotypes, preclinical validation of the biomarkers and the Atlas broadly.
• Actively participating in SenNet, including attending the semi-Annual Consortium Meetings, monthly Steering Committee Meetings, participating in other network sponsored meetings and workshops, and participating in collaborative activities.
• Serving on the SenNet Steering Committee. The SenNet recipient PD/PI (contact PD/PI for applications with multiple PD(s)/PI(s)) is required to serve as members of the Steering Committee.
• Abiding by the governance of the SenNet and all program policies agreed upon by the SenNet Steering Committee and approved by NIH Program Officials to the extent consistent with the applicable rules and regulations.
• Maintaining the confidentiality of the information developed or handled by the SenNet, including, but not limited to: unpublished data, informatics tools, protocols, data analysis, confidential exchanges between members of the SenNet, etc. Refer to the Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement section below.
• Working closely with SenNet recipients to ensure that data, metadata, models, software, and completed atlases developed by the SenNet are deposited in the SenNet Data Portal in a timely manner that is consistent with SenNet policies.
• Leveraging, where feasible, technology from related NIH-sponsored informatics initiatives, for example the Human Tumor Atlas Network, Human Biomolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) and Human Cell Atlas (HCA), which supports the development of informatics algorithms, tools, and resources across the continuum of tissue atlas mapping research at single cell resolution.
• Coordinating with and leveraging, where feasible, the technology of the Common Fund Data Ecosystem, a program that will provide infrastructure to make diverse research data broadly available and to maximize its reuse and impact.
• Facilitating the public release and dissemination of results, data, reagents, technologies, completed tissue maps and Atlas, and other products generated by SenNet Investigators in a timely manner, consistent with achieving the goals of this program. The release and dissemination will be consistent with sharing policies and recommendations developed and approved by the SenNet Steering Committee and NIH sharing policies.
• Organizing scientific working groups to facilitate collaborative projects and cross-testing of experimental and analytical concepts.
• Reporting progress to the NIH Program Officials on all SenNet activities biannually. The PD(s)/PI(s) may be expected to provide additional information, outside the scope of the standard reporting requirement, as needed and requested by program staff members.
• Being prepared for in-person or virtual annual site visits of NIH Program staff members and participation in the NIH-coordinated evaluation of the SenNet program.
• Meeting annually with other coordinating centers, as determined by NIH Program staff to help coordinate the sharing of data, research resources, tools/platforms, and access to newly established biorepositories.

NIH staff have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards, as described below:

• One or more designated NIH Program staff members will have substantial involvement as Project Scientist(s) for the SenNet. Additionally, an NIH Program Director (serving as the NIH Program Official) will be responsible for the normal scientific and programmatic stewardship of the award and will be named in the award notice.
• The specific roles of the substantially involved NIH staff members include the following activities:
  • One NIH Project Scientist will serve as a voting member of the SenNet Steering Committee.
  • Assisting the Steering Committee, the SenNet DCIC, and individual recipients in avoiding unwarranted duplication of effort across SenNet.
  • Assisting the recipients as a resource in facilitating their broader interactions with other NIH programs to disseminate results, tools, and models from the SenNet and take advantage of existing NIH resources and infrastructures. This will specifically include acting as a liaison between the SenNet and other atlas-building programs.
  • Ensuring that the SenNet DCIC data- and tool-sharing infrastructure is provided to SenNet members in a reasonable and expeditious way.
  • Evaluating the effectiveness and facilitating consortium-wide adoption of data- and tool-sharing and interoperability practices.
  • Reviewing the progress of the SenNet recipients, and conducting periodic site visits.
  • Participating in organizing semi-annual SenNet meetings, specialized workshops, and webinars of the network.

Progress Reviews. The annual evaluation by the Program Officer will be based on the non-competing application and progress report, recipient records, and assessments by the Project Scientist(s). The NIH staff will review the management, performance, and utilization of the project. If concerns are identified by the Program Officer, the Project Scientist(s) will work with the PD(s)/PI(s) to develop plans to address them in the next year of support. In addition, NIH staff may conduct interim reviews of scientific progress beyond the normal yearly non-competing progress review to determine progress and may use information from progress reviews to inform future funding for the project.

Special Reviews. Funds may be restricted pending completion of key award or consortium milestones independently of prior performance concerns. However, if concerns are identified about the performance or the management of the project, the Program Officer may conduct special reviews of the project as he/she deems necessary. NIH may engage outside experts to assist in these reviews. If concerns about the project arise and are not resolved, NIH may reduce or restrict the budget or reduce the term of support to phase out the project. In the event of long-term incapacitation of resource facilities, NIH may reduce the budget or term of support to phase out the project. Before any modifications are made, the NIH Program Officer will engage with the recipients to resolve performance issues in a timely manner where possible.

Areas of Joint Responsibility Include:

• Steering Committee: The Steering Committee will be the main governing body for SenNet. The Steering Committee will be composed of one representative (contact PD/PI or other senior level investigator) from each SenNet recipient, from this and other (including potentially future) NOFOs published as part of the SenNet Consortium who will have one vote each.
• One NIH Project Scientist will participate in the SenNet Steering Committee as the NIH voting member. Additional NIH Program Officers or staff members may participate in SenNet Steering Committee meetings as non-voting members. All NIH participants will together share one vote in support of the project. 
• If needed, other government staff members may also participate in SenNet Steering Committee meetings as non-voting members.
• Two PD(s)/PI(s), representing two different SenNet awards, will be selected to serve as chairpersons of the Steering Committee starting at the first meeting of the Steering Committee following award issuance. Steering Committee co-chairs will be established on a rotating basis annually. All SenNet Steering Committee decisions and recommendations that require voting will be based on a majority vote.
• The SenNet Steering Committee will meet monthly by videoconference and in-person at the SenNet semi-Annual Consortium Meeting and as needed.

The Steering Committee will:

• Identify scientific and policy issues that need to be, or can benefit by being, addressed at the Network level and develop recommendations to NIH Program Officials for addressing such issues.
• Review progress of the SenNet toward meeting the overall Network goals.
• Ensure that all SenNet members utilize the resources developed by the SenNet DVC-DCIC and SenTecs.
• Coordinate dissemination of Network output to the broader senescence research community.
• Ensure that the Network takes advantage of existing NIH resources and programs.
• Establish, as necessary, subcommittees to ensure progress of the individual Centers and the Network.

In order for recipients to fully comply with NIH and consortium data sharing policies as detailed above, all recipients will be expected to agree to a Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement (CDA) containing the following Statement of Confidentiality: The parties fully understand the potential confidential nature of discussions and presentations, and acknowledge that materials provided and discussions held prior to and during meetings may reveal confidential information. The Parties agree to respect and maintain confidentiality of any non-public information that is received or become aware of through participation in workshops, meetings, and teleconferences associated with the NIH Common Fund sponsored grants in this program: Cellular Senescence Network Program. Public information is classified as (a) is within the public domain prior to the time of the disclosure by the Disclosing Party/ies to the Receiving Party/ies or thereafter becomes within the public domain other than as a result of disclosure by the Receiving Party/ies or any of its representatives in violation of this Agreement; (b) was, on or before the date of disclosure in the possession of the Receiving Party/ies; (c) is acquired by the Receiving Party/ies from a third party not under an obligation of confidentially; or (d) is hereafter independently developed by the Receiving Party/ies, without reference to the information received from the Disclosing Party/ies. The Parties will maintain this confidentiality for a period of 7 years from the disclosure date or until the Confidential Information is classified as Public information based on a-d listed herein, whichever is earlier. The parties will not use such information for their personal benefit or for the benefit of their family, or associates of organizations to which they are connected or with which they have a financial involvement. Any breach of this agreement may be referred to the HHS Office of General Counsel. As to the parties participation in the development and conduct of these programs, the parties opinions and decisions will be based on their scientific judgment and medical or specialty expertise and will not knowingly be related to any other interest in organizations that may provide equipment, products or services to the studies.

Dispute Resolution:

Any disagreements that may arise in scientific or programmatic matters (within the scope of the award) between recipients and NIH may be brought to Dispute Resolution. A Dispute Resolution Panel composed of three members will be convened: a designee of the Steering Committee chosen without NIH staff voting, one NIH designee, and a third designee with expertise in the relevant area who is chosen by the other two; in the case of individual disagreement, the first member may be chosen by the individual recipient. This special dispute resolution procedure does not alter the recipient's right to appeal an adverse action that is otherwise appealable in accordance with PHS regulation 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D and HHS regulation 45 CFR Part 16.

3. Data Management and Sharing

A Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMS Plan) is required for any NIH-funded or conducted research that will generate scientific data. Applicants must submit the DMS Plan at the time of application using the NIH DMS Plan Format Page. The DMS Plan must address the elements in the structured format. Where the DMS Plan Format Page requires a "Yes or No" response, no additional narrative is allowed. 

4. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, recipients will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.4.1 Reporting. To learn more about post-award monitoring and reporting, see the NIH Grants & Funding website, see Post-Award Monitoring and Reporting.

A final RPPR, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.6 Closeout. NIH NOFOs outline intended research goals and objectives. Post award, NIH will review and measure performance based on the details and outcomes that are shared within the RPPR, as described at 2 CFR Part 200.301.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

eRA Service Desk - Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues.

Grants.gov Support Center - Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and services (e.g., Workspace, subscriptions).

Common Fund Cellular Senescence Program
Email: CS2@nih.gov

Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears two weeks after the submission due date).

Common Fund Cellular Senescence Program
Email: CS2@nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 2 CFR Part 200.