Therapeutic Strategies for the Converging TB/T2DM/HIV Epidemics (R21) | PA 17 282

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 282

Therapeutic Strategies for the Converging TB/T2DM/HIV Epidemics (R21) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PA-17-282) designed to support early-stage, innovative research that tackles a growing global health problem: the way type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and pre-diabetes disrupt the immune system and, as a result, increase the risk and severity of tuberculosis (TB), especially when HIV is also present. The central theme of the announcement is immune dysregulation. NIH is seeking projects that deepen understanding of how metabolic disease alters both innate and adaptive immunity in ways that can trigger latent TB reactivation, worsen active TB disease, and contribute to more frequent treatment failure, relapse, and death. In other words, the FOA is aimed at research that clarifies why TB outcomes are often poorer in people with dysglycemia and how those outcomes may be further complicated by HIV co-infection, with an emphasis on identifying or informing therapeutic strategies.

This opportunity uses the R21 mechanism, which generally supports exploratory and high-impact ideas that may be too early for larger-scale funding but have clear potential to open new directions for intervention development. The announcement focuses on studies that are innovative and mechanistically informative rather than incremental, encouraging applicants to test new concepts, generate proof-of-concept data, and identify targets or approaches that could later be expanded into more definitive trials or larger translational programs. The scientific scope is anchored in immunology at the intersection of infectious disease and metabolic disease, including how altered immune responses under diabetic or pre-diabetic conditions can change host-pathogen dynamics in TB and influence disease progression, treatment response, or long-term outcomes like relapse.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant under the NIH health research portfolio, listed under CFDA numbers 93.855 and 93.856. The posted award ceiling is $200,000, indicating that proposed budgets are expected to fit within that upper limit. The FOA was created on May 12, 2017, and the original closing date shown in the source information is September 7, 2020. While the source entry does not specify the exact number of anticipated awards, the structure and intent of the R21 program suggest a competitive environment where awards are made to proposals with strong innovation, sound feasibility, and clear relevance to the TB/T2DM/HIV convergence problem.

Eligibility is broad and inclusive, reflecting NIH’s intent to attract ideas from many parts of the research ecosystem, including institutions and organizations serving populations heavily affected by TB, diabetes, and HIV. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) IRS status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations), and U.S. territories or possessions. This breadth signals an openness to multidisciplinary and multinational collaboration, which is often essential for TB/HIV research and for studying diabetes-associated TB risk in real-world settings.

Overall, the grant opportunity is aimed at catalyzing new therapeutic and immunological insights that could ultimately reduce the burden of TB in people with T2DM or pre-diabetes, particularly where HIV co-infection amplifies risk. It encourages applicants to interrogate the immune mechanisms behind increased susceptibility and worse outcomes, and to use that knowledge to inform strategies that may improve prevention, treatment success, and survival in populations experiencing these overlapping epidemics.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Therapeutic Strategies for the Converging TB/T2DM/HIV Epidemics (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.855, 93.856.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-05-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-09-07. (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 $200,000.00 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.

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